Lisa O`Brien Posted September 25, 2015 Share Posted September 25, 2015 (edited) I have a severe form of Arachnaphobia. I break out in a cold sweat all over my face,neck ,back and hands. My heart rate increases quite rapidly and my hands shake. Often i`ll cry,the fear is that intense.To me,especially the big ones,they are monsters. Yes,I know the ones we get are harmless house spiders. I don`t see them that way. When I am confronted with one in the house,don`t laugh because I DO know how daft this sounds. But at that moment in time when I am confronted with the thing,all rational thinking goes out the window. I think it has come into the house deliberately to do me harm,that it knows I am terrified of it,and if I don`t kill it first it will kill me,because I will die of fright. I`m being absolutely serious,by the way. My son thinks i`m mad,of course. Last night there was the most enormous one I have seen in a long time. No time to boil the kettle to throw at it [my favourite form of killing them; you don`t have to get up close to squash it,and the water kills it instantly]. It`s not ideal ,throwing a kettle full of boiling water up your painted walls,but I don`t care. It was running along the living room floor. Luckily my cat at present has a cardboard box very near where it was that she sits in. We got a delivery last week, and I kept the box for now for Blackie to sit in. Well I pounced on the box. The cat scarpered. I positioned the box over the monster then jumped into it with both feet and proceeded to stamp up and down for a good 20 seconds. It did the trick. I usually,several times a week,spray "No More Spiders" around the house, but have been forgetting to do it. The hideous carcass lying on the living room floor,which i`ll have to ask Sean to remove for me, is a reminder to get the spray out. Today. Edited September 25, 2015 by Lisa O`Brien Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan McNulty Posted September 25, 2015 Share Posted September 25, 2015 I have to try very hard not to panic when I see a spider indoors but my Mum and Dad always believed it was lucky to have spiders in the house (and I know other people who do too). They would be turning in their graves if they thought I was contemplating killing one. I can usually just about cope as long as they run away from me, not towards me. I don't usually need to turn the light on in the bathroom, security lights on the other side of the railway give plenty of light(!) but for some reason last night I did and there was Mr Spider in the middle of the floor. I don't know who had more of a fright - me or him! He did scuttle away and hide but now I am worried in case he reappears... I apologise to the neighbours I may have woken with my scream! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna C Posted September 25, 2015 Share Posted September 25, 2015 There was one in my kitchen the other day so large that I contemplated putting the house up for sale, rather than dealing with it. :-) It was so large I couldn't fit a glass over it, so I had to resort to popping a perspex bowl over it before gingerly sliding a large envelope underneath. I can't bear large spiders but I could never kill a spider regardless of size. They always seem particularly intelligent creatures. Too many childhood re-readings of "Charlotte's Web", perhaps, but they are always delivered safely (with much shuddering on my part) into the garden. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Mallinson Posted September 25, 2015 Share Posted September 25, 2015 Arachnophobia is treatable - quite easily it seems. A phobic friend took the half day Friendly Spider Programme at London Zoo which culminated with the participants passing a large hairy bird-eating tarantula (live) from hand to hand. It worked. There's also a good description of the experience in this recent Daily Mail article. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LinMM Posted September 25, 2015 Share Posted September 25, 2015 My fear of spiders has decreased somewhat with age ....so I do recognise the cold sweat thing from when I was younger. Once when living in London I was terrorised by an ENORMOUS spider and kept running from one room to the other. It was uncanny as I got the dreadful feeling it was deliberately following me.....and when I banged a chair on the floor to try to frighten it out of my bedroom it ran straight towards me instead of away!! In this case the Hoover was out in the lounge so to cut a terrifying couple of hours short I managed to get it up in the Hoover. Job done I thought and was just about to get into bed when I suddenly became gripped by this absurd thought that the spider hadn't been killed at all and would crawl out of the Hoover in the night and then wreak its vengeance on me! So I got the Hoover and put it outside my flat door on the landing with the pipe hanging over the rail so hopefully if it did come out it would drop down three flights of stairs!! So I do understand just what ridiculous lengths this fear can drive you to! However these days although I still don't like spiders and the big house ones(we have a huge one in the lounge every evening at the mo....they seem a bit like cats are creatures of habit and go for their "walkies" about the same time each day) still scare me I do feel more tolerant of them and as long as I know where they are and they are not on the ceiling just above the bed I can sort of cope. I can't usually get near enough to kill them but these days don't really want to and luckily for me my partner can deal with them by putting them outside .....usually if in the bedroom which at least allays the problem for 24 hours or so!! H It's odd what we seem to be "naturally" afraid of. I've helped friends in the past deal with a mice problem but I couldn't help anybody with their spider problem. I had no problem dealing with a pigeon that got into a classroom as the teacher there came hyperventilating into my class because she had a strange fear of birds and feathers etc......normally the most level headed person you could meet as our highly regarded and super knowledgeable Deputy Head!! Of course the children in various classes I had soon cotton on that Miss might potentially lose it when a big enough spider comes out of the Art cupboard or similar and have been teased something rotten by them over the years with false spiders hidden in registers and so on!! