EEEEEEK!

I can't even begin to tell you how much I hate spiders! They're quiet and sneaky, and they always show up where you least expect it -- YUCK!

And worst of all it was in a bad spot so when I went to kill it, I MISSED! Now I don't know where it will show up next. Screeeeeech!

You took a pic of the guy or this is another one? re: a lost spider, my heart goes out to you. Grab a can of hair spray to spray on him. That will slow him down enuf to get him.

you got close enough to lay a rular down next to it.... geeesh

That is the same spider, shortly before I tried to bludgeon it to death. If I had any hairspray I'd try your idea Anastatia. Unfortunately I haven't had a can in the house for nearly 20 years. Maybe now would be a good time to get a new one.

Vizz8 -- worse than that! The spider was on a wall so I had to hold the ruler in one hand while taking a picture of it with the camera in my other hand. Believe me, it took every ounce of courage that I had, and if the bugger had moved while I was at it I probably would have dropped the camera and ran!

By the way, still no sign of the little creep. How am I going to sleep tonight? Arrrrggghhh!

Uuuuhhhggg! I feel for ya, MzWeazelle! I found this guy the other day when I was sweeping off my front porch. At least this one was outside, but if they aren't in my flowerbeds, they have a death sentence. The gap in the siding he is sitting on is 1¾" wide.

ICK!

I'm going outside and photo the BIG HAIRY MONSTER by my front door. OK I won't but they eat a lot of bugs for free. I just give them names and they become an object of joy and interest. Not a squirmy, flesh eating parasite. LOL

Mz - his brother was at my house last night - but I know where HE is: safely tucked into the vacuum canister.
Just be glad we don't have cane spiders here - they are huge! When I lived on the Big Island, they would come in the house, and not solo. When they found a way in, they invited their family & friends. Put them outside - they come back in. I did not mind the geckos - they were fun, but very large spiders belong outside. I'm not sure I would want my plants moving around on the walls, either. Yeah, outside is good...

Katye:
I spent a couple weeks on the Big Island, near Makapala, and as beautiful as it was I would NOT want to spend the rest of my life there. I don't think I've ever seen bigger spiders outside of the zoo! Geckos in my bed I could deal with, but the spiders have to go!

Sofergid:
I vote for bats as insect control any day of the week - TWICE!

VICTORY!!!!

Sorry, no pictures -- it wasn't a pretty sight. Grrrrr.....

I'm sure glad you found it!! Hope you sleep well tonight! :o)

This is the time of year when the males of what I call 'big ugly house spider' start looking for mates. Here's what I hate: being in the bathroom late at night, all lights are off except the bathroom light, getting ready for bed, and 'big ugly house spider' comes creeping under the door. I swear they get bigger every September!! Spiders outside I can deal with. Big spiders inside... well... he was 'going toward the light' anyway. It happens so often this time of year you'd think I'd get used to it.

I don't want to be close enough to measure them with a ruler. Shudder.

Pixy, I had an overriding need to prove I wasn't just being a sissy, hence the ruler.

There are many new challenges in our new home. Some I'm happy to tackle -- this one I'd rather pass up! How long is the mating season?

yes, we info. re: their mating season. I too have found/killed some woppers in the bathroom this time of year.

Here's a good website:

http://cru.cahe.wsu.edu/CEPublications/eb1548/eb1548.html

Look at the abdominal markings to differentiate between the aggressive house spider (hobo spider) and other spiders related to it but less annoying.

Here's another good site:
http://whatcom.wsu.edu/ag/homehort/pest/hobo.html


I believe what we are seeing right now is the giant house spider. There is a photo on this site;

http://www.zoo.org/mow/facts.html



They'll be gone soon. And if they come into your house, send them 'to the light'. Eventually, maybe they will naturally select for spiders that stay outside!

Thanks for the info links Pixy, but what in the world makes you think I looked at the abdomenal markings of that monster?!?! Yikes!

Weazell...ROFL! I'm with you. I'm not going to take the time to flip over the spider and look at it's marking. That thing is just going to get squashed and away from me as quickly as possible!!

