Scared or Afraid of Spiders?
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Now I am the first to admit to being scared of spiders ever since a very young age. There is no reason behind my fear, none of my family are particularly bothered by them, and here in Guernsey we have no poisonous ones to worry about. This doesn't change the fact that if I see a large house spider charging along the carpet I instinctively freeze and bring my legs up on to the sofa out of reach, (in case it decides to jump me!)
The truly crazy thing is that I actually find the darned things fascinating if I am watching a nature documentary about them. The way they spin their webs and the detail involved, the way they hunt, (whether with webs or not) and the sheer necessity of them being on this planet. But put me in a room with one and I go to pieces.
Okay, I am far from as bad as I used to be, but my memories still haunt me of the times I had close encounters with spiders I would prefer to forget. For example, the instance where I was lying in bed and in the semi-darkness saw a massive spider running along the shelf next to my bed. In hysterics I ran downstairs frantically asking my Mum to come and 'get rid of it', but she wanted to watch the end of the News. By the time she came upstairs it had vanished and I was refusing to go back into the bedroom. Mum obligingly pulled out the bed to try and find this hairy monster, at which point it came hurtling out from under the bed straight towards where I was standing in the doorway. Letting out an almighty scream I crashed into my Sister's bedroom opposite at high speed, slamming the door behind me, and nearly giving her a heart attack in the process.
Meanwhile, Mum managed to catch the spider in a tea towel, but also managed to drop it on the way down the stairs. In case it returned to my room I refused point blank to sleep in the room for at least a week afterwards, and moved into the spare room on the lower floor. Even Mum agreed it was the biggest spider she had seen over here, and her guess was that it was a female carrying eggs, (not a comforting thought believe me!)
Another time I was babysitting for a couple's children, and whilst the couple were out another vast spider decided to taunt me by tap dancing on the carpet in front of my chair. By now I realised there was only one way to deal with this problem if alone. In other words the wine glass and paper trick. I quickly grabbed an empty glass, just about fitting it over the spider, then slid an envelope underneath it. Too scared to risk throwing the spider outside in case the wind blew it back onto me, I placed it carefully on the kitchen table for the couple to dispose of later. What ended up being really funny was how their two year old son was absolutely fascinated by the spider the following day, and I became his hero for providing such great entertainment.
Of course then there was the occasion I was in the bath, and realised a spider was gently lowering itself from the ceiling towards my face. Both me and the bath water exited the bath simultaneously.
Then there was the time I went to the toilet in the middle of the night having first put on my dressing gown. As I lifted it up to sit on the loo, a large spider fell out of the back of it into the toilet bowl. This really freaked me out, as it must have been against my skin all along. I quickly flushed the chain in case it managed to jump back up on to my bare bottom whilst I did what nature intended.
Lastly, the tale that springs to mind is when I worked in the rat breeding unit, and at lunchtime we came out for our sandwiches in the small shed. The shed was equipped with a sink and electricity, and as I went to fill the kettle I looked down into the sink and saw a huge spider staring back up at me. In horror I leapt backwards, and one of the male staff kindly agreed to remove it. Funny thing was that when he picked it up it actually bit him. Alright, there was no danger of it being poisonous, but he still said it hurt, and I found out later that even some house spiders can inflict a painful, if non-venomous bite.
I want to know if they are truly more scared of us than we are of them, then why do they always seem to run towards us at high speed, rather than in the opposite direction? And what about those ones who seem to be wearing clogs because they are so huge? I am pretty damn certain I am more scared of them than they are of me!!!
As the years have passed I have become much more tolerant of these arachnids, and found that given the time to summon up some courage, I even managed to hold a giant Tarantula that covered both my hands completely, (possibly because it reminded me more of a Guinea-Pig than a spider due to it's size and slow movements).
I have now developed techniques that have really helped me to deal with the problem of finding a spider in my home and not being able to reach it to remove it using the glass and paper trick. I want to share these tips with you, as I know they work, and make spiders far more bearable for those of us who are generally terrified of them.
1) If you find an 'out of reach' spider, such as on your bathroom ceiling, give it a name. Last year I had one in our bathroom for a week or more, and I called him 'Harry'. By doing this I thought of him more as a pet than something to be scared of, and when he vanished on his own I was not too worried about where he had gone. I currently have one living on my car wing mirror called 'Boris', and he is kind of pretty, black with orange dots all over his body.
2) Watch as many documentaries on spiders as you can. They are fascinating creatures and once you watch how they hunt, be them trap door spiders or the spiders we all know who spin webs, you may well find your interest outweighs your fear. Did you know a spider's web is many times the strength of steel of the same diameter? Scientists are still trying to find a way to reproduce this strength to human advantage.
3) Look at a spider web in your garden first thing in the morning when it is covered in dew. Few things are more beautiful in nature, and a spider's web is a work of art.
4) Go to your local zoo and look in the spider section. Learn more about them and you will grow to appreciate them. Watching them through a glass screen will make them seem a whole lot less threatening.
5) If all else fails get a cat. My cats tend to catch most spiders in our home, and whilst I hate them killing anything, I am not usually quick enough to rescue the spider concerned. At best I find a set of legs left behind and the torso gone.
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As you say, they need to be understood, they are an important part of our very precarious eco system. They have a vital role to play. Therefore avoid them and try to avoid killing them.
