People should stop killing spiders for no good reason.

[TimberValley]

This is an odd topic, but I find it upsetting when people kill creatures like spiders for no reason other than that they are scared by them. Spiders eat insects and do humans a favor. Sure, some spiders can be dangerous to humans (i.e., black widows and brown recluses,) but not the majority - nor is that the main reason why spiders are being killed.


Too often people see spiders and say "Kill it! Kill it!" without seriously questioning why.


Maybe this is more to the point: I don't like it when people kill animals - of any kind - for no good reason other than that they don't like the sight of them. It is unjustified, it is ignorant behavior, and it serves no good purpose.

[Buzz Clik]

1. Spiders live all around my home. They come inside to die.

[woodsprite]

3. Same here! n/t

[Arkansas Granny]

38. Yes. If they intrude on my living space, they are dead spiders.

I have a fear of spiders, but if they are outside I leave them alone and let them do their thing. There is a spider that lives on my front porch that fascinates me. She makes a web every evening and sits in the middle of it all night long and then she cuts the supporting silk threads and balls it all up just after daylight. She's very accomodating and places the web between my hanging flower baskets where I won't run into it with my face.

I think my fear stems from seeing the scar that was left on the arm of my 2nd grade teacher due to a black widow bite. It looked like half of her bicep was missing where the flesh had "rotted" (her term). It made quite an impression on me. It still makes me shiver to think about it.

[awoke_in_2003]

175. Sounds more like a brown recluse bite. nt

[Arkansas Granny]

179. She always said it's was a black widow. This was

60 years ago and I don't think we had even heard of brown recluse spiders at that time.

[southernyankeebelle]

93. Thank you Buzz, I couldn't of said it any better. I'm scared to death of them and I can't take the

time to tell the difference. The only bug that is or looks like a spider is a daddy long legs and I will pick it up and take it outside.

[TimberValley]

112. That is precisely the kind of attitude that feeds a lot of ignorance in society.

"I'm scared to death of them and I can't take the time to tell the difference."

[southernyankeebelle]

114. Am sorry am not going to feel guilty about that. That is a genuine fear of spiders and snakes.

[TimberValley]

121. If someone had a "genuine fear" of dogs and cats.......

.......then would that justify the killing of stray (ownerless) dogs and cats?

[southernyankeebelle]

126. No because I don't own a gun but living in the country humans who don't want their dogs or cats

any longer seem to think because we live in the country we all do. I already have pets so I usually call the dog pound to come get them. I am a senior citizen now and I just can't take care of the big dogs and I have had cats also that I have loved. If a stray cat came I would keep it because they go after mice. I am sorry there are some things that scare the hell out of me.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

141. I am horrified of daddy long legs. Kudos to you for picking one up. I would be screaming and losing

my mind.

[southernyankeebelle]

143. Now if that was a regular spider I would probably out scream you, LOL. Funny how people

react to bugs, isn't it? I know daddy long legs don't bite.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

144. Psychologically I know that DLL are harmless, but I had a very traumatic experience with them

crawling on me as a little girl. My father and brother had to get the garden hose to get them off of me. That event did some damage to my psyche regarding those creatures.

[southernyankeebelle]

145. I remember as a child getting stung by a bee and to this day I am afraid of bees. But I usually run

from them and don't kill them because I know they make honey. None the less am scared of them.

[sir pball]

196. Daddy longlegs aren't spiders...they're most closely related to

Scorpions.

Sleep tight!

[hfojvt]

113. "That spider had just as much right to live as you or I"

"I've already killed one!!" Flo, from "Alice" (TV show)

what about Large Ants?

http://www.scribd.com/doc/53165209/Symbolism-in

[SkyDaddy7]

217. YES!!!

I am all for animal rights & being kind to animals but lets not get ridiculous about it...Unless the spider is on the endangered species list & comes in my house its dead!

I have had my share of spider bites & it does not have to be a Black Widow or Brown Recluse to hurt far more than an ant bite or bee sting!

However, I was bit by a Black Widow when I was in the military & it is PURE HELL!! You feel like you are having a heart attack while someone is ripping your spinal cord out as you puke then dry heave for days!! I am in no way accurately describing the level pain & agony I experienced...There are not words to do so!!

I have also seen first hand what a Brown Recluse bite does to people...It is beyond nasty!!

Yeah, if the OP wants to cuddle spiders then have at it but unless a certain species of spider is on the endangered species list I will not think twice about sentencing a spider to capital punishment for entering my house!!

[SkyDaddy7]

218. Oh yeah...

Spiders are not animals they are insects.

[oldhippie]

235. Insects are animals .....

Animals are divided into various sub-groups, including birds, mammals, reptiles, fish and insects.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal

Arachnids are a class (Arachnida) of joint-legged invertebrate animals in the subphylum Chelicerata.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arachnid

[SkyDaddy7]

236. OK, My bad...

But I still consider myself at war with "animal" spiders.

[Dreamer Tatum]

2. Sorry, but my walkway and entryways are spider-free zones

and I will use a lighter and a can of hairspray accordingly. They are free to inhabit any of the other lovely areas around the outside of my home.

[ariesgem]

168. Yep...

I would have to start a fire to pull the fire alarm.

[Brickbat]

4. Misunderstood Spider is one of my favorite memes.

http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/misunderstood-spider

http://www.quickmeme.com/Misunderstood-Spider/

[octothorpe]

19. heheh

[xtraxritical]

205. My Dad never killed spiders he said they were "lucky" and they killed silver fish!

[pintobean]

5. I kill black widows and brown recluses

All others are left alone. If they can survive, they have to be eating something.

[Butterbean]

201. Same here. I view spiders as beneficial insects.

[Helen Reddy]

6. Thank you for this thread!

Spiders are an important part of the cycle of life, they eat bugs who can be a nusuance issue in our homes.

Many folks are fearful of spiders and that fear causes many to react violently. The movie "Arachnaphobia" isn't helping, as well as some sci-fi movies from the 50's that did not paint spiders in a positive light.

[Wait Wut]

7. I agree.

I love the little buggers. Although, I've gotten some fairly serious bites from 'unknown' spiders. I relocate them to a safe outdoor spot where my kitties can't torture them.

[haikugal]

8. I kill nothing but Chinese Stink bugs...

Spiders are caught an released along with bees, wasps etc...I would add snakes to the list of things people need to just leave alone and stop killing.

[Taverner]

100. Wasps die

Honeybees, Bumblebees, spiders, snakes, live

Wasps die and if I could make them extinct, I would

[haikugal]

104. They belong to the eco system...

but I understand...it's hard for me when the crows destroy my song sparrow nests...eating their eggs and young...or carry off a young gosling...damned hard.

[Taverner]

106. Wasps and Scorpions need to be deleted from the ecosystem

DAMNED be the CONSEQUENCES!!!!

[haikugal]

124. Well....

that's over the top don't you think?! LOL

[Taverner]

131. Probably...also a good reason not to elect me "god"

[haikugal]

134. No fear there lol

[xtraxritical]

206. Wuss...

[Nitram]

210. Pure ignorance and mindless fear

Wasps play an indispensable role in control of insects that harm our food supply. I can't believe the wimpy cowardice I'm reading here today.