The thread-opening photos look like a spider that I saw last Sunday...
by the time the spider caught my eye it was just about to crawl into the vent holes on my computer monitor!!!

A short time later, I saw one that looked just like it walking between a few papers on my desk. That one didn't make it. [paper shuffling] SQUISH! [regret]...oops. Sorry spider! I hope you were eathing nasty bugs in my house because you are scary looking! ;-}

So I'm hoping that was the monitor spider. I haven't seen any crawl in or out of the vent holes since that day.


[I think: //please be the monitor spider!! I dont' want any more scary ones coming out early in the morning when all the house is still.]

i didnt dislike spiders til one crawled over my bare foot in our dark bastement when i was a kid..........brrrr still gives me the shivers!

I have very vague memories of a spider crawling up my bare leg while I was wearing shorts or a dress when I was very young. I don't even know if it's a real memory or an old nightmare or what, but I've always believed that's where my extreme dislike for spiders started. The mind is a powerful thing. Yucky spiders!

Perhaps this isn't the right time to mention that I have a spider web extending from my 12' ceiling to the top of my dining room table. The poor spider must have worked quite hard to build the thing & he seems to be catching quite a few bugs. I kind of enjoy seeing the progress each day & since we won't be using the dining room until Thanksgiving, I'll just consider him/her a pet. When I don't feel like walking outside to see dew covered webs in the misty autumn morning light, I'll just spray the sucker with water & turn on the light. Voila - a natural masterpiece. I've also had spiders build webs in a corner above the bathtub. I usually try to find big bugs to throw into the web to watch the antics. Fun times.

Herpst, they actually let you teach children?

Ok you guys quit picking on my furry and multi-talented friends. Just think about it spiders are so cool when they walk on you you rarely feel it. When they eat, sleep, bathe, hug their children you don't even know they are there. They are the best neighbors anyone could want. Have you hugged an Arachnid today. They did you when you were sleeping last night.

Soferdig, I don't care what spiders do as long as they do it OUTSIDE! If they're going to hug me at any time they risk terminal attention. And I don't want to know anything about what they're doing to me while I'm sleeping.

Haaaaaaaah haaah haaah. They are your best friends start looking at one and watch their life and actions. They are wonderful.

Mz - thought you might like to know what some of them do when you are sleeping: I remember reading an article several years ago about spiders - oh should I even tell you this? - crawling up to the corner of people's mouths, because so many people sleep with their mouths slightly open & a wee bit of drool will collect at the corners, so the spidys get a little drink.
Oh how I wish i could see your face right now!
Of course, those are the small ones...the big guys use a straw because they get real thirsty!!!!!! AAAAAAAHHHHH!
Since I read that, I have not looked at spiders the same. And, to avoid any nighttime conflicts, I fill a glass with water & leave it on the sink for them.
Seriously, is this why we see them in the bathroom - availability of h20 & usually less activity as opposed to the kitchen?
I put them outside if possible, but if they return indoors, they get the business end of the vacuum.

The two places they seem to like in my house the best are the living room and my kids' bedroom. Those are the busiest places in the house and there's no water in them. Many nights after I put the kids to bed, I get called back in there to kill a spider. Usually it's the older one who notices them because he sleeps on the top bunk. I wouldn't want to be that close to one either!

Katye, are you going to be at Weyerhauser tomorrow?

I LIKE SPIDERS! If a large roving spider gets in my house, I just scoop it up with a piece of paper and put it outside. The ones that spin webs are welcome, after all they mostly stay in their webs and catch insects and don't bother anyone. One Fall, my family had a pet spider that spun a web in the kitchen window over the compost container. We sometimes caught moths for her and threw them into the web. She spun a new web most nights, and we all got up at midnight once just to watch her perform this amazing feat. I took our pet 'Spidey' to school to visit my class during a unit on spiders and insects. We had a wooden frame for her to spin on in a large plastic tub of water, so she wouldn't escape. She got away anyhow, by swinging over the edge, but she left a silken trail, which I followed to find her hidden in a curl of the flag.

