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!

"Help me overcome my fear"

It can't hurt you, maybe a fear of spiders is programmed into us as in some countries, they can. But our ones will not hurt you. I don't mind spiders and will pick them up and, even though I'm fine with them, I tell myself as I'm grabbing them "they can not hurt you".

I don't know if that's helpful or not. But every time you feel like freaking out, replace that panicked thought with the mantra "they cannot hurt me". Give it a go.

@Tighnabruaich have you actually read the thread? OP and many others who have a true phobia of spiders could not use a spider catcher. If you are scared of them you cannot get close enough to them. Thats of course if you can either stay in the same room with one

@Seahorseshoe oh if it were only that easy!

This year has been terrible for spiders indoors. I have been shaky and feeling sick every day. One day there was a spider on my hand when I woke up and I actually vomited.

I have been telling myself for years that they don't and won't hurt me but it makes not the slightest difference.

What about people scared of heights, clowns, birds, balloons etc? Can they all be cured by telling themselves that the frightening object won;t hurt them?

I have never been worried about spiders ( well except when we go to Australia and that’s a rational fear because they have some extremely nasty items)

That’s why as kids we were always told, see a spider, get a parent. Parent would whack it with a thong, problem solved. As kids got older they would also be trained in the art of the thong whack.

Many brave people used to catch certain types and take them to neighbourhood collection points where they would be collected weekly by a service that milked them for anti-venom to save people who are bitten. That seemed to have died out when I was a young adult so guessing now places breed them for this or it’s made synthetically instead?

We were always taught never to kill harmless ones like Huntsmen, was always a spare ice cream container hanging around to scoot them into to put them outside. Anything dangerous immediately got the thong though in our house.

OP - what about an insecticide bomb? Just place that in your daughters room with the door shut. That will kill it. Then air room for a day afterwards, wash bedding and any soft toys that are cuddled and all is well.

There’s a spider catcher with a very long arm that we got from amazon.

Both me and kids scared of spiders but we use those.

Or I’ve hoovered them.

Or next friend who visits get it.

I wouldn’t use insecticide. Not great around kids.

How long do spiders live? You could just wait for it to die? And obviously tape the door shut.

Please don't kill spiders. They eat flies and are essential part of ecology

Completely agree. Understand the genuine phobias, but people can get help for them if they want to. And I think if your phobia is spiders, or something else that you're going to come into contact with possibly on a on a regular basis then you need to get some help.

Yas01 had a good tip further up the thread - use a kitchen mop with fibres to get the spider out, as it will cling to the fibres.

I get really fed up with these spider threads where people try to outdo each other on how they kill a spider when they see it. I'm not saying you need to get to the point where you can leave one in your house, but you could get some kind of treatment where you could get to the point where you could use a bug catcher to remove the spider. But killing something so vital to our eco system is ridiculous and there's no need for it.

If it was days ago he may not even be in the room anymore they tend to go under skirting boards mostly not under doors or he very well may of found somewhere warm to make his home you won't know unless you go look
Hopefully for all your sakes he's moved on and I agree spiders are not the baddies they don't bother me it's the moths I don't like but I do push myself into removing them myself as a single mother I couldn't be dealing with not being able to enter a room due to one insect

I get really fed up with these spider threads where people try to outdo each other on how they kill a spider when they see it. I'm not saying you need to get to the point where you can leave one in your house, but you could get some kind of treatment where you could get to the point where you could use a bug catcher to remove the spider. But killing something so vital to our eco system is ridiculous and there's no need for it.

The most sensible post in this thread.

I would be far more concerned by not catching it. I don't let them out of myself sight until they're out, other than to get a glass to catch them.

Big glass (upside down over the spider), big piece of paper/card (under the glass to trap the spider), take it to the furthest part of the garden or at least out of the window.

I'm no fan of them, can't touch them to get them out, but I can't kill them either. You have to learn how to handle them calmly to try not to pass on your phobia to your dd.

I realize that there are genuine phobias.
But apart from them- how anyone would choose to fill their child’s room with insecticide rather than womanning up and dealing with a completely harmless creature.

I really feel for you OP. I’m another one with this phobia (and it’s not a girly screaming runaway type). I know it’s completely irrational and they don’t harm you etc etc but all phobias are just that- irrational.

I can’t ever kill them though, I kinda feel sorry for them that they are hated so much, it’s not their fault. Luckily my DH or DS will get rid of them for me, normally crossing the road with a glass and cardboard and then releasing (hoping they don’t like crossing roads)

Hope your mum can get it for you, if not, as someone mentioned paying a teen may be a good idea.

My phobia is spiders and crabs. Sweaty, clammy, shaky, if a real big one dry retches. Oh yes it’s so fun! I have concluded it’s the movement of them, as they both move in a similar way. I’ve fallen off many rocks while walking in coastal areas due to crabs. My family thinks it’s funny, yeah hilarious (my childhood family that is)

My brother is also scared of spiders. SM had to brush. Giant one out of his room one day and she heard of land with a thunk on the neighbours roof.

I can look at cockroaches and other bugs quite fine (except for those bastard stick insects), I’m also ok with the snakes in the garden and observing them

Thankfully where we live now we get pest control quarterly, have yet to see one in the house.

That’s why as kids we were always told, see a spider, get a parent. Parent would whack it with a thong, problem solved. As kids got older they would also be trained in the art of the thong whack

I can only think that you aren't in the UK.

A UK thong is not something you could you could whack a spider with.

(Are you an Aussie?)

Child is not in room when using insecticide obviously

Whacking a spider with a thong, the British version, sounds like a headline about Love Island.

Do you have a cat? All my cats before this one loved a tasty spider snack. Current cat ... Observed the humongous one crawling past her, towards me on the sofa with disinterest & went back to sleep. Cue hysterics off me & frantic grab for kitchen roll (the aftermath of squashing with a book makes me heave).

Kitten

Ah I see all points but seriously I believe have a phobia - I know it is irrational. I know that. But I cannot get over it - even the thought of going to a zoo thing to get over the phobia brings me out in a cold sweat. I live in the UK and I know they won't be dreadful - but here's an example - I went shopping with a friend and one of those furry scarves with bits hanging off had fallen on to the floor of the shop. I just fled. looked like a massive specimen. Someone at work when I said I did not like them sent me an attachment to say " could you review this Basilisk " well it was a photograph - my wheely chair went backwards into a visiting person & I ran to throw up in the ladies loo.

I know it sounds like amn embarrassing girly thing but please please take it from me - there is such a thing as a phobia. I know fine well it is irrational. Rats , mice , absolutely fine Not keen on wasps but not phobic - bizarrely although they have many legs I quite like an octopus. Daddy Long Legs - fine with those - most insects I can deal with perfectly sensibly. But No no - I believe I am genuinely phobic - my brain goes dead and I have to scream and flee ( well I don't have to but what happens )
. Some years ago there was a toy which was an automated t-r-nt-la and a friend of mines son though it would be funny to set it off near me. Well he never did it again. But I paid for the broken crockery.

DS does not like spiders but he is not phobic so I think you can break the cain so to speak.

Snakes on the other hand I find rather elegant and graceful - I like them.

Oh as per above when I said I did not like "them" - it was not colleague it was spiders - It was not a nasty thing in their mind - they just did not realise the scale of my fear - they thought it was a joke

It's futile to think that spraying insecticide will solve the problem. The problem is not the spider, it's the phobia.
There will be always another spider, and another. And not always in a place where you can spray poison.
It's also a fact that every time you give way to a phobia, you reinforce it.
Far better to get that phobia treated.

Don’t panic OP he or she is trimming up her room for Halloween 🕸🕸🕸