massive house spiders!!

bigspiderhater · #1 (**permalink**) 23-09-2010, 09:52 PM

hii every1 i'm 26 and live on my own in quite an old house with my 2 young children. i have a phobia of big spiders and normally my dad will come round and remove them from the house for me but tonight he has said he's too tired to come round and i'm absolutely petrified becouse there is a massive spider on my hall wall!! i'v looked on the internet n hav realised they are called terenia or something like that...?? i'm dying of thirst but cant get down satirs to make a drink because i'm too scared and i cant get to sleep, even though i have to be up very early to get the children to school

i'v just looked to the bottom of my hallway again and its no longer there. does anyone hav any idea were its most likely to hav ran off to and is there any way to get over my fear, its literally controlling my life

Gatekeeper · #2 (**permalink**) 23-09-2010, 10:13 PM

View the spider as a friend, sort of a 'watch-spider'. It's guarding your home from all the hundreds and thousands of nasty bugs that try to come in from the outside. This should make you feel much better.

Kayleigh · #3 (**permalink**) 23-09-2010, 10:25 PM

They are harmless it will not hurt you..leave it alone and try not to be scared.
Have a look at some macro shots on here in the Gallery they are amazing creatures.

JRsbugs · #4 (**permalink**) 24-09-2010, 12:05 AM

I had a male hanging from the kitchen ceiling on a thread, which you don't usually see but it dropped to the floor and ran off, not sure where it went, probably behind a cupboard.

The next day I found it dead in the kitchen sink, it probably mated then died, very sad.

I took a pic of it's palp, it looked to have burst which is what happens when they mate and that is what kills them. I haven't seen the female though, she's probably behind the washing machine. I used to feed my cat near that when she was alive, the spider used to come out to help itself.

The spider is more scared of you than you are of it, treat it as a friend or pet and if you don't give it cat food it should eat all your other hundreds of thousands of bugs as mentioned.

Janet

John_M · #5 (**permalink**) 24-09-2010, 01:19 AM

Tegenaria are not aggressive spiders, and will usually run away when disturbed. They usually stay, unnoticed, in dark undisturbed corners and most of the time you will be unaware of their presence. This time of year is when the males wander around in search of females, and these spiders are usually the ones that get noticed. They are not dangerous to anything other than their prey.
Once they have mated, the males will stay with the female for a time, but they will die of old age fairly soon (I think at most a couple of weeks) after mating, at which point the female probably eats him.
There really is nothing to be afraid of.

nightshade · #6 (**permalink**) 24-09-2010, 01:57 AM

I came home one day to find my wife "trapped" by a large spider. I removed it using the postcard and glass method. i.e the glass over the spider then _Carefully_ slide the card under the glass, trapping the spider which was then evicted.
You don't have to like spiders but you must be prepared to remove them yourself or your children will be afraid of them as well. We have resolved my wifes dread of spiders to a "mere loathing fascination" she will catch them and remove them and even watches the "porch crew" of tube spiders around the wall lamp they are a beautiful black spider from the continent Segestria florentina - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Wild-Woman · #7 (**permalink**) 24-09-2010, 06:45 AM

Gatekeeper has the right idea. Regard it as a pet- even give it a name like Engelbert or Zac or something a bit different. My friend does this as she's a bit phobic with spiders but now just lets them go about their business. I suspect your spider is a male looking for an eight-legged female not two, so he won't be remotely interested in you, he's on his own mission!

If possible have a go at learning a bit about spiders and their behaviour, they really are interesting and the more you know, the less scary they become.

Hope this helps.

Hobjob · #8 (**permalink**) 24-09-2010, 09:48 AM

Spider-phobia (well most creepy-crawlie-snake phobias) will usually respond to psychological de-sensitisation. As it is clearly interfering with your life, talk to your GP about it.

Sadly the mental health side of the NHS is in a pretty pickle at the moment and there are likely to be waiting lists, but don't be fobbed off.

The London Zoo also runs courses for this and I don't think they charge silly amounts.

Could you cope with removing spiders in one of those battery operated tube (pooter) things that suck them up? They are sold for kids who interested in bugs.

SpikyPhasmid · #9 (**permalink**) 24-09-2010, 10:31 AM

I'm arachnophobic and I've been using the Gallery and spider forum to help with it, and also naming the spider, like people have suggested, is surprisingly helpful. I like to think of house spiders as "Teggy" now. Also try talking to it. You might feel a bit silly saying thinkgs like "Hello, Teggy. How are you today?" but it makes them seem less like alien monsters and more like, well, animals.

bigspiderhater · #10 (**permalink**) 24-09-2010, 04:42 PM

thanks every1 for your comments. they'v made me feel a lot better. i will definately be taking kayliegh n wildwomans advice n learn more about them, etc. i wouldn't mind purchasing one of those "pooters", thanks hobjob. i hate to say it john_m but its quite comforting to think they will be dying soon of old age, i did actually come across a dead one the other day and was puzzled as to why it was dead.... i'm guesing it had gotten lucky with one of the ladys JRSbugs

!! as long as i dnt come across a loads of babys