Mz - I am trying. Someone slashed my tires, so I had them replaced, & then found out about the suspension needing major work. This set me back a bit. I was just sitting here trying to justify the trip since I will not have funds, but I have been looking forward to this for some time. Herpst - it's all your fault!
wow - sorry to digress. In answer to your question: maybe?
Suppose I should go to sleep, wake up real early, jump in the car & head south!

I just wanted to tell you that I'd be the one with bloodshot eyes with dark circles under them, carrying a double-barrel shotgun!

Maury, you give me your address and I'll post it for all the local spiders. Yuck!

Now now! let's get reasonable here. Sofer is right: spiders are amazing creatures and as long as they are small and/or outside, they are welcome in my world anytime. My favorites are the little crab spiders and the jumping spiders. I love the ones that live in the flowers and really blend in. The orb weavers hatch their babies and I see trillions of tiny little spideys swinging around in the air looking for a place to land, just as in Charlotte's Web.
But, the big daddy house spiders really really need to evolve to select for those who stay outside and I simply cannot get close enough to them to catch them, so they must go. I shudder audibly just thinking about them. I have really tried to see them as my friends, but my mind simply will not go there.

Oh, and this time of year, I really hate it when my friendly little orb weavers decide to weave their orbs across my path right at face level and I don't see it until it is on my face. Then I do the 'is there a spider in my hair' dance. There is a lot of head slapping required. I do not recommend this.

Spiders are amazing, no doubt about it. Now Pixy, if you want to sacrifice some of those virtual virgins to keep spiders from coming into the house I'll be right there with you.

I'm not sure which childhood episode came first to spark my fear of spiders...


...waking up one Saturday morning with my older sister standing over me with her evil chuckle ...margerine tub in one hand, it's lid in the other... to have a scary spider crawling on my face...

or

...again being with my older sister, this time out in the old playhouse [1950s era truck canopy setting in the back lot]. Her telling me to go sit in the corner of the interior, only to have a nest of baby spiders come down over my head, scattering all throughout my hair and onto my face....



Whether it was one of those episodes or another totally unrelated scenario, I have had several encounters with spiders throughout my life that can almost rival those two. LOL!

My spider motto: If they're outside, they get to live. If they're inside and I come into contact with them, they're likely* to get squished.


*depending on the availability of something to squish them with.

Hi Tiff-

I'd be scared of your older sister!

MzW- Ah yes, the twisting of young minds. Oh the power! But I'm really in it for the glamour, fame and fortune. Don't tell anyone o.k?

I agree with you, tiffanya. As long as they are outside that's fine. If they come in on the flowers I cut, I will usually take the spiders back outside.

The other day my DH and I were outside painting and I looked over at him and realized he had a spider crawling on him. I was pretty far away from him and could still see the spider so I knew it had to be pretty big. I told him it was there and he said, "Yeah, I know it's there. He's my little friend." He didn't freak out or anything! Just let that thing crawl all over him.......until it crawled up his sleeve and started tickling him, that is! LOL Then the spider had to go back home. ;o)

I've heard, read, or maybe I dreamed it.. that humans comsume quite a few spiders every year, most at night while they are at the watering hole...


Ever wake up with that real bitter taste in your mouth.... ????

Tiffanya, as much as I hate to agree with Herpst, he's right this time. I wouldn't be arachnaphobic I'd have syngenesophobia!

Herpst, I've heard of more and more decidedly INFAMOUS teachers these days, but very few glamorous or rich ones. I think you better pick a new occupation.

Eww on the 'getting a teensy drink' part. I'm sleeping with duct tape over my mouth tonight. Hubby will be so pleased LOL.

I'm with mgh and Sofer: I don't mind spiders at all. I have 5 indoor cats that love to bring them to my attention, should one come inside. This time of year when it cools off, we can count on what we call "wood" spiders. Big brown ones. Perhaps a leg span of 2 inches max. I haven't checked abdominal markings and don't intend to! They either ride in on cut wood for the stove, or sneak in the door or windows cracked open. OR MAYBE they're sleeping under my pillow case waiting for me to sleep. EWWWWW!

I usually catch them in a jar, let them crawl up inside and just set the jar outside ( real quick LOL,) but I will admit there is something a bit scary and unnerving about them- Too many legs? They don't purr? They don't beg for human food at the table?