To never go in my little girls room again!?

[FedUp1850]

Soooooooo Aragog is residing in my little girls bedroom. He is massive. I just can't go in there. He's been in there for days, I shut the door and put a blanket down at the bottom to hopefully keep it in there.

I'm petrified of spiders. My mum said that her mum put one right up in her face when she was a kid, thinking about it almost sent me into cardiac arrest 😅. Someone help me overcome this irrational fear!

My husband will sometimes capture bugs and take them outside rather than swatting at them in a panicky way like I do. This isn't a sex roles thing, it's just that he grew up with giant terrifying insects and I'm British.

@TheAlternativeTentacle

This whole 'women petrified of insects' schtick is really fucking dull.

Ahh bless you. Trying to put people down and making yourself out to be stupider than the people you are slating

Trying to put people down and making yourself out to be stupider than the people you are slating

It is not about being stupid.

Spiders are tiny - humans are big.

You have the power here.

There are no poisonous spiders in the UK.

Just pop a glass over it, slide some cardboard under and flick it out the door or window.

That is literally all you have to do.

@thealternativetentacle you clearly don’t understand the psychology behind how phobias work. If it were that easy then phobias wouldn’t exist!

you clearly don’t understand the psychology behind how phobias work. If it were that easy then phobias wouldn’t exist!

Then people really need to get help.

Most of it thought is just perpetuating the 'squealing' myth that women are afraid of spiders.

It is a learnt response, humans are not born with a response to spiders that causes them to squeal and run away.

In Britain spiders are venturing in to escape the worsening weather . Think of this one as your own little refugee and nurture it .
Get treatment for your phobia before you pass it to your daughter. No poisonous spiders here . Their only crime is killing filthy flies and being themselves.

[Hmm] you see, alternative tentacle, everyone knows that, it's just that they can't all do it.
I can't do it either, OP and I feel your pain. Since I started typing this, DD has shouted for me to get rid of a big spider in her bedroom. I do this by spraying with red can Raid spray, which usually makes them drop to the ground or run fast, and then you can thwack them. I don't care if people say it's ridiculous, I tend to a free but if you are phobic, then you just are. I am very phobic but I manage during this season by having a can of Raid nearby at all times.

l'll be no help, l'm afraid. l once spent four months in the spare room because l 'lost' a big spider in my bedroom.

And it's nonsense to say it's a learned response.

I never, ever showed my daughter my fear when she was little, I left DH to deal with spiders and he isn't scared at all. Nor is any of the rest of the family, or her childminder.

She just is scared of them, same as me. And it's been liberating too be able to admit it, now she's older

They don’t come in. The one that run under sofas are house spiders. They live in the house all year. You just don’t see them. In late aug/ sept the males get horny and run about the house looking for females. The females stay hidden.

Just thought I’d put that out there

I don't know the answer but please don't kill it. Hoovering it up would probably kill it, so don't do that.

We have got on that is the size of my palm in our bathroom. But I like them and my son won't let me put it outside as he says it will probably die.

I still think there is a good business opportunity here.

Phone the "Spider Catcher".

Maybe they could have a big wagon the lock the spiders up in before transporting them away to a nearby cave to lock them up...

To all those of you having much fun with your competitive arachnophobia, please think about the effects you're having. Our daughter was perfectly happy catching spiders and putting them outside, as neither parent nor siblings had a problem with them. Then she went to nursery, where all the staff play the shrieking "kill it kill it kill it!!!!" game, and now my daughter is petrified of them.

The landlord will understand....

Hotchox

My arachnophobia is no fun at all..... why would you think that?

I thought people were a bit more tolerant of MH issues nowadays but clearly not everyone received the memo

The alternative tentacle has clearly never counted a spider's legs, put four and four together and realised that they are not insects!

madeyemoodysmum, I did not know that about spiders! Wow. So the one I met on the stairs was a randy male? Good job they're so small, relatively speaking, or he might've tried to hump my leg like a dog. 😳

Throw a hanful if conckers in the room they don't like the smell and leave.

Tell a teen child ou will pay them £5 if they catch it and take it outside for you.

If they could just sing the love song of their kind outside that would be lovely and I wouldn't interfere. If they're in my house though that's a different matter.

Also, I'm less terrified of spiders than of wasps (still hate them) but from the pov of my own phobia can say that it's neither fun nor learned from others. I'm just bloody terrified of them and have been for as long as I remember. It's not a rational fear, it's a blind panic response that leads to doing totally ineffective things because the brain isn't thinking "fun times!" it's thinking "eldrich horror, must get away".

This whole 'women petrified of insects' schtick is really fucking dull.

Yeah. That's not what this is. Do you understand the concept of a phobia? It's not rational, so all the "they're not poisonous" and "they're more scared of you than you are of them" in the world doesn't help.

OP, I feel for you - arachnophobia is horrible. I have no issue with insects, snakes, rodents or anything else, but even a small spider will set my heart racing and have me sweating and shaking. A few years ago I did some exposure therapy with a clinical psychologist - I couldn't finish out the course (for unrelated, practical reasons) but it did help, to the extent that I can manage to trap and put out most house spiders now. I'm very very conscious of not passing on my fear to my children.

Can you go out and buy a can of Raid Crawling Insects Spray (the red one)? If you spray this liberally in the room, the spider will die.

It is not about being stupid

Spiders are tiny - humans are big.

Yeah. That didn't make you look any less stupid.

@TheAlternativeTentacle I am a tough woman. Very little scares me. I love a good thrill and I am a total adventure seeker. I have done a lot.
And yet I have two very serious phobias. Spiders and clowns. To the point I am absolutely debilitated. Full on breakdowns. Absolute guttural fear. Irrational - yes, genuine -yes, girly protests worthy of a drama queen -no. It’s pure fear. It’s not enjoyable and this time of year is awful for me. I actually wish it was just girly silliness because I would rather be a tit than become a absolute mess every time I see a money spider let alone anything bigger.

You should probably move

I am terrified of spiders. If I see one I shake and feel sick. If one comes near me or, on me, I scream and cry. I can't stay in the room if there is one in it.

No way could I put a glass over one or even use a spider catcher. I could never get close enough to one. DH puts them in the garage. I don't want them killed although I realise they may die in the garage but no way can they stay in the house.

My mum is not scared of them and neither is my sister so it is not always a learned thing.

A poster said that the percentage of people scared of spiders is small but I find that hard to believe. I am scared, 2 nieces are scared, 4 friends are scared, 2 neighbours. All terrified like me not just not liking them much.

Also the poster who put a picture of a spider on here did you think you were being clever. I screamed, threw my laptop across the room and now feel sick and shaky. I will be seeing that picture all day now and possibly dream about it tonight.

Ask your landlord to get a restraining order out on the it.

My arachnophobia is no fun at all..... why would you think that?

I thought people were a bit more tolerant of MH issues nowadays but clearly not

Phobias are awful. But they can be treated and there is no need to go on suffering. There are several ways to get rid of spider phobia, as posters on many MN threads have said. Some have used hypnosis, there are other talking therapies, several zoos have spider treatment courses. Your GP can refer you for treatment.
Please don't go on suffering and risk passing it on to others.