[Taverner]

219. You...you...vespae lover!!!!

You go love some vespae! P

[Lisa0825]

221. OMG I could not agree more!!! LOL! They keep building nests around my roof

overhang, and chase me when I go indoors or come out. If they'd leave me alone, I would leave them alone!

edited to add more detail

[Taverner]

225. Tracker jackers! Goddamn tracker jackers!!!!

[LittleBlue]

9. I catch spiders in my house and release them

outside. They're good little pest removers.

[X_Digger]

41. Leave the little ones inside.. they catch those annoying gnats and flies inside..

We have wee tiny ones that park in the crevices of walls or at the top of the ceiling.

I know they're doing their job by the little mummified packages they drop.

[slackmaster]

185. Yes, and mosquitoes.

I regard a few spiders in my house as healthy.

I draw the line at cobweb bunnies stringing down from the walls and ceiling. I vacuum those out, carefully avoiding spiders.

[Earth_First]

10. For years I have been catching spiders for my wife...

Little does she know that I release 'em in the crawl space in the basement utility room.

They do no harm.

[G_j]

11. I simply catch them and put them outside

no problem, no need to kill them.

[FSogol]

20. Same here. I find all life to be fascinating and would never squash a spider. n/t

Last edited Fri Apr 5, 2013, 02:13 PM - Edit history (1)

[hibbing]

96. me too

Hi,
Glad to see I'm not the only one that does this. I always capture spiders and take them outside. What did the poor little thing ever do to me?

Peace

[GoCubsGo]

12. Ditto for snakes.

I don't even kill the black widows. I found one in the house once. It was sent outside.

[ProfessionalLeftist]

13. Used to have a pet tarantula

Not an advocate of killing everything that's scary.

[Matariki]

14. Everyone knows it's GOOD LUCK to have a spider in your house

means money is coming. And killing that spider kills the luck

I like spiders. Spiders are awesome. I like your post.

[Buzz Clik]

30. ...not for the spider.

[Arugula Latte]

15. Normally I would totally agree with you. I am a big animal person.

But ... I don't know... Fucking Spiders. They creep me the hell out. I know I should be more tolerant, but ... Fucking Spiders. People always say "Oh, but they eat insects!" and I want to say that "Well, the spiders are the bugs that I want eaten and out of my house!" I'd rather have ants, mosquitoes and flies in my house than spiders.

[Enrique]

21. keep an open mind

it is in you to get over your spider issues.

[Arugula Latte]

24. My sister had a spider just drop on her out of the blue when she was little.

She passed along her issues to me at a very early age.

But ... maybe I' should get therapy.

[haikugal]

47. I learned to be horribly afraid

of spiders as a kid, I dealt with that fear when a little spider took up residence in a plant on the window sill many years ago. I decided to leave it alone and study it. I overcame my fear and came to enjoy them. I love Orb weavers and Wolf spiders the most..but they all have expressive faces if you look...and they won't bite or bother you....even the big ones. I will say that while living in Oregon I was bitten on my back by a Brown Recluse that was in a blouse in my closet. I don't recommend it...I have a nice dent in my back from it...lol...if you live in recluse country shake your cloths before putting them on...just as you always check yours shoes when living in the desert.

[Arugula Latte]

77. Aaargh, Brown Recluses ...

I've had two family members get bitten. One still has a large dent in her forehead from it ...

[Silent3]

44. Me too, spiders are the bugs that I least want crawling around my house

And it's not like there are a whole bunch of bugs inside my house that I need a spider to eat for me, anyway.

I leave them alone if they're outside, of course, and not hanging on my porch or doorway where I have to walk by, but inside or on the way into my house, one way or another, the spiders have to go.

If I can easily shoo a spider outside, I'll do that, but I can't stand to even touch them, so I'm hardly going to pick them up and carry them out. They'll mostly likely get stepped on, swatted (if doing so won't make a big mess), or sucked up in a vacuum cleaner if they encroach upon my territory.

[Arugula Latte]

49. I live in the Pacific Northwest and every August or so

the garden spiders decide to build giant, hard-to-spot webs everywhere so you really can't walk through your yard without getting a faceful of web (and sometimes spider).

That has not helped my arachnophobia ...

I don't kill them either if they're outside but I do tend to walk around swinging a long stick in front of me so I can knock the invisible webs out before they get me.

[Viva_La_Revolution]

159. me too!

the stick thing!
and I live in Oregon too. Wonder what a visitor would think if he could peer into our backyards.. we're all waving sticks in front of us and freaking out

[Arugula Latte]

171. We're all hallucinating and muttering to ourselves and making rapid swiping motions to our face ...

[Smilo]

16. Totally agree.

I hate seeing people kill spiders for no reason. If I see a person is bothered I try to intervene and pick up the spider and take it outside.

[polly7]

17. I don't kill them ...... I run away!

I saw one in my house a few years ago and had to phone my Dad to come in and throw it outside.

[octothorpe]

22. Hopefully your dad wasn't across the country...

[polly7]

28. No, only a couple of miles away. But he'd been watching his baseball game, so

just walked in, shook his head, caught him, said good-bye and walked out lol.

[narnian60]

18. I'm with you on this one, TimberValley.

In my classroom, no one was allowed to kill anything (except mosquitoes). I always captured whatever it was & released it outside. Yeah, a few thought I was weird at first, but soon they came to realize I simply respected living things & backed it up with action.

[Enrique]

23. seems like bad karma to kill spiders

they are so soft, it doesn't seem right to smash them the way people do.

[immoderate]

25. Spiders are our friends!

--imm

[octothorpe]

26. I usually let them be if they are just hanging out.

I figure it's a karma like thing. Maybe I'll be spared when some advanced alien species decides to build a hyperspace bypass that runs through Earth.

[RiffRandell]

27. I always help them outside if I find one in the house.

Except the brown recluse.

[d_r]

29. I agree

I sometimes kill them if they freak out somebody in my family, but usually I pick it and move it outside. If no one has noticed I tend to just let it be.

[IdaBriggs]

31. Easy Technique for Spider Removal

Required:

One Solo Cup (Large 20 oz Variety)
One Children's Book (thin or soft cover)

1) Approach Spider. Introduce yourself. Be polite.

2) Place Solo Cup Over Spider.

a) If Spider is on ceiling, jiggle a little. Spider will fall into cup.
b) If Spider is on wall or floor, slide book *gently* between wall/floor and cup

3) Flip cup into upright position; keep covered with book.

4) Shake as needed to keep spider at bottom of cup.

5) Escort Spider "outside" and "flip" spider from cup to Freedom.

[wryter2000]

51. That's my technique

Only, I use a piece of paper instead of a book. I can't always find a book that thin.

[Bay Boy]

87. It's a good reason to buy the book...

...Intelligent Policy Plans of Republicans.

[wryter2000]

120. ROFL

[blaze]

125. LOL

I need that book!!

But a piece of paper has always worked in the past.

Thanks for the laugh!

[Jamastiene]

158. zOMG

[fizzgig]

64. yup

i just use a glass and a piece of mail

[dlauthor]

70. Missed a few steps

6) Notice cup is somehow empty despite all precautions.

7) Feel something tickling your arm under your sleeve.

8) Scream, flail, run, fall down, break toe.

