House spiders,welcome guests or not?

[Dadface]

It's always about this time of year that spiders seem to take up visible residence in my house.I don't know if its because they pop in because it starts to get cold outside or if they've been here all the time having a quiet kip in certain hidden quarters.Generally we tolerate them but my wife dislikes those spiders with attitude,the ones who go wandering around willy nilly as if they own the place.Those rascals get carried to the garden in a glass and are told not to sneak back in unless they behave themselves.
Does anyone else allow uninvited guests to stay provided that they display good manners and are respectful?

 

[Chi Meson]

With spiders, I have a tolerance that will reach a limit. I also have no projected sympathy nor empathy to the critters; when the limit is reached, they get smooshed.

For no rational reason, I tend to appreciate the little "jumpers" more than the long-legged ones.
[PLAIN]http://gingerpancake.com/Fireworks%208%20files/jumping_spider_large.jpg

I read recently (actually, I heard my wife read recently) that a huge proportion of the dust in the air is dried spider legs. Here, "huge" is "a lot larger than I would have ever guessed."

 

[JaredJames]

With spiders, I have a tolerance that will reach a limit. I also have no projected sympathy nor empathy to the critters; when the limit is reached, they get smooshed.

Can't be doing with that. I refuse to kill them, I simply relocate them to a more appropriate home.

I read recently (actually, I heard my wife read recently) that a huge proportion of the dust in the air is dried spider legs. Here, "huge" is "a lot larger than I would have ever guessed."

Is this the same thinking as "80% of dust is human skin"? (I hope so )

I think I just have a problem with unnecessary killing (yes, that extends to all bugs and creepy crawlies).

(And yes, I've spent ridiculous amounts of time removing house flies.)

 

[jackmell]

Does anyone else allow uninvited guests to stay provided that they display good manners and are respectful?

So I'm sweeping one day and notice ant carcasses underneath my table. Gotta' be a spider I think so I look underneath the table right above the massacre and my hunch is right. So I'm sittin' there debating do I want spiders or ants in my house? Spiders, ants? Spiders, ants? I left him. Somehow wasps are gettin' in too (which I do kill) but I've noticed wasps in general don't sting me when I encounter them outside but rather just bounce off me. Guess maybe it's the pheremones on me and all.

 

[Jack21222]

Somehow wasps are gettin' in too (which I do kill) but I've noticed wasps in general don't sting me when I encounter them outside but rather just bounce off me. Guess maybe it's the pheremones on me and all.

The level of aggression depends on the wasp. Paper wasps are pretty gentle, but yellow jackets are evil incarnate. You can stand right next to a paper wasp next and they'll hardly notice you.

 

[Astronuc]

It's always about this time of year that spiders seem to take up visible residence in my house.I don't know if its because they pop in because it starts to get cold outside or if they've been here all the time having a quiet kip in certain hidden quarters.Generally we tolerate them but my wife dislikes those spiders with attitude,the ones who go wandering around willy nilly as if they own the place.Those rascals get carried to the garden in a glass and are told not to sneak back in unless they behave themselves.
Does anyone else allow uninvited guests to stay provided that they display good manners and are respectful?

I don't mind most spiders. The brown recluse and black widow (red back) are two that one does not want in the house.

The rest of the family objects to spiders to usually pick them up in my hand or trap them if they look to fragile or move too fast. If my family doesn't notice, I leave the spiders alone.

How to identify spiders (Warning: large images of spiders. Do not click on link if spiders cause you to panic)
http://www.termite.com/spider-identification.html

 

[Andre]

Most likely the spiders are relocating to prepare for hibernation.

The more spiders surviving the winter, the better they can control bugs in spring time. Farmers knew that for ages and left stacks of straw on the land, for the spiders to hibernate.

The spiders that I encounter, are relocated in the shed, a good hibernation place.

 

[Chi Meson]

Can't be doing with that. I refuse to kill them, I simply relocate them to a more appropriate home.

and I can appreciate that. Depending on the season, I will as well, but I get so many spiders in my basement that I simply can't relocate them all. I always relocate the jumpers though, if I remove them at all. For some reason, they seem like pets. And any spider that is doing a good job in a corner eating bugs, I usually leave them to it.

I think I just have a problem with unnecessary killing (yes, that extends to all bugs and creepy crawlies).

then you are closer to the Buddha than I am.

 

[Borek]

Most spiders are left inside, unless they appear in places like the wall over bed or bath. If they do appear in such places they are usually relocated outside, although if they happen to not survive the hunt I am not crying too long.

