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Who doesn't like a little spider news? Well, me, for one...

2K views 24 replies 12 participants last post by  ThomasDiehl 
#1 ·
#6 ·
A spider! I will hug him and pet him and I will name him 'George' * Ow! Bad George! GYAAAAGH! <splurt>GMrphhed!<slurp><slurp>

In news that will freak out many: I actually would keep a number of spiders in my bedroom.

I live near a swamp so bugs are aplenty in the summertime. By carefully propping up a couple of books beside each window, it gave the house spiders a place to anchor their webs and hide. During the night when various tiny, blood sucking insects would slip past the screens in my windows, the spiders would catch them all. Much more peaceful sleeping without hearing that blood-curdling whine of mosquito wings zeroing in on one's ear at 2:30 in the morning. The end results were no pests and a number of fairly fat and well-grown spiders. I just had to remember to clean around their webs when they reset their traps.

It worked for many years until I switched to LED lightbulbs. As LED light bulbs (2700K color temp range) do not attract insects, the bug problem was significantly reduced (about 90%). This resulted in the spiders starting to look somewhat diminished. To save their lives, I transferred them to happier sheltered places outside where the hunting was still good. So far, no reports of missing pets or children in the neighborhood. Though, last summer one spider had spun a pretty good web between the handles of the ladder going into my swimming pool. Hmmm.....
 
#8 ·
One of my brothers used to live down in the Amazon. Worked as a bush pilot there for many years. Anyway, a linguist friend of his was hiking through the jungle one day, returning to the tribe that he worked in. He encountered a bird spider crawling on the trail. They're called bird spiders because they're on the extremely large side of things, and spin their webs to catch birds. He thought it was pretty cool, so he put it in his backpack to show the tribe. They all gathered around excited to see him when he arrived, as he had been gone for a few months (this was a tribe with no roads, no tech, no legit contact with the outside world). He told them he had something neat he wanted to show them, put his backpack down, opened it. Bird spider crawled out. Everyone fled screaming in terror.

Unbeknownst to him, the bird spider was thought to be a demon by that tribe. Fun times.
 
#11 ·
DD hates spiders When we were cleaning out Mom's rental property she found several nests of spiders and couldn't wait to find bug spray. She sprayed them all with the cleaning stuff she had in her hand and they all turned purple. She was upset about the spiders but had to laugh at the purple.

Yes, they all died from purple poisoning.
 
#12 ·
Gertie Kindle 'a/k/a Margaret Lake' said:
DD hates spiders When we were cleaning out Mom's rental property she found several nests of spiders and couldn't wait to find bug spray. She sprayed them all with the cleaning stuff she had in her hand and they all turned purple. She was upset about the spiders but had to laugh at the purple.

Yes, they all died from purple poisoning.
Are you sure they're dead? I'm concerned this is how the purple people eaters came about.
 
#14 ·
My mother grew up in the tropics with a house spider - there was a bare patch of dirt with a straggly house plant in the floor, where the spider lived. He ate everything non-human that came into the house, and if there wasn't enough food, he'd take a chunk out of one of the sleeping inhabitants.

I grew up in America. I believe very firmly that spiders belong outdoors, far away, not near me.

My husband is from Africa. His approach to spiders is... not that far off my mother's. We have a difference of opinion over the immediate necessity of eradicating spiders who trespass into the house. There are spiderwebs in his study that are over two weeks old, because he doesn't see the need to evict the inhabitants. *twitch**twitch*
 
#15 ·
Opened my eyes this morning looking at the ceiling.  Even without my glasses there is a spot too dark to be part of the popcorn.  Get up, get the vacuum with hose . . . suck it up. 

Happy Easter.
 
#17 ·
William Peter Grasso said:
Next it'll be snakes. I just know it...
WPG
Funny you mention that...the garter snakes are starting to show up around my house. I encourage them because they keep out of the house mice, crickets, and other unwanted pests. Had a gorgeous female sunning herself outside the back door a few days ago. Female garter snakes are rare, being 1 in 100 in the population. That's a good sign!
 
#19 ·
William Peter Grasso said:
Next it'll be snakes. I just know it...
WPG
The same DD that killed the spiders with purple poison has an FP&L vacant lot in back of her house. The lot extends for the full block. There's a fence, but that is no deterrent for snakes. They keep golf clubs in the back yard and when they see a snake, they put the club in front of him, let him wind himself part way up the club and then fling him (minus the club) over the back fence. Apparently, this works very well, except some times, the snake lets go to soon and ends up in the neighbor's yard.

I was looking for a house in that block so I could live near DD, but after she told me this story, I think I'll stay where I'm at. As much as she hates spiders, I hate snakes.
 
#20 ·
TT Rankin said:
Ahhh...The Far Side. Those were the days.

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk
Indeed.

I'm okay with snakes...when I was a kid, we had a garter snake that gave birth (they have live birth--not eggs). I took it to school in its box for show and tell.

Betsy
 
#22 ·
What on earth do people have against spiders? What, you want your home filled up with houseflies, silverfish and so on? Spiders eat them all, so good for them.

Snakes? I'm fine with them, but then I don't happen to live in India. Snakebites in India kill an awful lot of people every year.

How many? Don't even ask.
 
#23 ·
A.G. Richards said:
What on earth do people have against spiders?
Spider bites. Which I've had. Even had to have a steroid shot once as I had quite a reaction to the bite.

Outside, they're fine. Live and let live. Inside, not so much. I don't have a lot of visible spiders inside (for long)...and don't have houseflies, silverfish or any other insects inside, so I think we've achieved equilibrium.

Betsy
 
#24 ·
Betsy the Quilter said:
Spider bites. Which I've had. Even had to have a steroid shot once as I had quite a reaction to the bite.

Outside, they're fine. Live and let live. Inside, not so much. I don't have a lot of visible spiders inside (for long)...and don't have houseflies, silverfish or any other insects inside, so I think we've achieved equilibrium.

Betsy
Living in FL, an exterminator is an absolute necessity. I see one little thing and I'm on the phone asking for a re-treat. You can't let those critters get even a teeny-tiny toe in your house.
 
#25 ·
A.G. Richards said:
What on earth do people have against spiders? What, you want your home filled up with houseflies, silverfish and so on? Spiders eat them all, so good for them.

Snakes? I'm fine with them, but then I don't happen to live in India. Snakebites in India kill an awful lot of people every year.

How many? Don't even ask.
In turn, what do people have against silverfish? Flies I get, they make maggots. But silverfish? They're harmless and kinda cute.
 
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