The Discovery Channel aired an excellent article on the important role that Spiders and their kin perform in the overall balance and scheme of things.
Thanks Starrkissed for your comment. They freak me out too, but I am a lot better than I used to be.
Hi Rodney, thanks for popping in. They are fascinating creatures, and essential to the planet, so I never kill them and simply tolerate them now, or remove them to outside.
My wife is petrified of spiders. She has also made it so that my sons are also scared of spiders. We don't have any poisonous ones around us but they are still scared. I would probably be somewhat worried if I had deadly ones around. But I really don't think anything of them. I would even leave them in the house since they will get rid of other bugs. I just wouldn't want the spider webs everywhere. great suggestions for getting over the fear of them by the way.
Thanks Jim10, they worked out okay for me, although I am still scared of spiders, but not nearly so much as before. :)
I hate them, but won't go kill them either. We do have poisonous ones here..the brown recluse and the black widow and the brother of the brown recluse who has a bite just as poisonous as his brother. They have rings on their bare legs and they will jump at you. We also have HUGE black ones that come into the house a few times and they too jump right at you. I don't have to worry about any spiders or bugs that happen to come into the house. My cats love their free toys!
I got bit by one in my bed sheets a few years back and my foot swelled and my skin began to peal off. I went to the ER and they docotor that saw me--he didn't live on this planet--he told me that spiders don't bite people. My husband and I just looked at each other in amazement. I was given some anti-biotics and sent home. Now I will kill these little black ones that have a white spot on their back. I don't know what they are called or if they are poisonous because I can't find a picture or description of them on-line.
Sounds really nasty Lady Guinevere, only one thing worse than a spider in your house, and that has to be one that either jumps at you or bites you in your house.
I have irrational arachnophobia. My entire family has it. It's irrational because one, look at the size comparison to a very large spider and even a small toddler. The child is a monster in comparison. And two, like you said - they are fascinating creatures. Watching nature shows about how miraculous they are has definitely helped and there now a few I even like (they look like little square tanks!). I won't pick them (duh!) but I enjoy watching them.
I love the spiders, they make a great web near my rose plant and eat the bugs, so I let them grow. If I see them inside, I take them out instead of killing it. They deserve to live also.
Thanks CW for commenting, yes you can get used to them if you really try and they aren't too huge and fast moving. They are amazing creatures after all :)
cgull8m, thanks for stopping by and commentng. Spiders are definitely essential to our wellbeing, and I never kill them intentionally.
Well frankly speaking only population thriving these days is Human Population. So we need to help each and every animal, birds, insects, plants etc to ensure their survival.
Like ! Spiders I cant imagine an old place without spiders in the picture. Only spider I fear is the Banana Spider I saw it on TV that its more poisonous than king cobra. Size doesn't matter in this case. Great Hub!
Thanks Sara, great comment :)
I love spiders, to a point (I'm not afraid of them). Like you, I don't have poisonous varieties here; however, they will bite and leave you uncomfortable, if you let them. I love them because they eat every other bad bug in the house and in the garden.
But now, winter is coming on, and the spiders find their way into the house. Hey, it's warm here!
When I find a spider in the house, I usually capture it under a glass, slip a piece of rigid paper between the glass and the floor, invert the glass using the paper as the lid, and dump the spider outside.
However, this year, my house seems to be the great gathering place. Yesterday, I went to put a fesh pair of jeans on, and as I put one foot in one leg, a HUGE spider raced out from the leg of the jeans. Freaked me out. I took my running shoe and squashed it. This is not what I want to do with spiders, but this sucker was bigger than my thumb. And it was in my PANTS!
Turns out that the running shoe I squashed it with had such deep treads that, although the spider was dead, it still had a life-like form after being squashed. So I scraped it off my shoe and gave it the proper burial.
I love the photos in this Hub. Spiders are magnificent. I just wish they would stay outside.
Hi Sally, I guess I would freak too after finding one in my pants!!! The glass and paper trick works well, but for when you aren't around the cats work better still!
The cold damp weather seems to definitely bring them indoors.
Like you, I wish they would simply stay outside, or even on my car wing mirrors like they do now! :)
Here where i live there are no poisonous spiders (apart from the false widow spider, sister to the black widow - rare). Everybody says that they see more spiders appear in their houses in the winter, whereas where i live, the hotter it gets, the more house spiders i see throughtout the house. For example, i saw no spiders of any variety in my house during the entire winter season, yet today, on the 23rd of June, i saw 4 separate spiders in my bedroom. I just wonder why?
That is strange Callum, perhaps it is too hot for them and they come indoors to cool down. At least they aren't poinsonous though. Thanks for commenting here.
I am totally impressed by how you have managed to turn your phobia around. I am 47 years old and I can't bring myself to even TOUCH the book THAT I BOUGHT about various spiders and their habitats. (In the store, I held the book up by its corners and dropped it on the counter for the cashier!)
So sorry to hear of your extreme phobia purpleangel47. I know it is not an easy phobia to beat, but if you possibly can, try the "naming them" idea, as it really helps once you start to think of them as a 'pet' or at least a sensient being.
Blech! I couldn't even read your hub for all the pictures! I am a real arachnaphobe. My four year old son is braver than me!
LOL Ms Chievous, you should try the main tip I suggested about "naming" the spiders as it gives them personality and makes it far more bearable to be near them.