Wasps and flies are killed immediately, other insects - especially butterflies - are relocated outside, with more care than spiders.

Contrary to Chi my favorites are those large ones http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tegenaria_atrica

 

[D H]

I don't mind most spiders. The brown recluse and black widow (red back) are two that one does not want in the house.

I don't mind most spiders either. No problems with her, for example:

Brown recluses and black widows are a different story. They die. They die if I find them anywhere near my house, let alone in my house.

 

[Insanity]

While I typically will not kill intruding insects and arachnids, my cats feel differently and one has not learned that catching a yellow jacket in his mouth means getting stung in the mouth.

Until I had a virtual infestation of ants, I was fairly tolerant.

 

[nucleargirl]

Spiders freak me out. And ever since I once woke up in the middle of the night to find a huge one on the carpet in my room, I've been scared of them crawling into my mouth/over my face while I'm sleeping... my worst nightmare would be to wake up and find a half chewed spider in my mouth...

 

[Borek]

That would just mean you don't need breakfast.

 

[nucleargirl]

Thanks Borek, but I would prefer to starve and die!

 

[Chi Meson]

Contrary to Chi my favorites are those large ones

C'mon! Look at this little guy!
http://www.tulsamastergardeners.org/insects/jumpingspider.jpg
"arr, the sea was angry that day, me friend..."

 

[lisab]

C'mon! Look at this little guy!
http://www.tulsamastergardeners.org/insects/jumpingspider.jpg
"arr, the sea was angry that day, me friend..."

Lol...I thought, oh it's one of those rare pilot spiders...

[PLAIN]http://cdn.plussizecostumesupercenter.com/csc_inc/images/items/343x432/28339.jpg

 

[DaveC426913]

...my cats feel differently and one has not learned that catching a yellow jacket in his mouth means getting stung in the mouth.

As it is with my 27-year-old son. Who did not know he was sharing his glass of beer with a yellowjacket.

 

[mugaliens]

Does anyone else allow uninvited guests to stay provided that they display good manners and are respectful?

Always, provided they're indeed "house spiders" and stay in their respective corners.

Unwelcome house spiders:

1. Those that wander from their corner

2. Black widow

3. Brown recluse

When I was a child in Florida, I had a friend up the street who's parents allowed a huge Golden Orb spider to build it's nest in front of the window above their kitchen sink.

Inside the window, no less.

They removed the screen, and while the occasional fly or mosquito did get in, most of the influx of those insects which did get caught fed the spider which grew to some serious proportions.

"Why don't you knock it down?" I once asked. "Because it's beautiful!" replied my friend's mom.

And she was right. It was beautiful.

It would also retreat to a corner of its web whenever my friend's mom did the dishes, as she splashed a bit.

 

[sprudence]

wow I couldn't even imagine black widows around here, luckily the UK is like a vacuum for exotic venomous insects, aka, they don't really exist here. The most venonous spiders we have here are the Steatoda spp, or the false widow varieties.

As for house spiders, I hear they're picking up a reputation for biting people over in the US? I don't know how that could be, as theyre harmless here, even the giant house spider.

 

[Borek]

the UK is like a vacuum for exotic venomous insects, aka, they don't really exist here.

Scorpions are not insects, but then, spiders are not insects too:

http://www.uksafari.com/scorpions.htm

 

[sprudence]

True there are scorpions here, I've even seen one myself, but they tend to shy away from human activity and stay away, unlike Brown recluse spiders and Black Widows which are always ready to play the aggressive card if needed.

Scorpions themselves, even the European varieties are introductions to UK from the mainland, as they didn't exist before people crossed the north sea.

UK is really the land of introduction concerning many species, sometimes to a detrimental effect; Rhododendron ponticum, Japanese Knotweed, Himalayan Balsam, and Carpobrotus edulis (which is also a problem plant species over in the US too I believe on the coast)

 

[Insanity]

and Carpobrotus edulis (which is also a problem plant species over in the US too I believe on the coast)

one of the several plant species brought into control for either soil erosion control, stabilization, etc...

This one is more a problem on the west coast, and apparently also was sold, and perhaps still is, as an ornamental plant.

I've seen kudzu (Pueraria lobata) in the Georgia area. Has the nickname as "the weed that ate the south" as its a fast grower. Wikipedia has a rate of 15,000 acres per year.

