Foo - Spiders - Cool or Evil?

What do you guys think about spiders? Like if you see a spider in your house, even one that isn't poisonous, do you freak out or just let it slide?

I personally hate most spiders. I'm severely arachnophobic - I used to be so bad that if I even saw a spider in my bedroom and didn't kill it, I would be unable to sleep there for days.

I have a friend, however, who is a tad slobby, and he's totally down with the spiders. He likes to let them chill out around his house. When I ask him how he can stand this, he says "spiders get rid of bugs, termites, etc, so they're helpful"

What about you guys? are spiders more useful than scary? I mean, would you be perfectly cool with a Brazilian Wandering Spider just chillin in your house? daddy long legs don't count. they aren't true spiders in that they dont have any venom whatsoever

I don't mind spiders if they're far away from me. Spider webs can be pretty when I'm not walking through them.

If they come near me, though, it's squishin' time.

(And actually, the Daddy Longlegs is one of the more venomous spiders, they just don't have enough of it to harm a person.)

i try to get them outside first. but, i have to say, i have killed a few before. but i've always felt bad afterward. then i usually watch TV and forget the whole thing ever happened.

Taerom had a pet spider for a while. It was kinda funny when he would take it for a walk on a leash...

Here in Bozeman, we have a Hobo Spider epidemic going on.

See spider, kill spider.

I bet they are cute holding a tiny little stick with a fly wrapped in a red bandana hanging from the end.

Kill the buggers, Kill the buggers, Kill the buggers, Kill the buggers, Kill the buggers !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Depends. Is it on me or not.
Hanging from the ceiling or running across the floor, let them eat bugs.
Hanging from my neck, I stomp everything within six feet of me flat.

Living in the woods I can say the number one best reason to wear glasses, walking face first into webs.

Living in the woods I can say the number one best reason to wear glasses, walking face first into webs.
I worked at and recreated at a local marina for over 10 years. Part of my early morning ritual was getting facially assulted by spider webs and the residents thereof, both predator and prey, so I can feel for ya, brother!

(And actually, the Daddy Longlegs is one of the more venomous spiders, they just don't have enough of it to harm a person.)

that's actually a popular myth, although understandably so, since true daddylonglegs (which are not venomous and therefore harmless) are often mistaken for similar-looking spiders which are slightly venomous

and RIGHT ON about the woods post. I went camping down in Devils Den, Arkansas with a friend of mine and we got lost in the middle of the night and were wandering around, absolutely just getting coated in spider webs.

cool spider:
http://www.gbtc.com/wilbur.jpg
evil spider:

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/images/ency/fullsize/19582.jpg

Here's a Hobo I caught outside my house

http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m106/Cypress818/wolfyII.jpg

aren't hobo spiders pretty venomous?

aren't hobo spiders pretty venomous?


Yes.

I have a scar on my leg from a Hobo bite.

poisonous-->squishy-squishy
otherwise-->leave it be

I'm pretty much down with anything that eats bugs.

how'd you like to come home and see this?

http://www.fazed.org/content/clock_spider/

huntsman spiders are huge

how'd you like to come home and see this?

http://www.fazed.org/content/clock_spider/

huntsman spiders are huge

whoa! actually, the picture of the spider by itself isn't too bad. the legs sticking out of the clock give me willies. *shudder*

how'd you like to come home and see this?

http://www.fazed.org/content/clock_spider/

huntsman spiders are huge


Das a HUGE b!tch!

Inside the house, I kill 'em. We live in the woods. The spider factory will make more. ;)

Usually we get daddy long legs inside. Next in line would probably be parson spiders. Once in a blue moon I have the misfortune of running into a wolf spider. *shiver* They can get unnervingly big.

if you ever see a spider like this in your house, definitely kill it:

http://www.puppetpizzazz.com/images/pizzazz/pizzazzspider.jpg

how'd you like to come home and see this?

http://www.fazed.org/content/clock_spider/

huntsman spiders are huge


Not as big as the Camel Spider!! :eek:

http://z.about.com/d/urbanlegends/1/0/T/1/camel_spider_sm.jpg

http://www.neatorama.com/images/2006-12/camel-spider-fly-tying.jpg

Evil. I ran into a couple black widows while I was pulling up the deck, they had laid eggs on the corner of each square section. There were about 20 sections.

whoa! actually, the picture of the spider by itself isn't too bad. the legs sticking out of the clock give me willies. *shudder*

it's like it's just waiting in ambush to run out and pounce on you as soon you go to open the blinds or something
:cry:

that's a misleading photograph, it makes those two camel spiders look 10 inches long or something, when they actually are smaller than the palm of your hand. i could be mistaken though.

Still have a big gnarly spot on my leg that I'm fairly certain was a spider bite. I say squish 'em all.

http://www.neatorama.com/images/2006-12/camel-spider-fly-tying.jpg

is that a spider or fruit from a tropical cactus

Inside the house, I kill 'em. We live in the woods. The spider factory will make more. ;)

Usually we get daddy long legs inside. Next in line would probably be parson spiders. Once in a blue moon I have the misfortune of running into a wolf spider. *shiver* They can get unnervingly big.

wolf spiders are big and scary but are actually one of the few spiders i like to see. they're not dangerous to humans, are unaggressive, don't build webs, and kill bugs and (most importantly) other spiders like brown recluses and black widows

that's a misleading photograph, it makes those two camel spiders look 10 inches long or something, when they actually are smaller than the palm of your hand. i could be mistaken though.