I have a few in my basement I named, Fang, Sting, Bite and Hairy. Hairy is the female that ate Lil Dick, a male. I hate the damn things mostly.
So funny Ralwus, although I suspect you aren't serious??? I just love the idea of 'Hairy' eating 'Lil Dick', sounds kind of naughty. :) PS. How could you tell 'Lil Dick' was a male?????
i watch many spider documentaries and have watched them for years each time i watch them i get more scared due to these documentaries only showing the damned poisonous ones ¬¬.
That's a shame sokx, as there are fascinating documentaries about non-poisonous spiders :)
I have a strange fear of spiders, I can run over with a container and piece of paper and catch them, and I don't mind poking them with a stick to move them, but I can't seem to sum up the courage to squish one, I suppose I imagine it fighting on in a rage. If I do end up squishing one I'm likely to put a hole in the wall making sure it won't make a come back.
The huntsman spider is just so damn quick that you can't just go to the kitchen and grab what you need or else it will vanish behind furniture only to re-appear weeks later the size of a small dinner plate, you have to keep watching them.
LOL Bob, well described. Thanks for the comment.
Mistyhorizon,
You write some very interesting hubs. Some of them I can identify with and wanted to comment, but in an effort to stay out of trouble I wont!
This hub however I can really relate to. I've always been terrified of spiders. I don't know why, I think it's just the strange spooky eyes and legs that creep me out.
About a week ago I was at the car wash washing my 2005 Jeep wrangler. It has a cloth top and plastic windows that you can roll up and down after unzipping the zippers. I was holding the car wash wand and running my fingers along the top edge of the cloth flap when out of no where a octagon shaped spider appeared and jumped toward me! He landed somewhere on my shirt, but I couldn't find him!! I threw the washing wand down and began to disrobe right there in the car wash! I didn't find him and I was creeped out for about an hour afterwards.
I hate spiders!
Jeff
Hi Jeff, thanks for the lovely compliments and the comment. If tha had happened to me I would have reacted much the same as you I suspect. I heard of a person once who was driving their car and pulled the sun visor down, at which point a large spider that had been snuggled up behind it fell into their lap. From what I remember they nearly crashed the car in their hurry to pull over and jump out of the car.
I also had the experience of putting on my dressing gown to go to the toilet, and as I lifted it up in order to sit down, a huge spider fell out from the inside of it and straight into the toilet bowl. That meant it had been resting against my skin all the way to the bathroom. Before putting it on I shook my dressing gown out thoroughly for weeks afterwards in case the same thing happened again.
I can relate for sure.
I find spiders interesting and beautiful in a way, as long as I am not touching them or close by!
I had one other instance where I nearly soiled my pants! I was living in Florida and had a hotrod in the garage I was restoring. I had on sandles as most people wear in Florida. I was walking along side the frame of the car and had my hands full. Something was making this scraping noise close by on the concrete. It sounded like a large crab or something walking across the floor. It went right over the top of my foot which was bare because of the sandles I was wearing.
I looked down and it was a large spider that had an hundreds of eggs under his body, this all rubbed against my bare foot!!! OMFG!!!
It was horrible I still get chills.
Oh and thanks for joining my fan club. I have a lot of drawing tutorials if you are into art!
Jeff
Hi Jeff, I could feel the goosebumps reading this, never mind experiencing it first hand.
Sadly art is more my Sister's field of expertise, as I am not at all artistic. I shall look at your hubs though, in case I decide to try again. Do any of them include tips on drawing pets at all, preferably in pencil?
I thought rvsource's Jeep story was bad enough, but the second story about mommy spider dragging the eggs was truly horror movie material. Does anyone know, can very large spiders jump so far that they seem to disappear - or perhaps fly (in Ontario, Canada)? Would glue boards work for these huge suckers? I try to google it, but I can't get past the pictures.
There are no poisonous spiders where I am and I am scared of them.
My fear of spiders is really getting to me. It's starting to feel like some sort of obsession or something. I cant walk into a room without fearing one will be there and I cant seem to get them out of my head whenever I am walking or sitting about the house. I am however, really fascinated with them and always have been since I was little. It's just the giant house spiders that really get to me as they can be so blinken big. Just found one in my bathroom about an hour ago and now I am terrified another will appear when I am asleep in my bed. I am even scared to go into my garage now. If there was a way of discouraging them from coming into my home I definately would try it. Anyway, enough with my rant, just wanted to say that I really enjoyed reading your blog and could completely relate to what you were saying. Thanks, Dionne
Thanks Dionne, actually there are products on the market that you can physically surround each window frame, door frame etc with, (in a paint on form), that spiders won't cross. Problem is that this also means any already within your home won't leave either. I think you have to reapply it annually as well.
Thank you, that sounds great. I will look into that. I would never want to harm any though - would just like to feel more at ease in my house. Thinking of going for hypnotherapy or something too as that might help. I live in the UK so thankfully you cant get too many hairy spiders lurking about..... so i hope anyway...........
Good luck Dionne, I am sure you can overcome this, or at least put your mind at ease :)
I must say spiders are a great part of the ecosystem and i say that im more scared of humans then them becaues humans are well the most dangerous animals on the planet
bye
Hi Count, that is very true, although the fear of spiders is not necessarily about the danger of them so much as the irrational fear of their shape, speed, legs etc. As most of us know, the majority of spiders are harmless, yet those with that phobia feel exactly the same about them as if they were dangerous.