[Taverner]

101. A small design flaw in your plan: What about jumping spiders?

Those things are quicker than a human with a solo cup

[Tree-Hugger]

160. I do this with bees and wasps, too.

I use a Ball/Mason jar and it's flat lid. Works perfectly.

[longship]

32. I love the little jumping spiders.

They're cute. And they are voracious hunters. The only spiders that go away are the ones in my bathtub. Otherwise, I leave them alone. (They leave me alone, too.)

[X_Digger]

48. And some of them are AMAZING to look at up close..

I mean, who couldn't smile if they saw this?

[stonecutter357]

71. I had this as a neighbor last year

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ianthes/1564458574/

[X_Digger]

74. I'd *love* to get one of those under my scope for photos. *sigh* n/t

[eppur_se_muova]

81. My dad took a bunch of macro photos of jumping spiders years ago.

They are covered in iridiscent greenish fur (at least our local variety is) and I was always fascinated to spot one. They are tiny but if you get real close or put them under a magnifier they are quite a sight.

22 pages of jumping spiders, and not one matches -- https://www.google.com/search?q=jumping+spider&hl=en&rls=com.microsoft:en-us:IE-SearchBox&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=pxlfUeCFDoiY8gTvmoHAAQ&ved=0CAoQ_AUoAQ&biw=978&bih=589

[Richard D]

95. Agreed

They seem rather intelligent too.

[zappaman]

33. There was a spider

:large

[X_Digger]

34. We love our little spiders.

We have house spiders and outside spiders. Big wolf spiders get moved outside, but we'll leave the little house spiders in our windows and ceiling crevices. We may knock their webs back a bit when they get unsightly or collect too many carcasses, but that's it.

Occasionally we'll even find a little jumping spider. If they'll sit still long enough, I might even get a picture.

[polly7]

36. OMG! Look at those googlie eyes and hairy legs! Outta here ..... nt.

[X_Digger]

39. D'aww, he just wants a belly rub..

See?

[undeterred]

35. Unless they can harm you there is no good reason to kill them.

[Shrike47]

37. I don't go out of my way to kill spiders (or much else) but slugs, on the other hand...

Slugs is evil and hungry, and so are snails.

[mokawanis]

40. Catch and release is the way to go

Spiders usually aren't hard to catch, so why kill them?

My wife was bitten on a toe by a brown recluse many years ago, and since that day she will kill any spider she sees in the house, unless I'm there to capture it and take it outside. While I understand her position I'm still trying to get her to change her mind and adopt a live and let live policy toward spiders and other crawlies that get in the house.

[joeybee12]

42. I get two pieces of paper, shove the little guy with one onto the second...

And put him outside...everything in nature is here for a reason.

[Demoiselle]

123. Me too.

It would be nice to hear a tiny little voice say "Thank You!" but virtue is its own reward...

[joeybee12]

139. Agreed...nt

[closeupready]

43. Spiders also serve as 'canaries in the coal mine'

They are the first insect to die when there is something wrong with the environment.

As a child I hated them, but now, I kind of like them. I don't kill any animal, by the way, if I don't have to - I capture and release in the wild.

[wryter2000]

45. I finally stopped

I love snakes, and so I'm sensitive to people who kill snakes for no good reason. (Rattlesnake round-ups? The rodent population explodes, and they carry diseases that are killers for humans.) The last straw for me came when I bought my first pet snake. The guy who'd bred her also had some pet tarantulas. After that, killing a spider was, for me, like killing one of his pets.

Oddly enough, I've come to really like the wood spiders that make webs around my garden. They're truly beautiful creatures, and I love having them. In the house, I have a "you go your way, and I'll go mine" policy with spiders. If they get stuck somewhere, I do my best to get them outside safely.

[AsahinaKimi]

46. Yup

[fadedrose]

50. Read "Grandmother Spider"

a fiction book by James Doss. It'll tell you what can happen when you kill spiders...it's kind of funny...a mystery...

[kudzu22]

52. Is it ok to kill other insects?

Maybe I'm protecting the other insects by killing the spider.

[darkangel218]

53. I like spiders, but i still kill them when if i find them inside my house.

I got bit several times by spiders, and it hurts like hell. No mercy for the lil buggers.

[tblue37]

182. Even nonvenomous spider bites can cause real probkems. and they aren't

being "mean" when they bite--just defensive.

A good friend was bitten by a small spider in th sleeve of his shirt. The bite developed a strep infection. He got very sick, but had no idea what was causing the high fever and rash. Remembering the recent spider bite, I pressured him into seeing a doctor. He'd been reluctant to because he had no health insurance, but his symptoms seemed like strep to me, especially the high fever an sandpaper rash all over his torso.

Yep. The bite had gotten infected. A bite from a spider is a puncture wound, and it can become infected by strep or staph germs on the skin. He'd developed a strep infection.

[antigop]

54. I almost died from a brown recluse spider bite. If a spider gets in my house, it's gone. Sorry.

[JEB]

55. Kill a spider and you'll make it rain,

or so my Grandmother always said.

[cherokeeprogressive]

68. There would never be a drought near me.

If that were true.

[Gidney N Cloyd]

56. If they want to come inside, let 'em build their own house.

[Trailrider1951]

57. With me, it depends on the spider

In the past week, I have caught, identified and killed 2 brown recluse spiders in my house. I was bitten by them two separate times last year with very painful and infectious results. They carry MRSA bacterial, and can cause tissue DEATH. Google "brown recluse spider bite". These spiders crawl around at night looking for prey.

Now, the other spiders that spin a web and stay up in the corner are welcome to stay and eat all the flies and mosquitoes they can catch.

[dangin]

58. Statistically speaking

There is a spider within 8 feet of you at almost all times including in your car. Sleep tight.

[eShirl]

59. so long as they stay outdoors, fine

[JDPriestly]

60. My grandfather, a farmer, taught me to love spiders.

They kill insects that you don't want.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

61. This was at my old place in Anaheim....

An orb spider. The diameter of the web was about six feet spanning a distance of ten feet. The spider itself is well over an inch and a half long. I've walked into those things in the dark.



The comedy is the next day after the spider moves on and an early bird flies into it. The reaction from the bird is one of, "Yuck!" as it picks itself clean.

[MindPilot]

103. Orb-weavers are the most amazing creatures!

I saw the first one of the season last Sunday. Little guy was the size of a pinhead, but still built a web the diameter of a CD.

Watching them build those webs is absolutely fascinating. A larger one can build a web spanning ten feet or more in an hour, and they will make a new one every evening. Oftentimes in the morning they will actually eat the old web. Sometimes--later in the season when they are bigger and have staked out a good spot (in front of the porch light is primo!) they will repair the web and just hang out under a nearby leaf.

They are completely harmless. I've never known anyone bitten by one, but I'm told it is about like a bee sting. They are not at all aggressive; I think you would have to work to make one mad enough to bite.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

133. First time I saw orb spiders was along the Kalamazoo River...

They were HUGE and had tiger stripes.

[caseymoz]

62. Most people are arachnophobic

At least a little bit. Like a fear of snakes, that kind thing has a genetic component to it.

It can be trained out. But just advising people to be tolerant probably doesn't go very far.

I try to ignore them, unless they get too distracting.

[warrior1]

63. I have a catch and release program in my house

[MindPilot]

65. "if you want to live and thrive--let a spider run alive."