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2dancersmum Posted September 25, 2015 Share Posted September 25, 2015 Even reading this topic gives me a chill down my spine. I don't like this time of year - large spiders urgh - but for me even worse daddy-long-legs - they look like spiders but fly at you whereas I can get out of the way of a spider! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAB Posted September 25, 2015 Share Posted September 25, 2015 Don't forget the old saying: If you wish to live and thrive Let a spider run alive A word of advice, never go to Australia. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LinMM Posted September 25, 2015 Share Posted September 25, 2015 Aren't they smaller there though.....but a much more vicious bite!! As a child I had a set of encyclopaedias .....anyone growing up in the 50's may know them The Book Of Knowledge I think they were all called. Anyway the volume with S for spiders in has a two page spread somewhere in the middle of the book of a tarentuela spider from South America. Sometimes I forgot this but if I turned the page and suddenly there was this huge spider I used to snap the book shut pretty sharply! I have been to South America now but luckily didn't see any spiders even though out in the wilds at various times. The biggest spider ever for me personally was in Greece and I suddenly saw it from the corner of my eye on my shoulder after I'd walked through some bushes. I literally ripped my jumper off and threw it as far as I could and then had to wait half an hour or so before I could go and retrieve it ....happily with no spider on it! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAB Posted September 25, 2015 Share Posted September 25, 2015 My niece lives in Queensland and there was a 'huntsman' spider in her house that was almost regarded as a pet. Apparently they are left unmolested in homes as they live up to their name and dispatch smaller more unpleasant insects rather efficiently. I never minded him patrolling the corridor but admit I would gently guide him out of my bedroom. They are very, very large. Those brave enough can take a look here. http://www.buzzfeed.com/jennaguillaume/reasons-the-huntsman-spider-is-your-new-best-friend#.ly92QQ4zP9 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lisa O`Brien Posted September 25, 2015 Author Share Posted September 25, 2015 I was brave enough,MAB. Gave my entire body goosebumps though. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melody Posted September 26, 2015 Share Posted September 26, 2015 (edited) We have wolf spiders around here. Judging from their size, I reckon they're called that because they eat wolves. Edited September 26, 2015 by Melody 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zxDaveM Posted September 26, 2015 Share Posted September 26, 2015 I have a severe form of Arachnaphobia. boil the kettle to throw at it [my favourite form of killing them; you don`t have to get up close to squash it,and the water kills it instantly]. It`s not ideal ,throwing a kettle full of boiling water up your painted walls you need to seek therapy Spiders perform a useful function in the world, by eating flies etc. so killing them is frankly barbaric. Besides, you are 100's of times bigger than they are and in a face off, they'd be a lot more scared of you, boiling water or no. Its not as if British spiders are even dangerous - and even the dangerous ones in the world abroad, would much prefer to use their venom on prey, than defending themselves against us silly humans. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jacqueline Posted September 26, 2015 Share Posted September 26, 2015 (edited) As you say Lisa, you have a severe phobia. All phobias are based on irrational fear and can be treated - cured or brought under control - with cognitive behavioural therapy. You should perhaps ask your G.P. about referring you to somebody who can help you. There are also various websites for C.B.T. I don't suppose many people are that keen on spiders in the house - some of them seem very big and it is the unpredictability of their movement that can cause fear. Most of our fears/anxieties are learned behaviour and based on a lack of understanding/knowledge of a given situation. A proper therapist can help you with that. As a result of a childhood incident, I suffer from claustrophobia but as an adult, I have learned to rationalise and avoid certain situations that would otherwise bring on panic attacks, breathing difficulties etc. It is quite possible to 'unlearn' irrational behaviours/reactions. As far as spiders and indeed any living creatures are concerned, it is not the creature that is the problem but your reaction to it. There are a lot of spiders around at this time of year (and daddy long legs as mentioned) they come indoors looking for warmth - not of the boiling water kind! - or are attracted by the lights we put on as evenings draw in. If we could only try and appreciate them for what they are - in existence over millions of years, their place in ecology, the beauty and intricacy of a spider's web over a shrub on a misty, autumnal morning. That they are, whether you like them or not, living creatures that are not going to hurt you and do not deserve to have boiling water thrown over them or be stamped on, just because of an irrational human fear. If you can get this into perspective, you will be free of this phobia or at least be in control of it. Do try the C.B.T. Edited September 26, 2015 by Jacqueline 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aileen Posted September 27, 2015 Share Posted September 27, 2015 I am claustrophobic and hate heights but I am not frightened of spiders or mice (before we got our cats we had a mouse problem; however, cats can introduce mice into the house as well as get rid of them). I can't stand worms thought, particularly the really long ones with the 'bands'; I could not face picking one up. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melody Posted September 27, 2015 Share Posted September 27, 2015 And sometimes when you try to kill a spider, you get more than you bargained for: http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/sep/27/driver-spider-petrol-gas-station-fire-lighter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Balletfanp Posted September 27, 2015 Share Posted September 27, 2015 I have just invested in a spider repellent spray and will be dousing the house in it shortly, following a spectacular "fail" in trying to remove a huge spider the other night. I have a spider catcher thingy (it's a clear plastic pyramid on the end of a pole that you put over the spider, with a sliding door that you can then allow to fall shut, or close it manually). However, when I saw this spider I had serious doubts as to whether the catcher was big enough to go over it! Anyway, I managed (with much shuddering) to trap it, then walked gingerly towards the door. I suddenly noticed it wasn't quite shut, and in my panic turned it the wrong way; out fell the spider - on my foot!! - expletives may have been used - and the damned thing legged it across the hall to hide in a pile of my son's shoes under the hall table. As far as I know it is still there - I had had enough spider hunting for one night! But I am, of course, now paranoid, and expecting to meet it around every corner....I can't bring myself to kill them though. Interesting about the total unreasoning lack of logic with true phobias - I used to work with a woman who had a button phobia! She couldn't wear anything with buttons. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melody Posted September 27, 2015 Share Posted September 27, 2015 (edited) I'm not sure how irrational a fear of spiders actually is, since the poisonous varieties might have been a danger to early humans. I remember reading an article about how fear of snakes is ingrained in primates, and I assume the same might be true of spiders (and scorpions and whatnot). Not really the same as something truly irrational like a fear of buttons, which I assume is just a misfiring of the fear response or something. Edited September 27, 2015 by Melody Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAB Posted September 27, 2015 Share Posted September 27, 2015 Sky news has been doing a feature on spiders today. How not to deal with them: Try not to burn them to death with a lighter in a petrol station. Fellow in US tried this, set light to his car and a petrol pump. Sky have film of this - jaw dropping stupidity. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melody Posted September 28, 2015 Share Posted September 28, 2015 I posted that video in post 15. Seriously, he'd have done better just dousing it with petrol from the pump and leaving his lighter in his pocket. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna C Posted September 28, 2015 Share Posted September 28, 2015 He seems like a worthy candidate for a Darwin Award. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jacqueline Posted September 28, 2015 Share Posted September 28, 2015 I'm not sure how irrational a fear of spiders actually is, since the poisonous varieties might have been a danger to early humans. I remember reading an article about how fear of snakes is ingrained in primates, and I assume the same might be true of spiders (and scorpions and whatnot). Not really the same as something truly irrational like a fear of buttons, which I assume is just a misfiring of the fear response or something. It isn't the fear of spiders that is irrational but the way we react and deal with that fear. It may well be a sort of primal learned behaviour, a bit like fire is hot and so on, or an instinctive withdrawal from something we don't understand or cannot control and therefore fear. Some people are just more able to rationalise than others. As for the buttons, it sounds absurd but it could be that person has suffered some sort of button related trauma. It could have been an actual event or a casual, unthinking comment. Who knows how people react to things others might consider unremarkable and it stays with them forever, or until they do something about it. I don't have a problem with buttons by the way! I used to laugh at that ad Peter Kay did a while back, I think for some sort of ale. The characters are in a restaurant and Kay is supposedly talking to his child on the phone, who is having difficulty getting to sleep for fear of the bogeyman lurking under the bed. Kay says something along the lines of how it isn't the bogeyman under the bed you should be afraid of, but the man coming in through the bedroom window! Very amusing if you take it as the joke it is, but to an impressionable person i.e. child, terrifying. Which was of course, the point. His character was the only one who didn't see why. Anyway, something usually triggers these things but as you say, Melody, it can also be that part of the brain just misfiring. According to a counsellor I know,(not in a professional capacity), it is not uncommon for the fear response to misfire. The brain is truly a fascinating thing. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted September 28, 2015 Share Posted September 28, 2015 Interesting about the total unreasoning lack of logic with true phobias - I used to work with a woman who had a button phobia! She couldn't wear anything with buttons. I don't have a phobia about buttons: just a strong dislike of them. You'll rarely see me wearing anything with buttons, and if I do it will almost certainly be something I can just pull over my head/wrists without having to bother about doing up and undoing the things. I blame it on my mum nagging me to do my cardi up when I was young 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Huddsballetmum Posted October 9, 2015 Share Posted October 9, 2015 I have just removed the largest black spider I have ever seen from the centre of my living room carpet this morning. Although I'm not scared of spiders at all, this was huge and made me balk a bit. I seem to be inundated this year more than any other. I think I need to change my air freshner - I'm sure it is attracting rather than repelling them. Tried the whole conkers in the corner of the room thing and white vinegar & tee tree spray on the window frames, but nothing seems to work. Anyone got any ideas? My DD is terrified! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lisa O`Brien Posted October 9, 2015 Author Share Posted October 9, 2015 I have just removed the largest black spider I have ever seen from the centre of my living room carpet this morning. Although I'm not scared of spiders at all, this was huge and made me balk a bit. I seem to be inundated this year more than any other. I think I need to change my air freshner - I'm sure it is attracting rather than repelling them. Tried the whole conkers in the corner of the room thing and white vinegar & tee tree spray on the window frames, but nothing seems to work. Anyone got any ideas? My DD is terrified! Buy a couple of bottles of No More Spiders off Ebay. Each bottle costs less than a fiver. Spray around every room`s windows,doors,any openings etc. It DOES work. Of course it keeps them OUT. But not a lot you can do once one of the things is already IN the house. Your daughter has my sympathies.!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarahw Posted October 10, 2015 Share Posted October 10, 2015 We had a huge one on kitchen floor last night. Hamster was whizzing round in turquoise plastic ball. He was oblivious to spider but the spider was very upset by the ball - don't know why it didn't just leave the room. It just sat there, moved a bit when in imminent danger of being squashed, and then waited for next near miss..... I thought spiders were bright but maybe we've found an animal dumber than the hamster....... 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Mallinson Posted October 11, 2015 Share Posted October 11, 2015 Don't denigrate hamsters! Seems they're the ultimate pleasure seekers. All that running on the wheel is to generate endocannabinoids and make them get high. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LinMM Posted October 12, 2015 Share Posted October 12, 2015 Oh a bit like some of us dancers then no doubt!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarahw Posted October 12, 2015 Share Posted October 12, 2015 Don't worry despite his probable IQ, or lack thereof ,he is much loved - possibly the most spoilt rodent on earth.... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lisa O`Brien Posted October 12, 2015 Author Share Posted October 12, 2015 Don't denigrate hamsters! Seems they're the ultimate pleasure seekers. All that running on the wheel is to generate endocannabinoids and make them get high. Maybe I should suggest my teenage son got one then. Much more preferable to his other occasional recreation.!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Primaballerina1 Posted October 12, 2015 Share Posted October 12, 2015 I am terrified of spiders and my sister has a fear of buttons 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melody Posted November 28, 2015 Share Posted November 28, 2015 (edited) I saw this Australian police transcript on Facebook and immediately thought of this thread: 21/11/2015 Wollstonecraft 2.00am. Police received numerous calls in relation to a violent domestic, with reports of a woman screaming hysterically, a man yelling “I’m going to kill you, you're dead! Die Die!!”, with the sounds of furniture being tossed around the unit. Numerous police cars responded to the address and began banging on the door. A man answered the door, out of breath and rather flushed with the following conversation:Police: “Where’s your wife”Male: “umm I don’t have one”Police: “Where's your girlfriend”Male: “umm I don’t have one”Police: “We had a report of a domestic and a women screaming, where is she?”Male: “I don’t know what you’re talking about I live alone”Police: “Come on mate people clearly heard you yelling you were going to kill her and furniture getting thrown around the unit” At this point the male became very sheepish. Police: “come on mate, what have you done to her.”Male: “it was a spider”Police “Sorry??”Male: “It was a spider, a really big one!!Police :”what about the women screaming?”Male: “Yeah sorry that was me, I really really hate spiders”As it turns out the male was chasing a rather large spider around the unit with a can of mortein. After a very long pause some laughter and a quick look in the unit to make sure there was no injured party (apart from the spider) we left. Edited November 28, 2015 by Melody 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LinMM Posted November 28, 2015 Share Posted November 28, 2015 I know exactly where he was coming from!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LinMM Posted November 28, 2015 Share Posted November 28, 2015 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-34944735 Just seen this on the BBC web page.....now I would die I think if I found one of these in my bedroom! 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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