Dont call me count
Sorry, but can I ask why not, as your name is "Count Alucard" on Hubpages?????
Yes but I find it rude to call me by title instead of name
wow your the first one to spell my name right
LOL, Okay, fair play, interesting as most would say "familiarity breeds contempt", in other words, "it is presumptious" to call someone by name when they haven't offered you that option first. Mind you, I am glad you noticed I spelt your name correctly, I always try to make sure I do when replying to posts.
Thanks it just that people you know spell it allcard alucud so ya im kind of happy that you spelled my name
No problem Count Alucard, I like to spell names correctly and always check them carefully before typing them.
heave you posted on how to kill a vampire because that were i have most of my conversiations bye Alucard out
Not yet, but will definitely take a look at it. Thanks for the tip.
ok
So misty can I call you misty what happened to your hub activity on how to kill a vampire
Hi again Count Alucard. I posted there a couple of times when it was first published a very long time back now. As I read loads of hubs I don't tend to re-visit the ones I have already read and commented on, (just not enough hours in the day), plus I am frequently writing my own hubs or outdoors working on my huge veggie allotment. If only every day had 48 hours I would be fine LOL.
Yeah ok I understand that what I want to know is why did you go there anyway
Hi Count Alucard,
The reason I went there in the first place was curiosity as I have always loved horror film and used to watch Vampire films from a very early age. I loved books such as Stephen King's Salem's Lot, and then the film came out which was great. This lead on to other films such as "From Dusk 'til Dawn" and in turn "Buffy the Vampire Slayer", the list goes on and on. It isn't just Vampires though, I love all kinds of horror movies and am also interested in the legends behind such creatures as Werewolves, Vampires, Zombies etc. When I saw the title I just had to read it and see what it was all about.
Well its been crazy since then theres wars going on out there
I noticed that when I checked in after you told me most of your activity was on there. What a nightmare, I decided not to get involved, too much of a time bomb.
Ok bye
your hub page is logical i must say I congradulate you on your control over your fear of spiders
Live long and prosper
Thanks Mr. Spock, I hope you too Live Long and Prosper. Clearly you too are a fellow Star Trek fan.
Yes I am Star trek fan
Miss.Horizon if you will? and although I congradulate your fear I can get over my fear of cockroaches hopefully Ill get control of the emotain of fear
Live long and prosper
btw you should read my hub its called The early history of the planet Vulcan with Spock:A jounery into the Star trek universe.Sorry for the long title.
Live long and prosper
oh yeah leave a comment there
thanks
Live long and prosper
Hi Mr. Spock, I shall definitely check that out. Thanks for the tip.
I must enquire how old are you
im 13
I am 40, a wee bit older than you might have suspected I am guessing.
Yes why did you think I asked you that it wasent to check if you where avalible so to speak.Im already in love but the she dosent even know I exist and besides no one likes a nerd
btw I have a friend that likes to call him self Count Alucard and he told me that he likes the hub page named how to kill a vampire whitch is how I got sucked into it to
No worries, just didn't want to be guilty of misleading a minor. I truly hope the girl you love notices you soon and gives you a chance.
I guessed you were Count Alucard based on comments I checked out on the "How to kill a vampire" hub, so no worries there either, you seem okay in my book.
Thank you Miss horizen
but thats not going to happen im afaid.Because she has noticed me but I was whering my limeted edition star trek science officer uniform and vulcan ears while I was talking to my friend she pined me as a nerd so I dont stand a chance
Hmmm, I can see how this might be a problem agreed. Not sure of the solution unless you can find a way for her to see you in equally non-nerdy situation so that she realises there is more to you than her first impression may have lead her to believe.
I know we share one thing in commen we both like high school musical by the way do you have any tips on how to control my fear of cockroaches
That is a good start and a topic you can strike up a conversation with her over when the opportunity arises.
Not sure how you can control your fear of cockroaches apart from following similar tips to the ones I used to stop my fear of spiders. You could try learning more about them via TV and the Internet too, as this often starts to make you look at them in a new light, with interest.
I tried that but it dint work mostley the documentries are about the mating cycle so just there telling me theres going to be more cockroaches I think I got it from my dad he hates the darn things
You could try getting one of those giant hissing Cockroaches as a pet in a tank (yes, people really do keep these as pets). Once you become fond of this pet the naturally much smaller ones will seem far more acceptable.
Other ideas include hypnosis and those courses that de-sensitize people who have phobias by gradually introducing them to closer and closer contact with things they have fears of, be it spiders, buttons, cats, rats, pencils etc.
