To love house because of this fucker in my garden (pic)

[whydoesitalwaysrain]

I know it’s outside but it could come in couldn’t it?

@Chrys2017

(The females are already hiding under your bed.)

Why did you have to tell me that?!

Interesting though as I wasn’t sure what kind of spider it was when I saw it. I’ve not seen one this big before.

@CaledonianQueen Are you serious? False widows are about 1.5 cm in size at the most and are brown with orange legs. Nothing like the OP's picture.

"I never understand why otherwise sane adults get in such a tizz about a spider."

Ditto. I don't love spiders but I'm making an effort to be cool about them in front of the kids as I don't want them to grow up thinking the only way to deal with a living creature is to kill it, or run around in a panic.

Half of the world's animals have disappeared since the 70s, a little understanding wouldn't go amiss.

@whydoesitalwaysrain Well alternatively the females might just be in your airing cupboard or under the stairs! (:-) But either way you'll be very lucky to see one—they generally are very timid and will run away.

You could have fucking warned me. I almost fear vomited all over the keyboard!

Please don’t kill it. Don’t be cruel. Why would you teach children to burn a living thing? Not you op btw.

Spiders kill bugs. Live and let live.

Im pretty sure that is not a false widow. It looks like a house spider or possibly a segestria. If it is a segestria then most likely a snake back spider. Worst case, unlikely - tube web spider.. but no false widow.

I have one like that in my bedroom. We manage to coexist perfectly happily. Sometimes when I get up in the night I will spot it scampering about, but (s)he isn't interested in me and runs under the skirting board.

BBCK I also read it that way at first. I thought the OP wanted tips to lure it inside!

No spiders were harmed

I like spiders too. Bloody hate clothes moths though.

that's just a normal house spider.
even if she were to take up residence in your house she wouldn't do any harm.

they seem to have grown big this year. for scale the cushion is a couple of inches thick.

It is a harmless tegenaria. What's more it is a mature male that has had its last shedding and will not last the winter anyway.

BTW the great majority of 'false widows' are not actually that species at all. There is a wide variety of very similar looking spiders and it takes an expert to tell them apart. But of course if you want to believe the crap stories in the Fail...

@cravingcake

but having been bitten by a false widow twice which was hiding in my dressing gown last year i’m now quite happy to kill any spider that comes near me.

Just about to get out of the bath and put my dressing gown on. It will be turned inside out and shaken within an inch of it's stitching after reading that!!

Burning the house down is a little extreme though - OP, collect essentials, leave spider to house. Never return.

I got bitten by a normal harmless jumping spider in India. Ended up my fingernail came off and has never grown back properly. Drives me mad.

purplepillowcase

So erm... these pictures are gross. 🖒 spiders are gross.
This thread doesnt make for good bedtime reading 🤣

Incidentally, why the fuck doesn't this thread have a trigger warning? I had hoped to get to sleep at some point tonight. Scratch that idea.

I also agree, trigger warning needed.

I have false widows in my garden. One bit me but I did put my hand in its house so fair enough (I did that before I knew I had false widows). I’m more careful in the garden now. Ive had a few in the house. They’re actually ok; they don’t move much at all from their webs; no scampering about. I may have named two of them that became long term tenants

I think I was bitten by a false widow in my garden a couple of weeks' ago. I was pulling out weeds and felt something like a scratch on my arm. A bit later my arm felt like it had been scalded and went very red, there was a little black dot near the middle and a big circle of red round ot. Was very sore for over a week and it felt like a burn.

Awwww. Let him come in and snuggle up In your bed with you, you meanie.

Technically, you are in his house really.
He lives outside, you live in. Leave him be. He isn't a false widow and won't hurt you.

It is the end of days.

I do wonder about women who willingly undergo the pain and trauma of childbirth, but go into a panic at the sight of any harmless spider.

For those who have a genuine spider phobia, it is a horrible affliction. Fortunately in most cases it can be successfully treated, as has been documented on MN at various times.

It doesn't help anyone suffering from spider phobia to make jokes about having to burn the house down. Neither does it help to put up warning flags. As with any phobia, warning and avoidance of something lurking only reinforces the fear.

As for the much hyped 'false widow', steatoda nobilis, it is still quite uncommon in the UK in spite of scare stories in the press. There are many far more numerous spiders that look very similar.
If you actually do see one and can positively identify it you are quite fortunate. If you disturb it sufficiently to provoke a bite you may possibly find it as painful as a wasp sting. If you are one of the minority who suffer a severe allergic reaction to a wasp sting then you may have a similar reaction to a defensive bite from a nobilis. The chances of you having such an allergy and being bitten by one are very remote.

And please, if you do have any anxiety about spiders, do not show it in front of your children or you will be teaching them a fear of these generally harmless and very beneficial creatures.

Sermon over!