One of my mother's favorite expressions. So no, I don't kill spiders. Insects on the other hand I have a completely different opinion of.

By October there will be orb-weaver spiders in my yard so big the dogs bark at 'em. And over the past few years the brown widows, which didn't even exist in my neck of the woods a decade ago are freakin' everywhere!

[juajen]

79. Are "brown widows" brown recluses? Never heard of brown widows.

[MindPilot]

92. We don't have brown recluses here -- brown widows are kind of a new species

At least to this area. Much more prolific than black widows, in just a few years brown widows outnumber black widows 20-1. There is some dispute about the potency of their venom compared to black widows, but browns are definitely less aggressive, and their bite is not quite as severe. But they love the underside of your plastic lawn furniture; turn over a chair and you'll find an easy half-dozen.

http://articles.latimes.com/2012/jul/02/science/la-sci-sn-brown-widow-spider-california-20120702

[Le Taz Hot]

136. I've seen them in my back yard.

Seems that they're taking over California and the taking the habitat of the black black widows. Apparently, the brown ones are more aggressive.

[MindPilot]

148. And their webs are incredibly tenacious.

A garden hose won't even come close to removing the webs; it takes a pressure washer and a whisk broom. Then there is the problem of getting them off the whisk broom.

I wonder what may have caused their sudden proliferation?

[Le Taz Hot]

150. Not sure why they've taken over so completely but the first time I saw one

I immediately did a Google search for "brown black widow" and sure enough there it was. I kill most of the ones I see but I keep a couple around just in case the grasshoppers decide to invade my veggie garden again at which point they (the grasshoppers) are caught and sacrificed to the spidey gods, well, in this case, goddesses.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

66. It's plain old ignorance killing most spiders. Starts with a culture that shits on science classes

It's plain old ignorance driving the "Kill it! Kill it!".

It starts with a culture that shits on science classes and bullies children who show an interest in science.

Anybody not mastering their emotions and shouting "Kill the spider!" can't claim to be rational or green.

[OnyxCollie]

67. If you need a good reason to kill spiders,

ask Jeff Hanneman, the (former) guitarist for Slayer.

Slayer Guitarist Recovering from Flesh-Eating Disease
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/slayer-guitarist-recovering-from-flesh-eating-disease-20120502

Hanneman contracted necrotising fasciitis, a flesh-eating disease, from a spider bite over a year ago. According to the band's message, the guitarist came close to having his arm amputated, was put in a medically-induced coma to treat the condition and has had several operations and skin grafts to remove and replace his dead or decaying flesh. Despite all of this, things have been looking relatively positive for Hanneman. "He's been in rehab doing exercises to regain the strength in his arm, but best of all, he's been playing guitar," the band reports. Hanneman, who had to relearn how to walk, joined the band on stage for their encore at the Big Four festival in California last year.

Slayer Jeff Hanneman Spider Bite Arm (WARNING: GRAPHIC!)

I saw a spider climbing up the wall recently. Was it a brown recluse? Could be. Would it give me a flesh eating disease? Maybe.

(WHAP! went the shoe.)

Is it going to hurt me now? Nope.

[Inkfreak]

172. Yea, I'd heard about that. Love this band. Crazy.

[airplaneman]

69. I like having spiders

I usually will not bother a spider in my house (only exception is a black widow). I have often had many and a family in the bathroom one time. Sometimes I will relocate one with a kleenex.
Usually I keep track of them and see if they do well. I believe a measure of humanity is how we treat other people (especially children) and animals (both wild and domestic). I firmly believe this world is not just for us and that we should be very compassionate and tolerant of cohabitation.
-Airplane

[IDemo]

72. Hobo Spiders are common around here:

They get the flyswatter or newspaper:

[slor]

73. "If you want to live and thrive, let a spider run alive"

I read that in a Farmers Almanac as a child, and have lived by it since.

[azurnoir]

110. +1 n/t

[Cleita]

75. True. I encourage them in my garden, but I don't want them in my house, particularly since we

have an abundance of Black Widows here so I do spray the perimeter of my house with insect spray. It also, keeps flying insects away. If one finds its way into my house anyway, I trap it and relocate it out in my garden.

[GiveMeFreedom]

76. I am sending them to the next life when I squash them.

Since I believe in reincarnation, every spider I step on is given an opportunity to go the next life, maybe human? That's what I think when I kill one. Most of the time I leave daddy long legs alone, I dunno why? Peace.

[MindPilot]

138. Please stop doing that!

George Bush, Dick Cheney, Michelle Malkin...probably all reincarnated spiders squashed by a human. Now they are back and they are taking their revenge.

[Flaxbee]

78. "Don’t worry, spiders, I keep house casually."

Poem by Kobyashi Issa

I feel the same way. I leave them alone, even if they're in my house, unless they are of the black/brown widow/brown recluse variety. And even then I hate to kill them - they're serving their purpose doing the thing evolution wanted them to do -- I don't want any human or cat in the house bitten, but I still just hate to kill anything.

Anything. Well, except for ticks - specifically because they pose a significant health risk. We struggle with their presence because we have 5 cats, two of whom go in and out - Advantage is good at controlling ticks and fleas but doesn't totally eliminate them, unfortunately.

I will escort anything out of the house if I can catch it. Even with ants, I'll remove whatever is attracting them and let them leave of their own accord, which they will do. Remove the tasty cat treat, or cracker crumbs, whatever -- give the ants an hour or so and they're in retreat.

Now, I've never had a roach problem or an infestation, which would be a different matter. But spiders get a pass from me. The knee-jerk reaction to kill spiders just irritates me - it is irrational and I think humans (especially liberals) who pride themselves on progressive, rational thinking should examine their behavior.

[applegrove]

80. I got a bug vacuume from hedonics to catch and release the spiders.

[fredamae]

82. I operate a

Spider Relocation Program
I move them, alive, outside-----I agree

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

83. When I was a kid we had a black widow in the basement

It was an old Victorian style house in Colorado Springs built in the mid 1800s. The basement had an extra lavatory and when my mom used it she would look at what she identified as a black widow spider that made its home in that dark place. She checked books out of the library to identify it as such according to its marking. She saw it eat its mate and build its nest. She couldn’t bring herself to kill it and I guess I’m the same way with living things. Spiders don’t scare me that much although I do my best to avoid them but scorpions give me nightmares (when I was a kid in San Antonio, Texas my parents couldn’t keep them out of the house there were so many).

[LeftInTX]

152. Never saw scorpians in my 20 year old house.

Put on my shoes one day and OMG.
How did that darn thing know to hide in MY shoe?

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

155. My aunt was taking a shower one morning and a scorpion

fell off the shower head onto her nose, immediately stinging her. It must have been a bad one because her nose, eyes, and the center of her face swelled up and later turned black and blue. She was scarred emotionally for years after that incident.

[LeftInTX]

169. Eeww!!! That is emotionally scarring.

[haikugal]

176. Shoes and door ways...

I have no idea how they know.

[Butterbean]

202. Or pants. Don't leave pants on the floor and put them on the next morning.

Scorpions go there too. I learned that one the hard way. Thank goodness they were teeny.

[haikugal]

213. The little ones are the worst...

but yes no cloths left on the floor!