Gonna go offline for a while now so won't be able to reply to any more posts until I next log on.
first of all not goanna happen my dad wont let me get one and I dont really think that will help ill try vulcan meditation maybe that will help
by they way
I just sent the girl her name is Resha a love poem on facebook hope this works bye
Well, good luck, let me know how you get on :)
Resha said no but we can be friends
Live long and prosper
Well, I guess that is better than nothing at all, and some friends still go on to romance in later years. Good Luck
you are right Miss Horizon thank you
Live long and prosper
If you love star trek visit my hub The early history of the planet Vulcan with Spock:A jounery into the Star trek universe its Mr.licker
Hi Mr Spock, I think that person who just posted is a bit of a pratt actually. He has left loads of obscene posts on various hubs of mine today under different names, (I can see his i.p. address though and they are all the same). I have deleted the posts he has made including the one on this hub, although in this case mainly because of the name he called himself, (the full name, not just the last name you have used in your response to him).
good idea
It was the logical discision
you know onley 1 person besides you and me has commented on my hub
The secret is to join other people's fan clubs, aka, 'follow them'. Quite often they will then follow you too and read and comment on your stuff. You can also submit your hub's link to http://hubpages.com/forum/23 so people can review it and add constructive criticism, this ensures it gets read and you get feedback on how to make it more readable. Also you need to write more hubs to get noticed. I write about one every three or four days in the Winter, and about one a fortnight in the Summer, this keeps your Hubscore up, and means you will feature on the feed link often enough to be spotted.
Also, go onto the forums and comment, interact etc, this gets you fans and noticed, so give it a try.
very well your full of good ideas
Hope you give these tips a try so you can see the difference in your success rate.
Well spock here you are talking about a suposed love life since when do you green blooded vulcans feel love anyway
good hub by the way misty
Dr.Mcoy your insults are most illogical
blast your confounded logic Mr.Spock
Miss Horizen I made a new hub named I need a star ship crew
can you please visit and comment
Will do soon, but not tonight, madly busy preparing for West Show here,so time for reading limited right now. Leave it with me!
never mind need to do some revision
I Hate Spiders, More Than Anyone Else In The World. To Me They Are Discusting, Scary, Vile And Vanish Into Thin Air Sometimes. Our House Is A Victorian One, And Is Very Old We Get Tones Of Spiders All Year Round. I've Tried Everything, Gadgets, And Now I'm So Fed Up And Tired I'm Thinking Of Moving House! I Know How Mad I Sound But I'm Petrified. They Are 8 Legged Freaks!
I have to say Cheyenne that I would not be too comfortable in a house riddled with spiders to the extent your apparently is. No matter how good I was with spiders I would not want them running over my feet, or on my bed in the night etc. No doubt I would move house too if things were that bad. Have you tried that stuff you can buy that you paint around your door frames and window frames once a year? The spiders won't cross it so the ones outside don't come in the house. Then your problem is to eradicate the ones already in the house bit by bit, safe in the knowledge that once they have gone no more are coming in to replace them.
yeah i hate spiders to they are freaky i mean 8 legs come on that's gross and their eyes its gross i have hated them ever since i was created
LOL lust maker, I can see a real phobia in your words. Just remember, they aren't the only creatures with eight legs, (or six or more) on the planet, and do you hate them too, e.g. Octopus, Centipedes, butterflies, Crabs, Lobsters etc?
The eyes are a bit creepy I guess, but it is fascinating when you watch documentaries on spiders and see them in action day by day, what they see through their eyes etc.
Hello the new hub is out its name I need a star ship crew Live long and prosper
Thanks Mr.Spock, I shall check in on it soon.
Oh leave a comment
Live long and prosper
I will when I visit the hub Mr.Spock, might not be for a day or two as I am up to my neck in homemade chutney right now and am not spending much time on the Internet.
you are very brave!! im so scared of spiders its unreal. if i can kill it i can if its out of reach i avoid the place!! seems like i cant win. i want to believe that they wont harm me but just the thought of it coming anywhere near me freaks me out..........eeeeeeek
LOL, just remember the old mantra "If you want to live and thrive, let a spider run alive".
Every creature has a right to live regardless of how we feel about them. Killing it is not the answer, after all, would you expect your cat hating neighbour to kill your cat and justify it this way!
I am not totally cured, but I am at a level I can cope with now which is good for me (and for the spiders). Keep trying, you might reach the same place in time :)
I hate spiders. So is my mum and my sister. We dont have poisonous ones here but some are huge! They really freak me out because they could bite you and they always seem to run at you. Just today I found a ginormous one and ran for my oter sister (who isnnt afraid of spiders) to get rid of it, then 5 minutes later, another one! I couldn't even look at the pictures on this, I had to cover them up - but not with my hand! I no that sounds stupid, they cant come out my computer screen, but still. They also make me feel really itchy, im still itching from my encounter with them earlier, and that was about an hour ago!
This is a bad case of the phobia, but don't give up yet, I used to be just as bad as you are. Try to make yourself watch documentaries on spiders and learn how amazing they are. Practice touching a picture with your eyes closed at first, then bring yourself to a stage you can open your eyes. Next you can work on looking and eventually touching a dead spider, it is only a matter of time before you may well be able to manage live ones, especially if they are slower moving such as pet Tarantulas.
Even if you simply get to a stage you can catch a house spider in a glass with an envelope and put them back outside you have made massive progress, and I found this happened when I lived on my own for the 1st time and quickly realised that either I made myself do it, or the spider stayed in the house with me, a great cure LOL.
I cant stand spiders either. Ive used subliminal messages in the past to cure my fear and they worked quite well.
Good tip Health Wise, it isn't an easy phobia to conquer so the more 'weapons you have in your arsenal' the better.