 

[NobodySpecial]

UK is really the land of introduction concerning many species, sometimes to a detrimental effect; Rhododendron ponticum, Japanese Knotweed, Himalayan Balsam, and Carpobrotus edulis (which is also a problem plant species over in the US too I believe on the coast)

Not to mention grey squirrels, management consultants and reality TV shows

 

[fluidistic]

I hate spiders so much I don't tolerate any I can see. On the other hand I welcome arachnids like acarians that I can't see.
I've taken showers with scorpions, they definitely aren't afraid of humans and they remind me very much of ugly spiders in those moments.
As I previously said in this forum: I prefer a bee's nest right under my bed than a single spider in my house.
Yesterday I killed a 2 inches cockroach in the house I've taken showers with scorpions. Although I hate cockroaches, I prefer them (and even 10^6 mosquitoes) than spiders in my house.
So for those who say that 1 spider can kill thousands of insects, I don't care. I prefer loads of insects than spiders.

 

[NobodySpecial]

It's always about this time of year that spiders seem to take up visible residence in my house.I don't know if its because they pop in because it starts to get cold outside or if they've been here all the time having a quiet kip in certain hidden quarters

A bit of both - these are male spiders on the pull, they are wandering around looking for lurv...
Soon they will either die off or find a crack to hide in until it warms up a bit - but before then they just want a bit of company from a lady spider.

 

[Proton Soup]

Spiders freak me out. And ever since I once woke up in the middle of the night to find a huge one on the carpet in my room, I've been scared of them crawling into my mouth/over my face while I'm sleeping... my worst nightmare would be to wake up and find a half chewed spider in my mouth...

i was once roused from my sleep by a spider crawling across my face. there is apparently an instinct that makes you spring out of bed in full adrenaline attack mode and squash the bugger. i sprayed everything in the bedroom after that.

otherwise, i can tolerate them well if they stay in their place. i guess that makes me a spider segregationist.

 

[NobodySpecial]

i sprayed everything in the bedroom after that.

Very few insect sprays have any effect on spiders.
Sprays are designed to kill insects that spread disease by walking on your food,so they rely on things that transfer food to their mouths with their feet also transferring poison - unless a spider eats the poisoned carcass of an insect it's not going to injest any poison.
It's like trying to stop a lion by putting down slug pellets.

 

[DaveC426913]

i was once roused from my sleep by a spider crawling across my face.

Thank you. Thank you very much.

Now, simply knowing that spiders - anywhere, ever - are capable of commiting such an act requires that they be permanently expunged from the face of the Earth for the Good of all Davekind.

 

[nucleargirl]

I've noticed that the cleaner my room is, the less spiders I see - makes sense: clean tidy room = fewer bugs = less food for spiders :)
but they are always in the bathroom... can't seem to get rid of them there. And I try to kill all the small ones I see in the house - these I can handle! so they don't get a chance to grow into big ones.

 

[Norman]

I have come to accept the 8 legged buggers into my house. My house is super old and full of cracks and crevices, so they constantly come in.

What I cannot stand is the ant super colony that inhabits my yard. They are everywhere. I think the main part of the colony is under my house, so about every other week in warm weather I find a food line in my house. They hunt for moisture too, so the cat's water bowl is a favorite destination. All our food has to be kept in air-tight containers.

There are a few spiders in certain corners that consistently have ant carcasses strewn below their webs. So, for that, they get a pass from me. In general, I appreciate the job they do on all the different flying annoyances around my yard. My wife, who is extremely arachnophobic, has even come to tolerate them somewhat.

 

[Dadface]

I've noticed that the cleaner my room is, the less spiders I see - makes sense: clean tidy room = fewer bugs = less food for spiders :)
but they are always in the bathroom... can't seem to get rid of them there. And I try to kill all the small ones I see in the house - these I can handle! so they don't get a chance to grow into big ones.

Does that mean you've got a dirty bathroom?Quick ,run to the supermarket and buy a bottle of "Mr Muscle shower shine superspray"
But,seriously,bathrooms do seem to be a favourite place for them to hang out.This week I found a fabulous cobweb hidden in a gap beside a bathroom cabinet.

 

[turbo]

I don't kill spiders, and it used to drive my wife nuts. The last house that we had was in an oak grove, and for some reason, we had LOTS of large spiders around. Eventually, she got used to my spider-protection/relocation schemes.

I grew fond of spiders in college, when I was renting a house on the bank of the Penobscot river. The place was a spider haven, with the stocky little jumping spiders and the much larger fisher spiders showing up, often in the kitchen or bath. One of the guys I shared the place with had studied entymology and he had a soft spot for arachnids. We were both pretty meticulous about housekeeping, so we didn't have a problem with insects and spiders in the upstairs rooms. The glassed-in porch overlooking the river was a spider Shangri-La, and some of the web-builders got big enough to rival the water-spiders (fishers), at least in body-size.