[Fantastic Anarchist]

84. I make sure people here at work know not to kill spiders.

In our smoking section, there have been many times where someone would see a spider and take a step to stomp it out, only to be held back by me and letting them know not to kill the spiker. I'll take a twig or leaf and transfer it to a safer place from us humans.

Like you, I hate that knee-jerk reaction to just stomp on a spider.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

85. I leave spiders alone; they eat insects.

However, I might make an exception for the venomous, tree-dwelling face-sized spider mentioned elsewhere on DU this morning. If one of those dropped out of a tree onto me I might have less-than-favorable thoughts. And what I would actually do is run around and flail and shriek GET IT OFF GET IT OFF GET IT OFF GET IT OFF until either it bit me and I dropped over dead or somebody got it off me and shot it with a 12-gauge shotgun.

[eppur_se_muova]

86. I used to have a spider living in my sink.

I worked long hours and hardly used my kitchen for anything, even when I was home. After a while I noticed a largish spider who occasionally appeared in the sink basin. Apparently he ran down the drain when disturbed -- I never saw him climb out of the basin, and wondered how he survived. But I spotted him several times over a month or two, apparently hanging on somehow.

One day I came home to find a card left on the table to let me know that the landlord had entered my apartment for the periodic pest control spraying. The next day I found the spider dead in my sink -- never to eat bug pests again.




Years ago, I noticed that a *very* large, leggy spider lived under a rug in the waiting lounge of my Dad's office. Since I sometimes had to wait there after school I saw him running in and out from under the rug several times, and got to think of him as a familiar "face" (albeit one with eight eyes). Then one day the rug was gone.

[X_Digger]

90. Must have been the elusive 'Rug Thief Spider' (aracnoidae persiabscondia)

Sorry, couldn't resist.

[Bay Boy]

88. Can I kill cockroaches? n/t

[AtheistCrusader]

89. I don't like 'em

But I don't hurt them if I can avoid it, and I ABSOLUTELY do not call in exterminators so spray down my house with chemicals.

They eat bugs. That puts us on the same side. So, learned social instincts aside, I pretty much just move them if they are bothering me. Easy enough to do without killing them.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

91. We frequently get a lot of spiny orb weaver spiders inside the screen awning of my pool patio.

Sometimes the numbers of them get overwhelming.

My first inclination was to just spray a can of Raid and be done with them, but they are oddly fascinating creatures and I couldn't bear to do it.

So I've found myself "relocating" them using my pool net to outside the screen enclosure

Of course, I end up depositing a good number of them in my neighbors' yards, but shhh.....

[harun]

94. I agree. Superb pest control.

[distantearlywarning]

97. I am an arachnophobe

I have worked on it over the years and am much less afraid than I used to be. But it will never go away entirely.

As a result of working on it, I am now at the point where I am willing to let them live in my garden, and I even have a half-hearted sort of admiration for their industriousness at web-building and killing pests. (Except for Black Widows...they have to go no matter what.)

But I do not suffer spiders to live in my house, and never will. I am still so arachnophobic that I can barely approach close enough to them to kill them, much less devise a way to pick them up in a cup and take them somewhere. I have also gotten a couple of damn bad spider bites over the years, usually sometime in bed at night when I cannot even defend myself and am certainly not deliberately trying to intrude on a spider's space, including one that ended in an ER visit and a tetanus shot. So fuck spiders in the house.

I guess this makes me a shitty human being and a bad liberal. So be it. I would rather suffer the moral judgment of internet strangers than a spider in my bedroom.

[smirkymonkey]

174. Same here. Luckily, I have never had problems with a spider infestatstion.

I am absolutely terrified of them. I would try to let them outside if I could, but if they sneaked up upon me in the middle of the night I would probably kill them. Sorry.

[LWolf]

198. You probably shouldn't

allow black widows in your house or sheds. That said, they are shy, retiring, and not at all aggressive, unless threatened.

Of course, sitting on the couch when there's a widow behind a pillow might make them feel threatened, lol.

I move most spiders outside, leave a few to manage any flies or other pests inside.

[Taverner]

98. I try desperately to sweep them out of the house

I don't like them

I don't want to touch one

And I don't want them in my house

But you're right, shouldn't kill them either

[CrispyQ]

102. I was terrified of insects & spiders for years.

Then I became a vegetarian & experienced a shift in perspective that amazingly included insects & spiders! It didn't happen overnight, but I started to see that they have their place in the world. Then I started to read about them & they are fascinating. Now, I'm as likely as my husband to grab the bug cup & implement the capture & release program.

Good topic!

on edit: The think I have to rescue them from the most is my cat. She can spot the tiniest movement from across the room!

[Phentex]

105. I catch them and put them outside...

they never bother me.

Roaches on the other hand I CANNOT stand!!!! I'm too afraid to try and kill them but I beg others in the house to get rid of them. Thankfully, it's usually only in summer and on a rare occasion.

[Kolesar]

107. If they are near the basement walls, they are probably near an air leak,

...a tiny hole where their prey comes in. Look for the leak and seal it. The spider did you a favor by making your house air-tight.

[Politicalboi]

108. Spiders are cool

I used to have a daddy long legs in a web inside my house. I would try and stun the flies that were bothering me, and I would throw them into the web. I love hearing the fly buzz and buzz as he's being spun. The place we live now, when we first got here, there was a little tiny spider in the windowsill. I stunned this fly and threw him in. This little spider was smaller than the fly, but he was biting and spinning the fly. It's entertainment.

[defacto7]

109. Spiders are fantastic creatures!

I let them build their webs in the window sills and we have less mosquitoes and flies. No pesticides in the house and a simple brush up a couple of times a year removes and residue. Supposedly there are Brown Recluse around here but I've never seen any. You would never see them anyway since they stay in dark recesses. We are just careful not to deep clean furniture or behind drawers with bare hands. That's not a bad idea in areas where Recluse are known to be although it's still incredibly unlikely they would bother you.

[truedelphi]

111. Thank you Timber Valley. (And belated welcome to DU.)

I love spiders. We have lots of them both indoors and out. My friends who kill them say they have to - they hate being bitten.

Bit inside households where bug spray is not used, spiders are placid for the most part. Some are even friendly. Happy to simply hang their webs and grab their grub, which tends to be nasty things like mosquitoes and flies.

If you spray, you disrupt their endocrine system and those that don't outright die, they get nasty. Just as humans do. (Many of the school shootings occurred precisely at that time of year when fertilizer and pesticide pollution inside drinking water is at a yearly high!)

[Bertha Venation]

115. + 1,000

[Liberal_in_LA]

116. I try to get them into a jar and dump them outside... I try.

[Algebra Palin]

117. meh. . .

i just threaten to charge them rent.

[On the Road]

118. There is Always the Eternal Debate

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=zmQYICF7ExU#t=10s

[LittleGirl]

119. Sorry.

Any spider that is found in the house is soon to be a dead one. Outside, no problem.

[Canuckistanian]

122. I had a spider once that lived in my car

And every morning I would find a web woven underneath the driver's side mirror. I thought it was neat.

[MynameisBlarney]

127. I generally leave most

predatory, multi-legged creatures alone if I find them in my house.
Unless
A) they have invaded my comfort zone... which radiates 3' in all directions from my person.
B) if they're really poisonous. I live in south Fl. and we have lots of large, fast and highly venomous creatures here.
C) If they have met the requirements for both A and B, I terminate with extreme prejudice.