Ugh, I had to have my hand over my mouth the whole time I was reading your hub so I wouldn't scream... or puke, because of the pics O.O But I was really interested so I kept reading XD
I had the 'spider falls from the sun visor in the car' thing happen to me a couple of months ago. I was hysterical! And my husband was taking his flipping time pulling over. My brother in law was in the back seat and was as bad as me. I ended up getting the lock up and falling from the car just as it came to a stop, where I promptly threw up :o( I had also killed the poor spider with my frantic flailing.
I really wish that I wasn't so afraid of spiders because I can appreciate the fact that they are fantastic at keeping insects at bay and the Athena/Arachne story is one of my favourites. The best I can do is not kill them on purpose and try not to allow my sons to see how terrified I am of the little creatures.
Thanks so much for your feedback Amy, I really do sympathise as I would probably do the same (even now), if a spider fell out of the sun visor on to me. I am cool with them from a short distance, cool with pictures, documentaries etc, just not with physical contact, but for me that is still major progress! I sincerely admire the fact you avoid your sons seeing this fear in order to stop them 'learning' the same fear.
can you visit my hub now and leave a comment
I need a starship crew is the name of the hub
GREAT information, thanks :-) I used to be scared of spiders, but then I lived in Southeast Asia for a while - where there are in fact poisonous spiders and snakes and nasty bugs - and even though it was very uncomfortable, somehow I lost my fear of spiders. I guess the more you confront the thing that you're afraid of, the weaker the fear gets.
Thanks "I'm not Scared of Spiders". I agree that the more you confront the thing you are afraid of the weaker the fear gets. It is also very difficult to maintain that level of fear indefinitely when constantly being exposed to it.
Mistyhorizon my and my friends made a movie its called Return of the Borgs Halloween special
Nice one, well done :)
have you watch it its on youtube
I am TERRIFIED of spiders and the pictures up there didn't help don't ask me why I just am and I have a feeling that is never going to change
Hi FossilHunter007, I know it's hard to get over any phobia, and some people never do. I sincerely hope you can ta least find a way to get it under control to the degree I have done. Good Luck
Mr. Spock, have you seen my gold shirt? It's laundry day and it could use a washing after that Gorn fight. That Gorn was such a D bag lol. All that I have clean right now is my green shirt. Could I borrow a blue shirt from you? I promise I would give it back after my laundry is done.
i am scared of spiders and when i see 1 photo here i run from the room. i cant see photos of spider and i cant touch them.
Perhaps something like hypnosis might be your best bet Ana as your phobia is particularly extreme by the sound of things.
I live in Australia and this is the home of deadly spiders. My kryptonite is the Golden Orb Weaver!!! OMG
I certainly understand the phobia much better when the spiders native to your country can be deadly Mikayla. The question is does this make you scared of the ones that are harmless too or is it only the ones that can harm you?
my fear is how you would say beyond extreme, but never fear i cant move close enough to one to actually kill them, within a meter my body freezes completley, or putting it another way, i have goose bumps and my eyes are water whilst i type this, i also cant stop looking at the floor every 10 seconds to see if one is sneaking up to bite me.
that being said yes they are fascinating, very much so. but my fear tends to get in the way of observing them.
luckily i have a really understandable flat m8 that clears them for me ( humainly ) and my missus helps out aswell
Sounds like a nightmare Mick, and I really do feel for you. I just hope you do find a way to get this phobia to a manageable level, be it through hypnosis or using the techniques that got it to bearable levels for me.
I'm similar to several of you who have also commented, in that my fear of the buggers is utterly crippling. The other night I heard something rustling under my bed. My first quick check for the source of the noise was fruitless, but after hearing it again, I took a second look, and there, not two feet from my nose, was a huge one. Jet black, and sort of on it's side, thrashing around against a piece of paper (rustle rustle). I hightailed out of my room so fast, and haven't been back in for more than a few seconds since. Tonight will be my 4th night on the sofa downstairs, and probably not my last. Everyone I know finds this so funny as I am a pretty manly guy usually, but when a spider is around I'm a total pussy. Nice to know I'm not the only one though. I can't get close enough to them to catch them under a glass, so I just have to wait until I see them leave, or in this case until I believe I see this particular spider somewhere else at home. Could be another week before I have my bedroom back! I find it fascinating because the fear is so irrational, unlike heights or snakes or something else dangerous. The spiders round here aren't at all dangerous... just big and noisy!
Hi Jack, I totally get your fear, even though mine is mostly under control now thankfully. I recall waking up one night as a child of about 10, and just in time to see a huge spider running along side my bed on the wall, just inches from my face. I frantically ran downstairs to get my Mum to remove it, but she wanted to watch the end of the news first. By the time she came up to my room it had vanished. I stood nervously in the corridor as Mum pulled out the bed, and then there it was, running at full pelt straight towards me. I screamed and crashed into my Sister's room slamming the door behind me.
Mum managed to catch it in a tea towel, and agreed it was huge and possibly carrying eggs. As she went downstairs she dropped it by accident. We never did find it, but I avoided the entire floor for weeks afterwards. Gives me shivers even now!!