Yeah you're right, it IS misleading. You can compare the size to the wrist of the guy to the right. Anyway.....got a little info here:

1. Camel spiders top speed - 10 mph.

2. Size: Up to 6 inches

3. They have no venom.

4. They don't jump.

5. Called camel spiders because they live in the desert.

They actually aren't spiders at all, they're solpugids.. Along with spiders, they are members of the class Arachnida.

Spiders eat all the really bad bugs, let em go. Sheesh. Black widows in the house on the other hand. STOMP

aren't hobo spiders pretty venomous?
Yes, but serve them a steaming hot bowl of this, and they will never bite you.
http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r162/jsharr/hobo-soup.jpg

Spiders eat all the really bad bugs, let em go. Sheesh. Black widows in the house on the other hand. STOMP
Yea, whenever I see one I try to catch it and/or kill it.

They RUN away really fast though.

All spiders are venomous (there are spider-like arachnids like the harvestman that aren't), but no spider in Sweden has enough venom, or a potent enough venom, to cause more than a mild and local irritation. But even a bite is so rare that I've never heard of anyone actually being bitten by one. The most common spider indoors here is the Tegenaria Domestica (house spider).

I used to be terrified in the past, but I'm pretty cool about them now. I still kill them though...

We had black widows everywhere in the house where I grew up, especially in the garage. Killed plenty of those. But generally speaking, while I am entirely repulsed by spiders and insects, I let the little house spiders go. They don't bother me, I don't bother them.

Those huge spiders yall have put up pictures of, tho, my god..... I think I would have a heart attack if I were ever face to face with one of them...

I used to think I knew when I saw a brown recluse, but I never feel certain anymore, too many types look really similar. We encountered a bunch of spiders today inside of the tunnels we're abating that looked like brown recluses I've seen inside containers or in pictures. We tried to squish them several times, including by hand swatting, side kicking, and even swats from huge pieces of torn down insulation, but they were way too fast. For a bug about the size of a half dollar or so them suckers can move. We eventually decided just to leave them be, because whenever they saw us, they ran away. Just the same, I'd be lying if I said I wouldn't have been busy killing them if I had a rubber band gun with me at the time.

Taerom had a pet spider for a while. It was kinda funny when he would take it for a walk on a leash...

Yep, but I didn't use a leash, he just sat on my shoulder.

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a284/Taerom/PC022584.jpg

Here in Bozeman, we have a Hobo Spider epidemic going on.

See spider, kill spider.

My spider could've taken care of your problem for you. Supposedly, the type of house spider I had competes with hobo spiders for food and does a good job of keeping hobo spider populations down.

My spider could've taken care of your problem for you. Supposedly, the type of house spider I had competes with hobo spiders for food and does a good job of keeping hobo spider populations down.


Your spider and my spider are almost identical....

Your spider and my spider are almost identical....

Hmmmm, maybe I had a pet Hobo Spider. :p

edit: or maybe yours is just another kind of house spider? I think they are in the same family...

Here's a Hobo I caught outside my house

http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m106/Cypress818/wolfyII.jpg

How'd you get it to stay still? Is that some kind of sticky paper or something?

It's medical tape. I kept that spider in a Tupperware thing until it got too groggy to put up a fuss. Then I tweezered his legs out.

:eek: How could you do such a thing?? :p Look at this guy's cute face, why would you want to hurt him?...

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a284/Taerom/PC032593.jpg

"How you doin'?"

LOL


I tried to feed him moths and whatnot. He just wasn't happy. Maybe I got an emo spider.

An emo spider would've cut his own legs off. Maybe your spider thought it was overweight and was starving itself.

Maybe it's like Groundhog Day. No matter what I do, the Hobo dies.

no problem

http://www.larsholmgaard.dk/spider_big.jpg

Problem

http://www.eugenewei.com/images/misc/camel-spider.jpghttp://img2.travelblog.org/Photos/4478/19493/t/89085-Big-Spider-0.jpg

just depends on the size

small to medium = no problem - live and let live
large to extra large = problem - squish with a EEE a.s.a.p.

I can't tolerate them in the house. As I've gotten older, I've developed nasty reactions to spider venom that's supposed to be "harmless" to humans. I get bitten, it starts to swell with angry red streaks that radiate from the bite. It burns and itches under my skin, too. Then I scar and it's ugly. I know spiders are ecologically good in theory - just not in my direct existence.

Maybe it's like Groundhog Day. No matter what I do, the Hobo dies.

:lol:

I'm cool with any spider unless it is a "fiddleback" (brown recluse to those of you who have never lived in Oklahoma) or a black widow. When I moved back to Dallas, about 30-40 of those fiddlebacks were in my boxes and baggage I had out in the shed. Needless to say, they all got sprayed. I found a nest of black widows (about 10 of them) in a box where I had a dented bicycle frame. That box got left alone as I was all out of chemicals. Bites from those two breeds aren't anything fun at all.

:eek: How could you do such a thing?? :p Look at this guy's cute face, why would you want to hurt him?...
"How you doin'?"

No no, this is the closest i've seen any spider get to being 'cute'

http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w273/benweeks/Jumpingspider.jpg

All spiders are venomous (there are spider-like arachnids like the harvestman that aren't), but no spider in Sweden has enough venom, or a potent enough venom, to cause more than a mild and local irritation. But even a bite is so rare that I've never heard of anyone actually being bitten by one. The most common spider indoors here is the Tegenaria Domestica (house spider).
<sigh> I know the venom of domestic house spiders isn't toxic to humans, but it still causes me problems, though they are mild. Dratted defective immune system...

i try to get them outside first. but, i have to say, i have killed a few before. but i've always felt bad afterward. then i usually watch TV and forget the whole thing ever happened.Same here. Occasionally 1. kill them in a knee jerk way, 2. feel like a jerk, 3. get over it.