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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

About the spiders?

89 replies

BreadZeppelin · 23/07/2017 23:11

Arrived on holiday today at an 18th century countryside cottage. All absolutely charming until it was time to go to bed and between me and DH we found 17 of those horrible skinny spindly spiders on the walls and lower part of the ceiling. Very tall sloping ceiling though and plenty of nooks and crannies for more of the buggers to hide in. My skin was crawling at the thought of sleeping in there so I'm relegated to the (thankfully low-roofed) nursery where hopefully all spiders have been evacuated by very patient DH.

Obvs it's nothing in the grand scheme of things but I have emailed the letting company to ask them to come sort it out tomorrow. AIBU given that we're in the countryside, or do I have the right to expect a bedroom that isn't dripping with spiders?

OP posts:
Oddsocksforeveryone · 24/07/2017 13:29

I am terribly arachnophobic and we have had an unusual amount of spindly ones this year. I actually am worried it's just going to be a great year for spiders and so there will be loads of the biggies to come soon.

GladAllOver · 24/07/2017 13:35

I'm sorry to here about your arachnophobia. It's horrible, but can be cured.
In many cases it is learned from parents, so please try not to show it in front of your children.

ShowOfHands · 24/07/2017 13:42

Pholcus phalangioides are my favourites. The DC call them disco spiders.

They're utterly harmless and I've recently watched one eat a much bigger, hairier spider. If you dislike spiders, letting the cellar spiders live quietly in your house will cut down on other types.

Oddsocksforeveryone · 24/07/2017 13:53

That's really interesting, I can't quite get my head around the idea of them eating the biggies.
I'm careful in front of the dc. Ds1 is a catch and releaser, he's not bothered at all. Ds2 is frightened but I think it's because of a strange incident a few years ago. He had a huge, not Australia huge but England huge, one on his chest and when I knocked it off it just kept running back to him. Maybe there was a thread I couldn't see but it literally ran back at him and up his leg. I had to put him on a chair while we tried to catch it and he was hysterical.

everythingissoblinkinrosie · 24/07/2017 14:06

Hearing that spindly spiders kick the ass of big thick legged ones has made my day.
I have such a great game face for my spider hating daughter (others have remarked on it) but I am scared shitless of them in reality.
This nugget of info really helps.

user1andonly · 24/07/2017 14:15

The spindy ones seems to colonise house once they get in. My parents always have loads of them. They don't do anything to get rid of them and the buggers breed and take over. I hate them!

cloudchasing · 24/07/2017 14:17

Yeah but they are eating those other monsters, and they're much worse! Wow. This thread has made my day!

NotExactlyHappyToHelp · 24/07/2017 14:26

I have a ridiculous amount of love for the spindley fellas.

We've got loads in the new house and they just pick a corner and stick there. They don't hare across your living room floor like the big fuckers do.

Hate big hairy house spiders with a passion so the spindley ones are my heroes.

The only downside to them is apparently they don't eat their webs once they break like other types of spider so you're left with annoying bits of web everywhere but it's a small price to pay for less hobnailed booted fuckers.

LizTaylorsFabulousTurban · 24/07/2017 14:34

I actively encourage the spindly spiders (also known as cellar spiders). We had a nest hatch in the pantry and I made sure they all found new spaces. I hate hate hate the big house spiders and since encouraging the cellar spiders, have had far fewer big buggers.

pigsDOfly · 24/07/2017 14:45

I didn't know the spindly spiders eat the big ones. That's really interesting. How do they catch?

I had a huge hairy one in my house a while ago. I usually catch them in my special 'spider glass' and a piece of card and put them in the garden but his legs couldn't be contain and I was afraid of hurting him so I had to find a bowl to go over him - don't know why I say him, it was very likely female as it was so big. I'm pretty good about spiders, but must admit that one freaked me out a bit.

sakura06 · 24/07/2017 14:49

So interesting to hear about the spindly spiders! We have a lot of them in our house. I'd never really seen them before.

Glumglowworm · 24/07/2017 14:52

Also didn't know that spindly ones eat the other ones! Will be letting them stick to their corners now

TiggH · 24/07/2017 15:02

The spindly cellar spiders do indeed kill large house spiders and I hate them for it as I love house spiders. It's the cellar spiders long legs that allow them to keep other spiders away from their body whilst they wrap them up and do quick paralyzing bites.
Also, they do run across the floor, they are just a lot harder to see than house spiders.

Bitchfromhell · 24/07/2017 15:06
everythingissoblinkinrosie · 24/07/2017 15:06

You make a good case for the beefy ones, Tigg , but they still freak me out more than the spindly ones.
Our cat will occasionally chase the beefy ones and leave them half mangled as a gift for me.
When I used to have two cats they would tag team the beefy ones.

GladAllOver · 24/07/2017 15:06

Eating other spiders is not unique to Pholcus.
Other species will eat different spiders, given the chance. And of course there are the females who will eat their mates after mating.
Some males take parcels of food to distract a female they fancy - just like a man taking a woman out for dinner and expecting a legover afterwards.

GladAllOver · 24/07/2017 15:12

TiggH
I share your love for Tegenaria. But my favourites to watch are the Pardosa mothers carrying their tiny spiderlings on their backs. You have to be outside for that though.

CockacidalManiac · 24/07/2017 16:01

I had a huge hairy one in my house a while ago. I usually catch them in my special 'spider glass' and a piece of card and put them in the garden

I usually catch them with my special 'spider shoe'. Messy, but effective.

Spangles1963 · 24/07/2017 16:22

The spindly ones are the predators of the big brown fuckers? Really? I didn't know this. Thanks for the heads up!

Spangles1963 · 24/07/2017 16:26

Bitchfromhell < Throws grenade at thread > Grin

Borntorunfast · 24/07/2017 16:34

We've had loads in our house and I can confirm they eat the beefy spiders - well, since we got the skinny ones there have been no fat spiders and we usually get a clutch of the hairy legged bastards every autumn. But the skinny ones do breed a lot so I tend to sweep a few up every so often to keep their numbers down. And they do leave little webs everywhere which also I vacuum up so that my living room doesn't look like something out of a horror movie

cloudchasing · 24/07/2017 16:37

This thread is fascinating! I really want to like them, they're so clever. Why do they have to look so horrifying?

cloudchasing · 24/07/2017 16:38

I'm going to bring any spindly ones in from outside if I see them.

GladAllOver · 24/07/2017 18:45

You are unlikely to find Pholcus outside. They are not built for the cold, and prefer nice calm sheltered places.

GladAllOver · 24/07/2017 18:54

This thread is fascinating! I really want to like them, they're so clever. Why do they have to look so horrifying?
Try looking at one closely under a magnifying glass, and you will appreciate what wonderful creatures they are. Their eyes are beautiful!
About now you will start seeing the large vertical webs of the garden spider, called Diadematus after the pattern on its back. That web is stronger than steel.