I am supprised by how humane you all are, I have three in my shed, and I bet there are more.
my fear, has got better over the past few years, but that was using a kill kill kill, method. if i see a spider i switch to Kill mode, find somthing good and heavy and then mash time.
but these three in my shed, they are sneaky. one i was tolirating. the other two i thought were just cheeky. so i decided to go for good old kill mode. but Gee, the first moved like it sensed the attack (i would guess the web told it). and now i am here trying to find another way. So i am going to try nameing them. I guess Lucky is good name for the first one.
and Hinge for the 2nd as it is just above the door. feels a bit better already, just need to name the third.
with this said if there is a spider just fafing about, i think i will just revert back to mashing.
no good. I
Hi Wilot, I loved your comment by the way, it did make me giggle. I am sure you will find the naming them helps. My latest one appeared on our lounge wall the other night, so I called her Belinda. I couldn't be bothered trying to catch her because it was an awkward spot to get to with a glass and paper, so I left her there. She was gone the next day, so hopefully moved out voluntarily. This time of year is an nightmare in Britain, as the Autumn is when they all head indoors. I am removing about 1 a night from our living room carpet at the moment, always when it is dark outside. My two garden sheds seem suddenly full of large spiders, and I can't name all of them (it would get too confusing remembering which was which). I prefer to avoid the sheds as much as possible until the Spring comes around again, but if I absolutely have to go into the shed I am in and out as quick as I can.
I still can't kill them though, makes me cringe even thinking about squashing them, and it seems so unfair on them as they are very useful to us most of the year round, catching flies etc.
I have suffered with arachnophobia for forever. I can't stand them! If I see one I have to see what has happened to them because I will not leave the room until it is removed or sometimes killed. I live in southern California in the High desert. And we have daddy long legs and thick legged black widows I have seen ones in my house as big as 3 inches! I am moving to florida on of these days and I hope the spider community is as populated over there as over here
Good luck when you move Lindsay, hopefully there will be less spiders for you to have to deal with, and with a bit of luck less deadly ones.
I must admit I find spiders fascinating but I'm absolutely terrified of them but knowledge hasn't helped in this case, so what should I do next?
Probably do what I do and name them Andrew, at least if they are in your shed or your home etc. Another thing you could try is spend a whole load of time around a place where they are kept in tanks, watch them and try to psyche up the courage to handle them. It was a major breakthrough for me when I managed to hold a Giant Tarantula even though I was terrified of spiders in general. I reckon I could still do this now, but would actually struggle with 'smaller' ones funnily enough (too much like house spiders). I reckon if you spend enough time around any creature or thing you are scared of you will begin to become desensitized to those creatures or things. The reason for this (in my opinion) is that it is all but impossible to maintain a constant level of panic and fear if constantly around the source of that fear.
Just my thoughts :)
I'm petrified of spiders :( I nearly threw up because someone told me there was a giant spider on the gardening tools shed, and I hadn't even seen it! I've tried everything, like picking them up, but i always drop them and start hitting myself. I feel really sick when i see them, but people think i'm just wanting attention! I used to love spiders, but ever since i woke up and one about the size of a four year old's palm was right next to my face, I've had the phobia. It really sucks not being able to get rid of them myself, and I always have to call mum or dad to get them now, even if it's tiny. I find them fascinating when looking at them through maybe a window, but as soon as there's nothing inbetween me and the spider, I panic. I really don't know what to do, because it's really embarrassing. :(
That is a severe phobia StotheAtotheRAH, perhaps hypnosis might be the solution in your case. I really hope you can at least get your fear under control to some degree.
Good Luck
Hi I managed to read the comments so I gathered the main tip was naming them. I couldn;t read the artical though.I couldn't face the pictures so unfortunatly that hasn't helped. Im terrified of any spider even the tiny money spiders I have to leave the room if there is one in there. I cant get within about 2 meters of one if I do I will freeze tremble and if its still there then I will cry until the problem is fixed by hubby, son or a neighbour or even when my son was a baby and one got in his pram a nearby stranger.
I can't look at any pictures I had to get my dad to close down a website that had a picture of one on once as I just couldn't get near enough to use the mouse to do it myself.
I could never dream about watching a documentry about them,
sometimes my phobia is so bad I imagine one running out of somewherethen I will trial run my escape route just in case.
I couldnt do that de sensatiation theropy I would end up in a straight jacket in some padded room somehwer slowly rocking back and forth lol.
My phobia extends to crane flys too aka daddy long legs they are just flyig spiders. I think its the way they move one leg at a time... why would you need to do that. I know they have no muscles so they blow air down their legs to move them like hydrolics... its just plain wrong.
I cant kill them even when they are dead orjust a leg they still scare me. I've run to a nearby shop to get someone to remove spiders dead or alive before now.
I have learnt to accept my phobia and just deal with it as it comes it not too often I have learned to not look for them although this does work if i go into a garage or a porch or any wooden structure... but if i do i tend to just close my eyes and hop for the best!
Wow Nay, your phobia is off the scale by anyone's standards. Have you considered hypnosis as an option, it might be your best bet. In the article I also suggested "Look at a spider web in your garden first thing in the morning when it is covered in dew. Few things are more beautiful in nature, and a spider's web is a work of art."
I do sometimes manage to look at the spiders web cant get too close in case they are occupied though. Hypnosis is the only thing i think will work but unless its stopping from doing what i need to do to go about my daily life then I'll just deal with it lol.
Well good luck Nay. In your situation I would look into the hypnosis idea just so I didn't need to rely on other people so much. I mean what do you do if you are on your own at home at 03.00am and you go to the bathroom only to find a massive spider in there??? Yikes, big problem if no-one else is home.
