Massive spider in lounge, shut the door and sealed with masking tape last night,now what?

[lightclock]

What do I do now? Never enter the lounge again?

Oh OP Mumsnet , is the worst possible place to come for sympathy for your arachnophobia I'm afraid. You will get some award winning insights informing you that you are simple-minded, spiders can't hurt you, they help with flies, to get a glass grip etc.

Best of luck to you 🥺.

All the people wanging on about phobias… OP has NOT claimed to have arachnophobia, and says she’s usually happy putting spiders outside, pretty much confirming that she absolutely does not have a phobia of spiders.

”Phobia” on MN, at least, seems to mean “I don’t like it” rather than “I have an irrational fear”

Similarly, I’d never heard of emetophobia before I came here, but it seems 95% of MNers have it 🤔

I take it you dont have a fear of heights up there in your ivory tower?!

I went in September and was told that was the reason. Perhaps it's changed now but that was definitely the reason I was given as to why they didn't do it earlier.

All the men in my life are wimps when it comes to spiders....I do all the catching here.

If it’s really massive, you should invoice it for rent.

failing that, move out. Let the spider keep the house and be done with it.

This comment is far scarier than the spider.

Came here to say this.

Goodness sake. just pick it up and chuck it ouside. Killing unnecessary.

Are you not an adult?

I would have to overcome my fear and catch the spider. I would be too paranoid to sleep knowing he was lurking.

Me as well. ExDp was a complete wimp about spiders. I was the one who caught them and chucked them out.

Take a glass and a piece of card and trap the spider, then put it outside. These are the things we have to learn to do as householders! Or go and find a nice neighbour to help.

Nothing beats this!

Don't be absurd. If OP didn't have a phobia she wouldn't have taped the bloody room up and run away. Arachnophobia is extremely common and can apply to certain types of spiders and not others. You sound really ignorant.

I just love your dedication 🤭 you demonstrate necessity being the mother of all invention .

NRTFT, but do you know anyone with a cat? Send the cat in!

We had a massive spider on the wall of the lounge. I don’t mind spiders, but DC were screaming hysterically (the oldest has a genuine phobia of spiders and he taught it to the other two). A neighbour’s young cat walked up to the spider, put its paw up to pin the spider to the wall and ate it!

Grow up?

Spectacularly ignorant comment from someone who has no idea about phobias

Yes they do. I’ve seen one do it.

The British Arachnological Society say “It is, in fact, impossible to rid an area of spiders for any length of time because new spiders soon recolonise a house if the original inhabitants are killed off. They will constantly 'top-up' the house by entering through windows, doors, drain pipes, over-flow pipes, air-bricks, chimneys and in items brought into the house. During the autumn, many even fly on strands of silk, a process known as ballooning, and can drift indoors through windows or open doors”.

So by virtue of the fact that some come inside the house, they have to have come from outside the house.

I’ve got better as I’ve got older but not long after we got married OH went to out to watch football one night and within minutes of him leaving one appeared on the stairs. I managed to put a glass over it and there it stayed until he got back hours later. Every so often I’d go and have a look to make sure it was still living.
Nowadays I’m much better with them, but once I know there’s one around it has to go. OH is happy to let them be and I’d put good money on the fact that if he sees one he doesn’t tell me.

Call Zendaya and tell her to get him out of your house.

This sounds insane but the things that helped my fear of spiders was talking to them. So if I’d see a massive spider I’d say ‘oh hello Dave? On your way home? Hope you’ve had a good day at work!’ Then I’d imagine this spider was just off home to his wife and kids. Now I can cope with being in the same room with a spider, even if one was say, in the bath whilst I used the bathroom I’d be fine. Wouldn’t be able to touch one though!

Is there really nothing on earth that frightens you? Lucky old you.

Sid the spider lives in our shed! As long as he stays in the hole in the brickwork and doesn't go near my bike I won't freak out. The day he does my shed will be nuked!