To burn the villa down

[Kinkyroots]

We’re staying in a villa in a hillside villa in Cyprus - DH (thank fucking god it was him and not me) went in to top our drinks up and a fucking tarantula was sat in the kitchen. He managed to catch it in the pool net but I am totally freaking out.

I know, but it's what my DH says to me every time I demand he show one of the eight-legged interlopers the door. Had an enormous one in the living room last night (OK, it was about a third of the size of a tarantula) but he couldn't reach it because it was up at ceiling level in the corner above the TV. I could have reached it with my vacuum cleaner hose, but I didn't have the heart - he's taught me not to be mean to them ("they do good things, blah, blah, blah" 🙄 ). This morning it had disappeared and I don't know where it is now ... 😱

@Slatterndisgrace don’t google giant water bugs. And yes, they fly.

Nope. No fucking way. Nope.

And because they're hairy - almost furry - I imagine they'd be quite cuddly too ... 😂

They don’t thank you for being nice to them. It’ll be lurking somewhere.

Yeah, but they also have cute koalas, capybaras and wombats so they make up for the scary creatures. 🤗

@Mobylome

Tarantulas in Spain, Portugal, Southern Italy and Turkey ????

I know we are supposed to be worrying about serious stuff like climate change and WW3 but this is feeling like the end of the world !!

Nope, as a severe arachnophobic I would not be able to stay there. I’d have to check into a hotel (surely less chance of having one in your room then?). I love Cyprus, Portugal, Italy (we have a family home in Lake Como), Greece but thank heavens I’ve never seen one. We stayed in a garden room at a 5* in Jamaica for our honeymoon and the guy who took our bags for us said they have professionals come out and spray special stuff on the outside to stop spiders, mozzies etc coming in and I honestly wish he’d never mentioned it 😂

Yes.

I won’t. Please don’t post a picture here. 🙏

Oh I'm with you, although, when on holiday in various places with scary things my children did ask me whether I was actually scared of anything.
It's a spider, size wise and poison wise is actually no reassurance to you - one of you needs to grow some, easiest way is to get the portable speaker out and stick some music in the room it was in.

Yes these things to you are proper, they are affecting you and causing panic and worry - we've all seen the annoying friends with the 'keep calm and have a g&t', pop the anti mozzie candles on, bit of music, some more gin, make a small bonfire in a little place (for when you skinny dip and get cold in the pool) and tomorrow is another day.

On a less helpful suggestion - they are more scared of you......

Cyprus off my list too. Well, it wasn't really on the list in the first place, as it's probably way too hot for me but ... it's definitely off the list now. Add in moths and bats and that's my triumvirate of phobias right there. Burn the entire island just to be sure, I reckon. 🔥

Oh for goodness sake.
I was terrified of spiders when young, but after I got my own house I managed to deal with them, even REALLY huge ones, because I live rurally, so you expect them.
Your are being really unreasonable in staying in a villa, though. Frightfully vulgar, unless you own it :-)

Meh. European tarantulas aren’t dangerous.

They have cockroaches that fly too.

Yes that’s the one. I bought it out of pure desperation after moving house and having 23 huge spiders in the livingroom one night. I sprayed it a few days later along skirtings doors and window frames and got up to spiders cemetery the next morning. Some people don’t agree with using it but I couldn’t live with the amount of spiders in my house. I use it every August now and never see a living spider in the house.

You need to move house immediately! Don’t dilly dally 🚚💨

Aww. 🖤 I'm reminded of the cute little jumping spiders that apparently make really good pets because they're really friendly and inquisitive. Some animals (like rats, spiders and crows) are unfairly maligned.

Years ago was staying in Kato Paphos - so Paphos Cyprus, but up the hill in the old town rather than right by the beach. There were 3 of us in a 3 bed apartment (all female). We'd been there a couple of days when we discovered the biggest fucking Horror Film Style Tarantula in one of the bedrooms. We literally slammed the door shut, stuffed towels under the crack and never went back in. The friend who's room it was took turns sleeping in our rooms for the whole two weeks and using our clothes and bath/beauty products rather than open the door again.

At the end of the holiday we persuaded some lads from the same complex to go in and get her stuff out of the cupboard to pack. They opened the door and there were FUCKING SPIDER COCOONS hanging from the ceiling. I honestly thought I was going to faint.

Boys went in and grabbed everything, shook it out to make sure there was nothing nestling amongst friend's stuff and quickly shut door again. She left her toothbrush, face wash, shampoo, conditioner, moisturiser and suncreams behind, because not even the blokes were going to walk under the cocoons to the bathroom.

We have them, they are also called squibbly dibblies- worse than spiders in my book!

Erm. You’re abroad - just deal with it, move on and enjoy your holiday!

Capybaras are native to South America and related to guinea pigs. They're also very friendly. 😊

I'm hate to be that person, but these jokes about burning wildlife just because you don't like the look of it are pretty tiresome and tasteless.

Don't be such a wuss.

Urgh, it’s like a horror film!

Thanks. Think I’ll take some on my next holiday too .

(not sure I could have stayed in a house with 23 huge spiders 😱)