That top spider is an ugly guy. Our grown kids run from spiders.
Hi Moonlake, I reckon close up like that they all look ugly, not an attractive creature, but not their fault either!
Im quite lucky in the fact I am rarely alone as my boyfriend aka hubby doesn't work away from home but in that situation I close the door put something under it and don't enter that room until the problem is fixed. I couldn't use a vacuum cleaner to suck one up as that involves the spider comming towards me very very fast!!
lol This will probably be my last reply on here as my computer likes to take me to the top of the page where there is an eight legged beast and I think my nerves are on their witts end!
Thank you for your posts. If this spider phobia starts to get in the way of my job (like it did my first job which I had to leave due to an incident with them) then I will go and look into hypnosis. I wasn't fond of my first job so I didnt mind looking else where but I like my current job!!
Just in case you do pop back here Nay, thanks for the giggle you gave me over the vacuum cleaner line :) I really do wish you the best of luck with your phobia.
Wow, this is a very useful and entertaining story. I loved it ! I am not that afraid of spiders (and I'm only 12!) It first sight, they freak me out, but I calm down, then I say things like: "Hey there little fella!" or I give them a name as it really does what you explained. I love spiders, even though they freak me out at first, I seem to overcome my fear. My friends do think I am a bit eerie for thinking this way, but their loss ! Anyways, I loved your story, very entertaining and useful ! -Happy Writing(;
LOL, thanks for commenting 'Name' and glad you enjoyed this. Sounds like you have the right idea and your friends just don't 'get it' :)
I really scared of spiders. Some times I think I should see a doctor for mental treatment.
I doubt you need 'mental treatment' chamilj, but aversion therapy, hypnosis etc can help, or of course the methods that I describe here that allow me to cope quite well with spiders these days :)
OMG. This was the coolest Hub! I am not afraid of spiders except for two types which are predominate in our area, the black/brown widow and the brown recluse. I fear the day I may be bit by one of these. About 9 years ago, I did some accounting work for an office in the desert and the manager there had his knee all wrapped up and was limping. I, being the curious one asked him what happened. He told me he was bitten by a brown recluse and it literally was eating his knee away from the inside out. At one point in the day, he had to change the dressing and I never saw anything so horrify as I did with this mans knee. The whole knee cap had a gapping hole in it about 1/2 inch deep with pus and blood and all kinds of "ick" oozing. It's didn't gross me out, but it made me never want to come in contact with a brown recluse! Great hub Misty! I have a wolf spider that hangs out my window sill... I think I will call him...... "Pane in the glass" Voted up!
LOL Rusticliving, that final line of your comment is just the best yet. I can totally understand a fear of a venomous spider, especially after the story about your boss. I have my basic phobia of all spiders under control, but I still would not want to have a house spider on my body anywhere.
I can not stand spiders - or snakes thank you! Your hub makes some great points - almost like desensitizing yourself to them...acclimatization to spiders! Lol
I woke up one morning not too long ago - the left side of my face was swelled so badly I went to the doctor. He found a wound he believed was a spider bite. I live next to a corn field...oh I get those huge wolf spiders! I have my house sprayed quarterly - even in freaking winter which really makes my husband mad:) lmao! He says I'm the only one on the block who has the exterminater here when there's ice on the ground! LOL. So - isn't that when they would MOST want to come in??
I had to take antibiotics and I looked like a freak! I'd been cleaning my closet...so I bet anything I disturbed someone's home!
Yikes, I would hate the idea of one on my face, never mind it biting me. Luckily our spiders are not poisonous, and only the big ones would bite, and then only if you try to pick them up (which I would never do). We have a few spiders living in our house in places I know where they are. e.g. there is one inside our back door area in the beams above. Bearing in mind the amount of flies we get here in the summer I am happy to leave him be because he can help me to get rid of them. I have called him 'Frank'.
I can stand the spiders that are like dots, i used the method of naming them :P. The problem is that if its any bigger than that i get freaked out. They can't be a meter close to me. We had two spiders one in the upstairs bathroom and one in the downstairs bathroom. I talked to them every time i saw them - i named them Timmy and Tommy and they were the only spiders i wasn't scared of. One day i came downstairs and my mom was vacuuming the washroom and i saw Timmy get sucked up. :(
One time i visited my family in India and we were talking and suddenly i saw this huge spider! It was missing three legs and it was 2 and a half inches long and i freaked. It was walking really fast and i was terrified. i watched it walk over my cousin who was sleeping... i started shrieking surprisingly she didn't wake up but the whole time we were in India i didn't even try hugging her my max distance when coming close to her was two meters away. My parents are the kind of people who say it's just a spider, so one of my cousins picked it up and threw it out the window. I stayed awake the whole night. :P
Now that incident would freak me out too Yus. Spiders in places like India, Australia, Africa etc seem so much bigger than those in Britain, and the size is definitely a determining factor in how scary they are. Bizarrely though I was less freaked out by the Giant Tarantula when given the opportunity to hold one, possibly because it was not 'in the wild' and was used to being handled. It also moved very slowly and methodically, which made it far less scary than a smaller, faster moving spider.
Condolences over poor Timmy too :(
starrkissed 3 years ago
lol just seeing the pictures freaks me out. i hate them. o.o even the teeny tiny ones.