 

[physics girl phd]

I've noticed that the cleaner my room is, the less spiders I see - makes sense: clean tidy room = fewer bugs = less food for spiders :)
but they are always in the bathroom... can't seem to get rid of them there. And I try to kill all the small ones I see in the house - these I can handle! so they don't get a chance to grow into big ones.

Water: Spiders need to drink too (especially in dry climates), and sometimes can't get all the fluids they need from "insect juice."

When I lived in Colorado, the condos where I was renting had an awful ant infestation (that the management tried to deny until a bunch of new owners moved in and took over)... but fortunately the ants only wanted water (never got into the food, though I kept it sealed). But I had to change my cat's water 2x a day to empty out the ones that drowned, and I couldn't keep any water in a teapot (I used my coffeepot sans filter to make hot water for teat, etc.).

 

[JaredJames]

Thank you. Thank you very much.

Now, simply knowing that spiders - anywhere, ever - are capable of commiting such an act requires that they be permanently expunged from the face of the Earth for the Good of all Davekind.

Have you not heard the whole "you eat an average of 8 spiders in a lifetime due to them crawling into your mouth as you sleep"?

 

[DaveC426913]

Have you not heard the whole "you eat an average of 8 spiders in a lifetime due to them crawling into your mouth as you sleep"?

I have. And I've recently heard that that story is likely apocryphal.

 

[BobG]

i sprayed everything in the bedroom after that.

Very few insect sprays have any effect on spiders.

I think he meant he would have peed his pants if he hadn't been sleeping in the nude.

I leave spiders alone.

I had a short war with a yellow jacket that was hassling me in my office at work. It was pestering me last week, but landed in a spot where I couldn't really smack him with anything. I did have a paper clamp and toyed with it, considering what my chances were of catching him in the clamp.

I think he read the expression on my face (yellow jackets are very good poker players precisely they pick up tells so well). He flew off towards the window and waited for my attention to be distracted towards my work - then he flew in and landed on my chin, tickling me just like in the "Messin' with Sasquatch" commercials. When I went to wipe my chin,he stung me!

I was working out of the office on Thurs & Fri, but he was back on Monday, taunting me, but staying just out of my reach. When I'd grab something to smack him with, he'd disappear down the crack between my desk and the wall. Very, very frustrating!

Today, I found him dead on the floor in front of my chair. I'm glad he's dead, but I also feel robbed, somehow. I deserved revenge for being stung and I'm disappointed I wasn't the one able to bring about his death.

So I mashed him just out of principle!

 

[NobodySpecial]

Today, I found him dead on the floor in front of my chair. I'm glad he's dead, but I also feel robbed, somehow. I deserved revenge for being stung and I'm disappointed I wasn't the one able to bring about his death.

So I mashed him just out of principle!

"One judges a man by the quality of his enemies."

 

[nucleargirl]

sorry for digressing, but the other day this HUGE bumble bee flew straight into my room - it was so huge! like almost 10cm long! and fuzzy... it was so cute, but I was SO scared... it kept flying into the window and there was a breeze blowing in and it kept getting blown aside - it didnt seem very good at flying - got blown off course by the the slightest breeze and landed in my shoe! It didnt move, just shivered a bit, then I gathered all my courage and put it outside :)

 

[JaredJames]

I have. And I've recently heard that that story is likely apocryphal.

I certainly agree, something of an urban legend if anything. Although it must have come from somewhere...

On a separate note, thanks for the new word.

 

[turbo]

sorry for digressing, but the other day this HUGE bumble bee flew straight into my room - it was so huge! like almost 10cm long! and fuzzy... it was so cute, but I was SO scared... it kept flying into the window and there was a breeze blowing in and it kept getting blown aside - it didnt seem very good at flying - got blown off course by the the slightest breeze and landed in my shoe! It didnt move, just shivered a bit, then I gathered all my courage and put it outside :)

Are you sure that it was a bee and not a clear-winged sphinx moth?

 

[nucleargirl]

Are you sure that it was a bee and not a clear-winged sphinx moth?

hm... don't know what a sphinx moth looks like but it was black and maybe had yellow/orange on it (cant remember in state of fear) but it was mostly black. and fuzzy. definitely furry looking. honestly, I was so scared all I saw was big black flying thing and heard buzzing and my own pulse.
ah I see what you're talking about! I love those things! they're so amazing! nah, never seen them in the UK tho, so don't think its was one. I'm not scared of moths :) I can hold them and everything!