[xloadiex]

128. Spiders caught in my basement

Are released outside into my garden. If they are invading my upstairs living space they meet a different fate.

[Le Taz Hot]

129. I kill the Widows but other than that

I walk them outside and explain that they're not going to find a lot of food in my bathtub but I'm going to find them a nice bush that they can build a web and catch lots of spidey num nums. Yes, I'm that weird.

[Jamastiene]

163. I must be that weird too.

I talk to them too.

[mike dub]

130. Great topic, TimberValley and I totally agree

Occasionally we'll get a spider in our house (usually in the corners of our TV room, or our kitchen) and we leave them alone. We figure, if they're there, there's enough "business" for them (varmint bugs they can trap and chomp on). Never had a "bug problem", either. Spiders are a natural exterminator.

And dirt-don't-hurt, either: when the hounddogs been diggin out back, and then come back inside, we let em roam around in the house with some dirty paws (we do have all hardwood floors, though). We don't like a hyper-sterile home interior. If we wanna get anal and clean the house top to bottom, we can ... later.

[moonbeam23]

132. Our house is Spider Heaven

i used to be VERY afraid of all spiders until i moved here...there are so many daddy long legs....there is a colony in the bathroom, more in the kitchen cupboards and here and there and everywhere else...when i found out that they are the sworn enemy of the black widows, they became my new bffs...however, all other spiders that i can't identify are killed on sight....it pains me to kill anything, but i don't want to take chances...and the scorpions have been warned to stay away and the stragglers are also sent on their evolutionary journey...my husband carefully takes out everything except the widows, but i can't...

The scariest are the black widows that seem to have a nest by the door and come out at night....i have to walk up with my "spider light" and make sure the coast is clear....last year i killed about a dozen...there was one a couple years ago that was farther from the entrance, wrapping up a large insect in her web and preparing for dinner....she seemed so happy that i didn't have the heart to kill her, so i named her Matilda and watched for months as she occasionally came out and hung out....then she froze, probably.

i still have flashbacks about the HUGE wolf spider that crawled across my headboard...luckily i saw it from across the room....11pm and i'm standing outside screaming and screaming hysterically as loud as i could until my boyfriend ran in and got it....didn't know what it was at the time and i hear that they are "good" spiders, but to me at that moment it was like being in a horror movie!

[catchnrelease]

135. Reminds me of this

My username doesn't just apply to fish--I always take spiders out of the house, that is if I find them before my husband does. He's arachnophobic and other than daddy long legs, he will swat spiders if he sees them. I think spiders are fascinating and don't deserve to be killed just cuz some people think they are 'creepy'. Then again, I think tomato horn worms are hideous and will not pick the tomatoes just in case there might be one of those on the bush.

[Eintech]

137. Funny

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

140. Spiders eat bugs but my cat eats the spiders.

[Laffy Kat]

188. Yep. See my post below. n/t

[treestar]

142. I never kill them

I don't know why, but I don't like to kill bugs. I just run away or wait until they do. I'm a weirdo.

[Jamastiene]

146. K&R

I have a plastic container that I saved. It is the perfect size to scoop them up and take them outside. It annoys me too when people kill spiders just because they are there.

I had been attempting to film (my camcorder works when it wants to) a spider for about 2 weeks. Its web was right at the front door and catching oodles of ants. So, I decided to leave it and check out all the good it was doing. We had a really bad infestation of those little biting piss ants that year. I just wanted to test it out and see just how many this spider was eating, because I saw ant carcasses all around that area when I spotted the spider first.

The spider ate oodles of them and I didn't have to spray bug spray because of it. The ant problem went away. So, I left the spider to hunt other stuff to eat.

Well, it was a sad story. My step dad came over and was standing in the kitchen talking. Now, keep in mind, I had kind of gotten attached to this little spider and had talked to it and everything over that 2 weeks. Anyhow, my step dad saw the spider, went straight over, and stepped on it and wiggled his shoe back and forth to rub his little guts into the floor. Then, he said, "You don't want spiders in the house. They'll bite you and their poison will eat your skin." I literally cried over that spider. I told him I had been watching that spider for 2 weeks. It had been eating ants and had never offered to bite me. I wasn't on that spider's menu. The ants, on the other hand, DO see me as "on the menu" and when they bite me, it swells up and causes all sorts of allergic reactions. Between that little spider and those ants, I'd rather the spider had lived and continued being my all natural ant killer buddy. I really got attached to that spider. I was so hurt he just killed what had become a friend "just because."

So, when you kill a spider, you spider killers, don't fucking do it in someone else's house. You may not only break a family member's heart, but at the same time cause them to get bitten by an ant and spend 2 weeks treating a painfully swollen allergic reaction to some kind of insect bite. I eventually had to spray for the ants.

Damn you spider killers, especially the ones who kill them in another person's house.

[MerryBlooms]

147. People who are catching the indoor spiders and 'setting them free', are most llikely killing them

and should stop.

Some info-

http://www.burkemuseum.org/spidermyth/myths/comein.html

Very good thread, TY.

[Tree-Hugger]

162. Yes. Thank you for this. nt

[Le Taz Hot]

166. I'm carrying out daddy long-legs and they

most certainly do live outside.

[Jamastiene]

167. Carolina Wolf Spiders are not "indoor" house spiders.

When they get inside, they do need to be put back outside. They are not "indoor" spiders. Wolfies are the ones that get in my house the most. The main point being, it helps to know the species in your area.

[blaze]

149. first, welcome to DU

Second, thanks for the topic.

Years ago I read a book called Kinship With All Life. http://www.amazon.com/Kinship-All-Life-Allen-Boone/dp/B0006ATSIY/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1365193405&sr=1-3&keywords=kinship+with+all+life

[LeftInTX]

151. I let'em live around the house. Anything that kills roaches is my friend.

They also control mosquitoes.

The only spider I got rid of was a tarantella. That one needed to go outside.
If I see a widow or recluse, they will be history.

[Lebam in LA]

153. I never kill spiders unless

they surprise me by getting right in my face. Reflexes take over and I swat them into the next county. If I see them I take them outside otherwise. they are good for my yard

[notadmblnd]

154. I generally leave them alone

I don't like smashing bugs.

[frylock]

156. i'm an advocate for spider relocation..

I usually let them be, but if I find one in the bedroom i'll capture it and release it in the garden.

[Ligyron]

157. Is the fear of spiders and snakes a learned response encouraged by sexist stereotype?

I'm just asking 'cause a lot of otherwise gentle females have gone kill crazy and demanded of me their immediate death.

[4_TN_TITANS]

161. It would be me that was squashed

if I harmed my wife's garden spiders. Every year, she has an army of toads, ladybugs, spiders, snakes, and birds that patrol her garden looking for insects. We don't use pesticides so that the bees are safe. It also helps that everything is organic heirloom, plants are much hardier to start with.

[Tree-Hugger]

164. No squashing in this house

We don't get many critters here. We mainly see spiders, a few ants, the occasional stinkbug and a rare house centipede (they do the same job as spiders, btw). If it's something that can live outside, it'll get escorted by my husband. Otherwise, spiders are free to live here. I have five cats who probably couldn't catch a big to save their lives (seriously, the 5 of them once cornered a stink bug that was crawling at about a foot an hour. No one could get it ).

