Things with 8 legs - AIBU to...(no photos)

Maflingo · 2021-10-05T08:50:15+00:00

... 1) feel a bit sick 2) go out and buy milk/food for dinner so I don’t have to go near the fridge/freezer 3) burn down the house (light-hearted) Why are they so big?????

Eyesofdisarray · 05/10/2021 09:55

I had to put one out this morning- so brave but nobody else available
Oh the legs- massive 🥺
I know it'll probably come back in ....

GladAllOver · 05/10/2021 09:58

Here we go. The annual event. Mumsnet burning down the house because of a spider. It's not clever or funny.
Phobias are nasty things that can ruin lives, but they can be successfully treated. If you have one, there are several ways to get over them. They are not funny.

Doomscrolling · 05/10/2021 09:58

They’re on our side in the battle against flies, so I like them.

(Read Charlotte’s Web over and over as a child and was suitably indoctrinated, I suspect)

ItsahardGobbutsomeonehastodoit · 05/10/2021 10:00

Don't click the thread then @GladAllOver. No one is making you look.
Personally I vacuum them up. Sorry but we are not friends and you shouldn't be here.

ChazsBrilliantAttitude · 05/10/2021 10:00

Face your fears and put down the flamethrower. Can you gently encourage it to move with a broom? At some point your need for a cuppa will outweigh your fear - seize that moment.

Guacamole001 · 05/10/2021 10:07

I find it is the dragonflies that have gone beserk of late. I found SIX dead ones outside my front door.

The spider that is sitting on our outside lounge window remains there no matter what. It is a bit eerie.

Original poster

Maflingo · 05/10/2021 10:26

Outside is fine, they can hang out on the window ledges - no bother! I don’t mind the wispy ones in the corners, I’m find with the small ones round the edges of the room. But this guy was something else.
I left him to it when he was doing laps of the lounge the other night, but this morning he was just there, and I couldn’t bring myself to get past/close enough to “shoo” him gently with a broom, or whatever.
I have no idea why I’m scared of them, they are not the slightest bit interested in me, but eurgh they make me feel ill and tearful. I can’t help it either!

OP posts:

RuggerHug · 05/10/2021 10:38

Buy a spider catcher so they can be safely moved out the window.

Bottleup · 05/10/2021 10:46

You can get help on the NHS. I overcame a crippling phobia of house spiders that had plauged me since childhood and a course of CBT has cured me. I now actually quite like that and I was beyond petrified of them before. Best of luck

ChickPeaSalad · 05/10/2021 10:50

@Bottleup

You can get help on the NHS. I overcame a crippling phobia of house spiders that had plauged me since childhood and a course of CBT has cured me. I now actually quite like that and I was beyond petrified of them before. Best of luck

Yep. This is available on the NHS if the phobia is impacting your quality of life. Happy to let people know how to access it if anyone wants to know.

I have a really severe spider phobia, it really affects my life but I'm just too scared to go through with the therapy even though I know I really should. I keep thinking maybe I will someday.

In the meantime we have a spider catcher, have you got one of those? It's like a litter picker, with bristles on the end. You hover over the spider, release the handle and it scoops them up, it kind of shuts their legs a bit so they are securely in the bristles while you take them outside and release. I would never, ever kill one regardless of how scared I am (it's not their fault I'm terrified, they have every right to go about their lives) and a spider catcher is the best way I've found to be able to remove them to somewhere else without harming them.

RichardMarxisinnocent · 05/10/2021 10:52

@GladAllOver

Here we go. The annual event. Mumsnet burning down the house because of a spider. It's not clever or funny. Phobias are nasty things that can ruin lives, but they can be successfully treated. If you have one, there are several ways to get over them. They are not funny.

As someone with a phobia of fire (which I've had CBT for which has helped/does help a lot) I really hate all the flippant "shall I burn the house down?" comments. A house burning down isn't funny, it's terrifying. And yes I know they aren't being serious, and it's just a joke, but just feels to me wrong to say it so flippantly.

HarrietsChariot · 05/10/2021 10:54

Kill on sight is the policy here. If you catch them and release them, they just find their way back inside. It's much better just to kill them.

It's not their fault I'm terrified, they have every right to go about their lives

No person or creature has the "right" to come into my home! I won't go out of my way to kill the bastards outside, but my home should be my safe place and I have a right to decide who or what is allowed inside it.

Bjarnum · 05/10/2021 10:56

I can't stand to get close enough to use the catcher. It's bad just looking at them - but if they actually move it flips me into raging hysteria

ChickPeaSalad · 05/10/2021 10:58

@HarrietsChariot

Kill on sight is the policy here. If you catch them and release them, they just find their way back inside. It's much better just to kill them.

It's not their fault I'm terrified, they have every right to go about their lives

No person or creature has the "right" to come into my home! I won't go out of my way to kill the bastards outside, but my home should be my safe place and I have a right to decide who or what is allowed inside it.

Personally I don't feel that spiders have the ability to understand personal property or realise that they've encroached upon a place that is my house. So I won't harm them.

Original poster

Maflingo · 05/10/2021 11:06

I don’t want to kill them, I just don’t want them near me! Usually DH catches them and puts them outside, but he is at work and ignoring my request to come home and deal with it.
Thank you for advice on catching devices - I will look them up.
Currently he is right in the corner of the tiles so not sure whether they would work, definitely couldn’t get a glass over (both due to angle of corner tiles and size of legs).

OP posts:

Original poster

Maflingo · 05/10/2021 11:07

I wasn’t actually expecting DH to come home from work to catch him, by the way.

OP posts:

Fairyliz · 05/10/2021 11:22

Get a cat mine catches them and eats them.

Ok not very nice for the spider but at least its a quick death and the cat is taking advantage of the protein.

Surely better than freezing to death over the winter if you put them outside?

Original poster

Maflingo · 05/10/2021 12:19

My mum has offered to lend me her cats for the day!

OP posts:

OneTC · 05/10/2021 12:26

Spiders are great

Especially in the UK where you can enjoy them pretty much risk free