 

[Proton Soup]

do a google image search for "bumble bee moth". there are some that look like hummingbirds, too.

 

[nucleargirl]

do a google image search for "bumble bee moth". there are some that look like hummingbirds, too.

true, they do look like bumble bees. But I'm sure my one was a bee cos I remember it had a flat head, like a bees, not pointed like the moth. it was kind of squat shaped.

 

[Proton Soup]

true, they do look like bumble bees. But I'm sure my one was a bee cos I remember it had a flat head, like a bees, not pointed like the moth. it was kind of squat shaped.

then it was certainly not 10cm

 

[nucleargirl]

then it was certainly not 10cm

okay maybe there was fear exaggeration... more likely 5-7cm not quite 10.

 

[Moonbear]

I have very clear boundaries and size limitations for spider cohabitation. They are more than welcome to hang out in the basement or garage, over doorways into the house, and around windowsills. They can also have full run of the attic, as I never go there and don't even check if they're paying rent up there.

If they start roaming the house "hunting" instead of leaving webby little traps for insects coming in the doors, they are fair game for being smooshed (the ones that try hunting are in no short supply in my yard, and seem to overwinter just fine in the mulched areas of the yard, so I'm not going to decimate the population by bumping off the ones that don't think twice about home invasion).

If they are found in the bathtub or shower enclosure, or too close to the toilet, they are going to get a bath and flushed down the nearest drain. Peeping Tom spiders are ill-mannered and unwelcome.

If they get within two to three feet of floor level instead of staying up near the ceiling, well, my cat REALLY likes spiders and it's their own fault for invading her territory.

Lately, my problem is not enough spiders and too many other bugs getting into the house. I think the cat has been keeping the spider population in check, but that allows everything else to get in. I only seem to have these tiny, anorexic looking spiders that don't seem to eat much.

The insect of the week seems to be stink bugs. I don't know what's up with those this year, but they're everywhere. And, I could use some more spiders to munch on the pantry moth caterpillars that have overtaken the cat's bedroom (trying to be environmentally friendly and using wheat-based cat litter instead of clay has backfired...the cat litter came in with an infestation of Indian Meal Moths...ugh...I'd MUCH rather have spiders now. I'm getting tired of vacuuming the ceilings. I'd even allow those ugly wolf spiders that hunt for prey to roam the house if they would slurp down some caterpillars and pupae for me.)

 

[Evo]

Moonbear, PLEASE post more! Your delightful posts are sorely missed!

Kurdt and I were lamenting your absense just this morning!

Oh, and go read my blog post, I'm getting sucked into that book and want your opinion.

 

[Danger]

I'm still of mixed minds about this; I was the world's foremost arachnophobe for all of my early life. Well, a general bugaphobe; the more legs it has, the less I like it. (Which came in really handy, considering the number of centipedes and millipedes occupying my house back east...) Conversely, it was drilled into me, from my earliest childhood memories, that as a descendent of Robert the Bruce I'm forbidden by family policy to harm a spider. (A spider was Robert's inspiration to escape from his English jailors and retake the throne of Scotland, so they're considered sacred to the Bruce clan.)
Anyone with a true phobia, however, will definitely agree that family tradition has no chance whatsoever against the cause of fear. I initially became afraid of bugs due to inadvertently sitting down to rest for several minutes on a red-ant hill during a family picnic when I was about 4 years old. I still wasn't worried about spiders.
That came in when I moved to southern Ontario. Frequently, I would wake up with wounds along my arms that looked as if I'd been run through a sewing machine. After a few weeks, I asked a locally-raised friend about it and he told me that it was spider bites. That was the instigation of full-scale warfare.
When I was 15, my spider phobia had become so severe that I couldn't whap one with a flyswatter because I was sure that it could run up the handle and bite me before it died. At that point, I owned a Llama XV .22LR semi-auto pistol with a 2 3/4" barrel. To avoid personal contact with spiders, I kept a 5mm starter blank in the chamber. That combination gave a visible muzzle flash of about 10 cm. So, I'd see a spider trucking across the floor toward me, and shoot it. The flash would instantly curl the bug into a little ball and blast it into the opposite wall. I'm pretty sure that the church board (the house was an integral part of my dad's church) puzzled for years over why there were dozens of 10 cm scorch marks all over the living-room carpet.
Now that I'm on the ADD meds, I'm not all that bothered by them any more. I don't like "thick" ones or "fat" ones, but I don't object to others hanging about. I don't want them touching me, but cohabitation is now acceptable.