Getting rid of a spider?

pivoxa15

When there is a large spider in your home, what is the best to get rid of it? How about sucking it into a vacuum cleaner? I have done that a few times in the past but when I got around to opening the cleaner, the spider wasn't to be found? What happened to it? Did it escape or disintegrate into pieces? But I didn't see the remains of it. Anybody know the inside of a vacuum cleaner?

radou

Unless I'm mistaken, there are special small bags ment to catch spiders found in homes and let them out again, without doing any harm to them.

I personally hate spiders, and I have some kind of phobia, but that's because I actually don't encounter any here when I live (only small 'house-spiders' from time to time). The only dangerous one in my country is the black widow, and it's deadly, but it's not to be found in the part of the country where I live.

So, depends on how big the spider is, but I definitely wouldn't vacuum clean a big one. Try to think of something else or get this spider-removal-equipment.

P.S. Your question about the vacuum cleaner and the spider inside was one I always found interesting, too. Can't answer, though.

Astronuc

What is meant by big spiders?

Usually I pick up a spider in my hand, carry it outside and put on a plant or on the ground.

For big spiders, I place a cup over them and slide a card or paper underneath gently so as not to injure the spider. Then I carry it outside and deposit it on a plant or ground.

Since my wife and kids do not like spiders, a do this occasionally.

Schrodinger's Dog

I do nothing, since they keep down the flies I tend to just let them be. If you have to though the plate and cup method is best for those who can't bear the thought of touching them.

BobG

I wouldn't kill a spider - it's bad luck.

Most spiders aren't dangerous to humans and keep other insects under control. The only drawback is walking through a web they've woven across your door, plus you eventually have to clean up the old web full of insects (the web continues to catch insects for quite a while after the spider has gone).

Tom Mattson

Two weeks ago a spider bit me in my sleep. I woke up with 4 pairs of little red pinpricks on my face, which later became open running sores and my left eye was swollen shut. There are still large scabs on my face.

So what will I do when I see a spider? I'll step on it, of course!

brewnog

I like having spiders around the place, so I just leave them be.

Gokul43201

But what if you're not in your car?

Tom Mattson

nyuk nyuk nyuk

Moonbear

Wow, Tom! Usually I only hear of spider bites as a defensive response (someone gets a bit too close to stepping on one, or grabs one inadvertently while picking up some old wood, not knowing there's a spider hiding beneath it). Was it positively identified as spider bites? Sometimes I wonder if spiders are scapegoats for the handiwork of other nasties in the house.

Anyway, I don't step on large spiders, because they make too much of mess! I'd rather relocate the live spider than clean up a splatted dead spider. If they move under their own power, I don't have to touch them. I find herding them where I want them to go with a broom works (and if they're resistant to herding, playing golf with them works too...be careful though, if you swat them too hard, you'll knock their legs right off them ). The other reason I prefer not touching the spiders is I simply don't know which ones around here are likely to bite (venomous or not), and don't want to find out by trial and error. Anything that has thick, hairy legs and is prowling the house rather than sitting quietly in a web, I assume must pack a good bite.

Tom Mattson

By the time I went to the emergency room, the pinpricks had given way to the large open sores. So it wasn't possible for the doctor to make that identification. But he said it sounded reasonable.

Well, venomous or not, he's not going to bite through my boot. :p

Moonbear

Yikes. It seems weird that it bit you 4 times (you said 4 pairs of bite marks, right). If it was a spider, you must've been swatting at it in your sleep, and it sure must've been persistent to keep trying again. That, or it was really out to get you. Maybe revenge for a relative you stepped on!

Just wait until they catch on.

"Okay, Legs, I'll climb in his boot, and you distract him by running across the floor."

turbo

We've got some pretty potent spiders in Maine. I woke up one morning to find my middle finger on my left hand very badly swollen and hard to move. I still have scars from the fangs more than 5 years later. I don't kill spiders - I just relocate them to the vegetable garden.

hypatia

My husband still thinks its so wierd that I can autopsy a brain, yet, can not be brave enough to squish a spider. {faints}:

russ_watters

The best way to deal with a big spider (or small snake) is to capture it in a jar and place it on the desk of a particularly skittish co-worker...

Tom Mattson

That gives me a great idea. I'm not going to step on the spider that bit me. I'm going to put it in my roommate's bed!

arunbg

Tom, you'll realy have to step on it, if this baby comes to town .