House spiders,welcome guests or not?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the presence of spiders in homes, exploring whether they are considered welcome guests or unwanted intruders. Participants share their personal experiences, tolerance levels, and attitudes towards spiders, as well as their methods of dealing with them. The conversation touches on various aspects, including the seasonal behavior of spiders, their ecological roles, and individual preferences regarding different types of spiders and other insects.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested
  • Exploratory
  • Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants express a general tolerance for spiders, allowing them to stay as long as they do not wander too much or display aggressive behavior.
  • Others indicate a limit to their tolerance, stating that they will kill spiders if they feel it is necessary, particularly for species like the brown recluse and black widow.
  • A few participants prefer to relocate spiders rather than kill them, viewing this as a more humane approach.
  • There are differing opinions on the presence of other insects, such as wasps and ants, with some participants willing to kill these insects while being more lenient towards spiders.
  • Some participants mention specific types of spiders they appreciate, such as jumping spiders, while expressing dislike for more dangerous species.
  • Concerns about spiders invading personal spaces, such as bedrooms or bathrooms, are raised, with some participants willing to relocate them in such cases.
  • One participant shares a personal fear of spiders, particularly regarding the possibility of encountering them while sleeping.
  • There is a mention of the ecological role of spiders in controlling pest populations, with some participants advocating for their survival during winter months.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally do not reach a consensus on whether spiders are welcome or unwelcome in their homes, with multiple competing views expressed regarding tolerance levels and methods of dealing with them. The discussion remains unresolved, reflecting a variety of personal beliefs and experiences.

Contextual Notes

Participants reference anecdotal experiences and personal preferences, which may not represent broader ecological or scientific perspectives on spiders and their roles in homes.

Dadface
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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?:smile:
 
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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."
 
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Chi Meson said:
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 :frown:)

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.)
 
Dadface said:
Does anyone else allow uninvited guests to stay provided that they display good manners and are respectful?:smile:

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.
 
jackmell said:
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.
 
Dadface said:
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?:smile:
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
 
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.
 
jarednjames said:
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.
 
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
 
  • #10
Astronuc said:
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:

attachment.php?attachmentid=28553&stc=1&d=1285554155.jpg


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.
 
  • #11
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.
 
  • #12
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...
 
  • #13
That would just mean you don't need breakfast.
 
  • #14
Thanks Borek, but I would prefer to starve and die!
 
  • #15
Borek said:
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..."
 
  • #16
Chi Meson said:
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
 
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  • #17
Insanity said:
...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.
 
  • #18
Dadface said:
Does anyone else allow uninvited guests to stay provided that they display good manners and are respectful?:smile:

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.
 
  • #19
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.
 
  • #20
sprudence said:
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
 
  • #21
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)
 
  • #22
sprudence said:
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.
 
  • #23
sprudence said:
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
 
  • #24
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.
 
  • #25
Dadface said:
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.
 
  • #26
nucleargirl said:
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.
 
  • #27
Proton Soup said:
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.
 
  • #28
Proton Soup said:
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.
 
  • #29
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.
 
  • #30
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.