We had a Daddy Long Legs mom in our bathroom right before hurricane Sandy hit. I would have set her outside, but it was the wrong time of year for them to live outside in this area, so I let her be. Turns out she was carrying her little egg sac. She stayed in one spot for weeks holding onto that sac until it hatched. Then she stayed for another week or so and disappeared. The babies all scattered about within a day after that. It was fascinating for my kids to watch.

[irisblue]

165. The Incredible Shrinking Man 1957 movie

traumatized me when was 5 or 6. Those scenes where he fights off a spider with a pin have scarred me for life. I can't even look at pictures of them. I've evolved to the point where they can live outside, I know there is at least one in the basement (I cleaned out the floor rafters and webs have reappeared). Any on the main level are going to die if I catch them. Last winter I called Ms Wonderful at work, there was a quarter sized spider in the kitchen, I wanted her to come home to get rid of it for me, oddly, her boss said no. Having cats also helps keep them out of my sight lines.

[OregonProg]

170. spiders

It really depends on whether said spider can cause me grief. I have wolf spiders that are aggressive and will bite. I kill those if they are in the house. We have Hobo spiders in Oregon that can release a flesh-eating venom. I kill those if they are in my house, although they are hard to distinguish from regular brown house spiders. I have had widows in the house, but from my experience, they do not move much. If it appears they are getting plenty of food in an out-of-the-way location, I have actually left a few of them alone. If I find a common "outside" spider, I catch and release.

[Inkfreak]

173. Any1 else feel em crawling on your body while reading this thread? n/t

[winter is coming]

177. Yeah, and mine are face-sized. n/t

[Sgent]

178. I've been bitten

by a wolf spider, and it along with the black widow and brown recluse are the only ones I care about.

The wolf spider isn't deadly, but it hurts like a s.o.b. -- and that was biting my thigh. I'd hate to think what it would have felt like in the arm, hand, etc. It also carries its babies on its back.... there is nothing quite like stomping on a spider and seeing 100's of mini-spiders running away.

[Dragonfli]

180. I have to admit, I am really weird in that I practice a capture and release method

Not just with spiders, but anything really that invades my space and must be dealt with for health reasons or to avoid infestations. Hell, since I live alone now the policy with spiders has been one of peaceful co-existence. I even think of it a little like a symbiotic relationship, I am never bitten by spiders and they appear to be killing things that used to bite me like mosquitoes (those are seldom seen here now). The spiders must know I don't have the heart to do what is best for me and kill the little bloodsuckers, I haven't been able to kill one since I learned only the females do that and the only reason they want blood is for their "children" so to speak.

I'm a total sap that doesn't want anything to be killed and if they are, certainly not by my hand or choice. I became vegetarian for reasons having nothing at all to do with health, I just don't want some poor critter on some corporate megafarm that treats them horribly before killing them to go through it on my account.

Not much of a great hunter he-man type I know, but I do very well in the role of protector, got into many a fight over the years to stop a bully from preying on what they perceive as the weak.

[Mister Ed]

181. I capture and release too.

Ever since my daughter was little, she's been seeing me do that. If there's a bug or spider that frightens her, I solemnly intone, "I shall show it the door", and do just that.

[Dragonfli]

187. IMO you are teaching your child that life is not cheap and all life has value

Admirable parenting.

[slackmaster]

183. I agree, and I act in accordance with that belief.

I have a "Spider Can" in my house. It's an old tomato sauce can with a plastic lid that happens to fit it.

When I clean out cobwebs, or need to paint, or want to evict spiders for any reason, I tease them into the Spider Can and release them outside.

The exception is for dangerous spiders. I terminate them with extreme prejudice.

[Comrade_McKenzie]

184. My favorite spider remedy...

[Laffy Kat]

186. Let your kitties handle the situation.

I feel sorry for spidies, too. Even though I'm afraid of them, I try to catch them and put them outside. The other night I had a HUGE spidie in my favorite mixing bowl and my kitten got to it before I did. It wasn't pretty or quick but I suppose it was an extra protein snack for a growing feline.

[lordsummerisle]

189. A couple of points

1) The European House Spider, which is one of the most common spiders in the Pacific NW as well as other areas, is an indoor spider, and will die if you helpfully move it outside.

2) How are y'all identifying spiders as you size them up as to whether to kill them or not? Some are obvious but I wouldn't know a Brown Recluse from a Hobo or European until I could examine them closely which I probably won't be doing if I am startled by one of them...

[Beaverhausen]

190. Right now there is a teeny tiny itty bitty spider living under my soap dish on the sink...

...in my bathroom. He scurries out when I'm brushing my teeth to say hi. He's so tiny and cute.

when they are bigger I take them outside...alive. Or just let them be.

Unless they are black widows-which we have a lot of here. They have to go live with Jesus.

[Silver Gaia]

191. The only ones I kill are black widows. The rest, I catch in a jar and put outside.

I love those big black and yellow garden spiders that make those awesome webs!

[TheManInTheMac]

192. I always try to reason with spiders first.

I tell them there are more bugs outside, and you wouldn't be exposed to second-hand smoke. They never listen, so then I kill 'em.

[Sheldon Cooper]

193. I don't kill spiders - they don't bother me at all and they play an important role in the

ecosystem. Rodents, on the other hand, are dead meat if they get into my home. I take no prisoners in that regard.

[sweetNsassy]

194. Sorry, if I find a wolf spider in my house, it's dead.

The other ones can stay.

[sir pball]

197. You prefer cockroaches?

Wolfies are the best household predators IMO - they don't need unsightly webs and they eat the most common and annoying pest species like roaches, earwigs and silverfish. We had a pretty big guy (about an inch and a half across the legs) we caught in college and kept in a tank, he was amazing to watch eat.

And the mammas carry their babies around, adorable!

[sweetNsassy]

199. Sorry, no convincing here....I hate the things.

And I don't have cockroaches, silverfish or any other bugs in my home even without the wolf spiders. Could be because of my four dogs and cat that keep them all at bay.

The last time I found one was when I turned down my bed. Seriously, fuck that....I'd rather have a dead spider and a few bugs than a heart attack.

[Jamastiene]

224. +1000000

I used to freak out when Carolina Wolf Spiders and Rabid Wolf Spiders got in the house. Now, I take them outside and set them free near the foundation of the house. They are absolutely amazing spiders.

[sir pball]

195. I heart spiders

Especially wolf spiders...except, in my ex's basement, there was a dark unused chamber of horror/root cellar off to the side, and there were some relative of wolfs that were about six inches across; they didn't amble along like tarantulas at all, they moved like lightning and while they didn't ick me out or make me want to kill them, they did make me run in sheer terror.

[MoonchildCA]

200. We keep a "spider catching apparatus"

...under our sink. It consists of a clear plastic cup and a stiff post card. Place cup over spider and slowly slide postcard underneath; scream, "Open the door! Open the door!" Run like hell and dump him in the bushes, then perform the heebie-jeebie-shudder-dance, and the ritual is complete.

