To ask if it's only my garden that's suddenly become spider central??

[Cantthinkofanythinggood]

Literally LOADS of webs have appeared around my garden with menacing looking spidees in them! I'm frightened to walk round have to check I'm not walking into their webs - has anyone else noticed this in their garden this week?

Notreallyarsed

I apologise but I don't know what MH is?

There was a prog on TV about curing phobias, all sorts of different things. The main theme seemed to be gradual exposure in a controlled environment. Like on day 1 you just talk about spiders, day 2 you look at photos of spiders, day 3 you are in the same room as a spider (but it's in a container) and by the end of the process you are holding a spider and putting it back in it's box etc.

That's very condensed of course but you should get the gist.

And you've already done steps one and two without even realising it! Because here you are talking about spiders, and there are pics of them in this thread too!

Sorry it's mental health (anxiety, PTSD). I'll look into it, thanks. My friend's dad couldn't believe the state of me yesterday after I found that massive one, I was shaking, crying, and was even sick at one point. He's known me for years and thought I wasn't scared of anything, so to see me like that was a real shock. It was just so big and was rearing up at me, I literally couldn't function. Rationally I know it won't hurt me, that it's harmless, all that stuff, but it's the only phobia I have and it's utterly debilitating.

I never thought of that 😁 I can't touch the bit of the screen with the spider on though 😩

What are the treatments?

This has been covered in many threads on here.
London zoo and many other zoos have spider courses that have changed peoples' lives. There's also hypnotism. Many people have found CBT very helpful. There are lots of private practitioners, and you might get referred for NHS treatment by your GP.

One thing I would say to all phobia sufferers is never to show your fear in front of your children, because they will learn it from you.

Great summary FallingOrbit! I was very sad to see a giant trapped by one of my moth sticky traps the other day

I can't touch the bit of the screen with the spider on though

And nobody would demand that you do! Until you feel ready.

I'm not saying that it'll get you to the point where you want to own tarantulas as pets and open an arachnid night club, but it's highly likely to get you to the point where you won't blow a gasket if one happens to appear in your house. Only trying to help :)

Lovelyfur what actually happened was spider was wandering along the ceiling having a lovely time, tripped and lost his footing and landed on this unsteady surface, he couldn't escape and got scared so chomped onto what he could by accident...

Mittens - talking of wasps,have you seen many,or even any this summer? I have noticed a distinct lack of them this year,thank goodness. Wonder what the story is here? hopefully the plague of spiders have eaten them all

FallingOrbit thanks for all your advice, I really appreciate it. And GladAllOver too.

Usually I work very hard not to show my fear to my kids, yesterday I fucked up and I feel rotten about it. I've never had such a severe physical reaction before, and DD was really upset. Which is why I'm desperate to try and sort it out, because I cannot have that kind of reaction in front of my kids again. I had no idea there was treatment, so this post has been great, I'm already getting CBT for my previous issues, so I'll ask about phobia treatments next time.

Aww! I love spiders (in the wild, not as pets)

They eat all sorts of horrid crawling and flying things. I get very impatient with the DC about their learned girly behaviour "arachnophobia"

Sorry,
Not dismissing real phobias - just the pretend ones my DC adopt!

So where do the fuckers live the rest of the year when we can't see them?

Our garden and our house are spider central at the moment.
I am not allowed to get rid of the copious cobwebs in the house because DD (4yo) loves the spiders 😂 She has names for them all!
Our garden is also slug central ugh

This thread just prompted me to figure out what type of spider has decided to call my kitchen home. It's tucked away happily in a corner and is catching bluebottles so happy with that. Think it's a lace web.

Got mystery spiders living in my wing mirrors, I only really see them in the winter when I've turned the demisters on as they come out to warm up.

I think I've got one in the car as it keeps setting off the car alarm walking in front of the motion sensor.

We had one in the bathroom, up in a corner. DP named it Bob and was horrified when I relocated it out the bath when it had fallen in.

We have a lot of spiders and whilst I don't like them, if they are out the way I'll leave them be.

happypoobum

RTET and you'll see that's been answered a few times already :)

QueSera

Yeah slugs definitely abound this year. Horrible things. What you need is some hedgehogs!

I'm siding with your daughter! Give them names! It's good for kids to become accustomed to spiders and many other creatures!

Two whoppers in the house today. Size of my blommin' hand. DS traumatized (he has anxiety about certain things) so I'm trying to play it cool but I don't feel it.

I'm the resident spider catcher in our house because DH is terrified of them, and DS is too rough and will accidentally hurt them. We have a strict policy of putting them outside to find a new home (in the shed or similar) because it's that or DH will squish them 😢.

My sister is afraid of spiders because when she was 2yo she picked up her plastic witches hat and a spider the size of her face dropped into her lap. Not sure what kind it was, but we lived next door to some corn fields which were in the process of being harvested, so I assume it was fleeing the spinning death machines and thought it had found a safe and warm place to pass the winter. I imagine the spider was as startled as my sister when it found itself dumped into the lap of a large screaming mammal.

There is a particular story about spiders that I like. After the tsunami in Japan there was concern about a malaria outbreak (because mosquitoes spread malaria, and they lay their eggs in water, so lots of water = perfect breeding ground for the little plague carriers). The thing is, it never happened because all the spiders had hightailed it into the trees (making them look like giant nightmare candy floss thingies) and they straight up murdered the shit out of the mosquitoes, saving thousands of lives. The same thing happened in Pakistan in 2011.

Sorry I have RTFT but can't see any explanation of where in the house the are hiding for the rest of the year? If they are indoors, not outdoors, why can I not see them? Where the fark are they?

Natty

This!

FallingOrbit, yes, exactly 😁

happypoo

Attic, or any behind any other rarely disturbed space, like behind the tv, fridge, freezer, dishwasher etc etc. Under the stairs, if you have an under stairs cupboard etc. It is posted because I wrote it my self :)

Sorry falling I just missed it. I am not Kim or Aggie but I suppose they scrunch up really small if they want to?

How horrible - I really have a bad phobia. I shake and cry. Quite ridiculous I know............

Does anyone know (sorry again if already explained) why people say older houses are more likely to have spiders?

Do open chimneys = more spiders?

Had a mahoosive in my room last night. Up the dyson, dp disposed of it over the road somewhere with me gritting my teeth and telling him to maybe take him a bit further and a bit further away like to the fucking moon. Ds who caught a glimpse of it, asked me if it was a mouse
Humongous disgusting fucker.