[Sancho]

203. Now that I have this assault gun and thousands of bullets, I'm running out of things to shoot!

Shooting spiders is a challenge and doesn't require a hunting license like killing Thumper, Bambi, and Daffy...so here goes!

[hrmjustin]

204. I never kill spiders because they kill other bugs i do not like.

My brother had a roach problem in his house and he let loose several small spiders and it worked. He did not want to use chemicals because of his pets so he tried this and it worked. I have 5 cats so nothing comes to my house because the cats are ready to pounce and kill at any moment.

[Marr]

207. Depends on the spider. Those cute little jumping spiders always

get a trip outside if I can manage to catch them. I tend to just leave Daddy Long Legs alone. Black Widows are dead on sight, for obvious reasons.

Oh and those racecar spiders-- I don't know what their real name is, but they're big and they just dart across the floor? Sorry, but they creep me the hell out and are also KOS. I once had some company over and let them use my bed, opting for the floor myself. I woke up in the middle of the night with... something... on my eyelid. When I laid my hand across the area, I discovered it was a very large spider, squirming between my palm and my eyesocket.

Yeah, I kill those fuckers.

[Shankapotomus]

208. Why are you asking this of us?

Maybe it is because you are one of them? Hmm?

[bluedigger]

209. I catch and release outside, unless I find one on me.

Then instincts take over, and spidey dies.

[Nitram]

211. Timber, you're absolutely right

I thought it was right wingers who acted on pure mindless fear. Looks like a lot of DUers do the same. Sad.

[sylvi]

212. We get those big ass wolf spiders in the house occasionally

No way I can peacefully coexist with those. When they're dead and I toss them out, they serve as a buffet for the ants, so the Circle Of Life continues.

[markiv]

214. I've always hated spiders, but I quit killing them long ago

because if there's a spider, it must be eating something, even if I dont see bugs - he's doing a job for me

it's a non-toxic way to control bugs, much like people used cats to kill rodents

[The Wizard]

215. Nature's environmentally sound

pest control. When I find them in the house I put them on a house plant or they go outside.

[pink-o]

216. The enemy of my enemy is my friend....

So that means I'm buds with the aracs cuz they kill the vilest life-form known to humankind: the mosquito. For those that say spiders can mess you up when they bite, don't forget about malaria and other ickinesses brought forth by that tiny little instrument of agony.

Like the OP'er I don't think we should exterminate an animal just because it frightens us. However, I'm not above letting ANOTHER animal take care of it! If you dislike spiders, get a bird or a cat. Beats spraying poison around, and the ecological chain remains intact.

And BTW...spiders are NOT insects or "bugs". All arachnids have 8 legs, insects have 6.

[pansypoo53219]

220. i only kill ants. especially carpenter ants. technically i vacuum them.

luckily the cat got the earwig. and try to get the cats to kill centipedes. oh, silverfish. i just avoid spiders. they ADORE our house.

[sofa king]

222. There is a strange reason for that, TV!

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2001/10/1004_snakefears.html

It turns out that some proportion of us, one-third according to a bathroom reader I remember crapping with, have an instinctual fear of spiders and/or snakes. Your observation here:

[quote]
Too often people see spiders and say "Kill it! Kill it!" without seriously questioning why. [/quote]

is EXACTLY correct, unfortunately. That is because an instinct is permanently etched in that person's very DNA, and it's the instinct talking, rather than the rational human being built on top of that.

I try hard not to hurt any critters, but you must understand that for some large part of your audience, you're asking them to overcome a fear as pronounced and as real as your own very worst fears, and my own. Not easy to overcome, and entirely likely to provoke a less-than-rational reaction from a few.

It's not very fair to shame those folks for something over which they have very little control, and I think you'd have better luck encouraging them to understand their own reactions first.

[ellie]

223. I try not to kill them

but I am afraid of them. I try and relocate them away from me.

[cynatnite]

226. I hate spiders. They creep me out.

In the house, they will die.

Outside...I just get away from them.

Sorry, but I'd rather not live with them and I'm not a catch and release a bug kind of person.

[DirkGently]

227. I do try to limit creature-cide to those who pose a problem or danger.

Spiders know the rule in our house: nickel-sized and below get a pass. Bigger than that, and running around the tub or something, and I have to get a little territorial about it. Bothers the SO, and a live-capture is next to impossible in the bathroom at 3 am.

Roaches and palmetto bugs spread disease and will not be tolerated. Plenty of other places for them to live. I tried to be laissez-faire about wasps around the yard, but the damn things come at when the mower's going so they go down on a case-by-case basis. Fire ants are invasive and ludicrously aggressive. Anything actively biting me or she or the dogs will be terminated with extreme prejudice. Nothing different than they would do if they were bigger.

Lizards, frogs, toads, newts, et al. are left strictly alone and in fact saved if at all possible from dehydration or dog attack. I have stopped for turtles stranded on the road or wandering parking lots and carried them to safety. I have righted beetles who have flipped (although I have learned most of these are flipped because they're already ailing).

I do find that as I get older, it bothers me more and more to kill anything at all, and try not to do so thoughtlessly or needlessly.

[veganlush]

228. people are so ignorant

About animals. We use the"catch and release" system at my house, for the spiders that creep out my wife and daughters. Spiders help reduce the number of insects. We also dont pay people to torture animals for our food as most people do. People need to get out of the ignorant box, evsry time you buy animal "products" you are contracting for the systemic torture of an innocent, dog/cat-like creature.

[savebigbird]

230. I do the catch and release thing too!

I once caught a fly with my hands and freaked everyone I was with out. It's still a source of pride for me.

[veganlush]

233. im not that fast

Im afraid, but i have pretty good luck with what my girls call the "bug jar". With flies ive found that if you close all windows but one theyll find it, then i trap them between window and screen, then go outside and open the screen

[savebigbird]

229. Spiders have nothing on house centipedes.

Super scary creatures that run super fast!

[Skittles]

231. I love spiders!

fascinating creatures but I do evict them if I see them in my home (I worry they will become cat toys) - I use a drinking glass and slide a piece of paper to cover - spiders are very wiley and not always easy to catch

[Tikki]

232. I haven't killed a spider, on purpose, in like, forever...

Back in the late 70's/early 80's we would have this old spider drop down in front of the car windshield
from the big tree branch when we got home in the early a.m. from clubbing and it looked like he was
scolding us for getting home so late.
I am sure it was generations of spiders but it happened quite a few times. Who knew!!We named him/them George.

I would never hurt any insect on purpose if I could save him otherwise.



Tikki

[edgineered]

234. Spiders, in this case imaginary ones, are often useful

Colleen would delay our morning management meetings for some of the most inane reasons, usually because she didn't understand the reasons for a particular plan.

Staring across the room at a spot near the window would always do the trick of getting on to the next subject. Hearing the words, "I thought I saw a spider" would rattle her into silence for hours.

[lachea33]

237. Agree!

Happy to see someone agrees with me. I love spiders all kinds. I even bring the ones who live outside inside if it is going to get too cold. I feed them every night and I enjoy watching them. Spiders are an important part of the environment they kill harmful bugs such as mosquitoes. It is hard for me to even associate with someone so ignorant that every-time they see a spider all they can say is kill it kill it... more people should think like us..

[gopiscrap]

238. Welcome to DU

[Celerity]

239. I like spiders, I would never kill them, but our cat does :(