Anyone deal with arachnophobia? NO Pictures of Spiders unless in spoiler tags.

Pocket10s

Pocket10s

Pocket10s

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With the warmer weather comes spiders, however after moving to a more green part of the UK I've suddenly been faced with a lot more than I'm used to (which is close to zero).

I guess I've never really had to deal with them, apart from some cottage trips to the countryside in the summer where they are of course, massive. I did either freak out or just plain leave.

Now however, I'm seeing a few, namely:

- The spindly cellar spiders, strangely enough on the floor in my kitchen
- Spiders the size of a 10p coin in the kitchen/ dining room
- Really tiny spiders (baby ones?) although I can't tell where they are coming from. I've had my loft fumigated to get rid of all insects in there. I mainly see them upstairs

Also, the outside of my house is covered in them, I can see webs everywhere (semi-detached).

I'm a bit embarrassed to say, I'm freaking the hell out. Checking every room when I walk into it, every crevice and corner. I even just stopped walking into some rooms. It's exhausting and I've moved out for a bit to pull myself together.

I'm absolutely horrified about the mating season in Autumn and am absolutely dreading it.

I know spiders get rid of other bugs and are good but I can't stand them. I'd like to ask two quick things:

1. Has anyone had Arachnophobia? How did you deal with it? Therapy? CBT? Where did you start in terms of contacting someone?
2. What methods have you used to reduce the amount of spiders in-side and out-side your house?

Please no comments about how they are good for the home/ spiderbros etc. I know - this is an irrational fear.

Mod Update - Let's make this clear. If you want to add pictures / videos of spiders that's fine, just be respectful and put them in a spoiler tag for the sake of people who DO suffer from Arachnophobia.

Failure to stick to this rule will land you with a thread ban.
 
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The building I live in has the False Widow spiders all over it, and I've had a few in my flat. With the weather being hot at the mo Im paranoid having the window open and Im spraying insect killer around the window to stop them coming in (thats the theory anyway :))

I have to agree that I do the same in checking rooms to see if they're there :o:o
 
I get lots of spiders in and around my house. I've seen a few of what might be false widows in my garage and shed. But I mostly have to deal with those really thin spindly ones (Cellar spiders) and quite large Hunter spiders in the evenings. I even had a massive Hunter spider charge me when I tried to catch and remove it! It won the battle and I jumped out of the way, but I won the war and eventually removed it from the house.

I've always really hated spiders. But what has helped the fear a little has been having kids and a wife. The kids won't touch them and scream for help. My wife hates them so will just splatter them and I can't let that happen. So I end up having to trap and remove them, however much I hate them. I've got quite adept at it now; cover them with a tupperware pot and then slide some card between the pot and the floor/wall. But recently I've noticed a lot fewer spiders and I think that's because my cat goes after them.

I seem to recall the Cellar spiders are one of the dominant types and they prey on other spiders. Although they seem really weak and spindly they keep the other spiders at bay with their long legs and then wrap them in silk.
 
I have a completely irrational fear of spiders (and moths/butterflies) to the point I'll scream and run out of the room if I see one. My partner deals with spiders in this house because if I see them I make a beeline for the dyson to dispose of them that way.

It's bizarre though as some of my favourite youtube channels are based around Tarantulas. I find them fascinating through a screen. In close proximity to me? not so much
 
Thinking about it, the only spider I don't kill on sight are the jumping spiders we get. They're too interesting to hurt. Had one live by my desk for a few days and he never once bothered me.

It's the house spiders that trigger me the most.
 
Get a cat. We had a nest under the stairs that kept popping out those basement type spiders every week or so, got to the point where I’d just expect to see a spider in certain rooms. Three weeks looking after a friends cat and I haven’t seen any of those types since :D


Can’t stand them myself and will always run for the vacuum, and occasionally get my flat sprayed.
 
I've found the best way to keep spider numbers down is a good blitz with a hoover. I try to catch and put them outside now but there were so many around in the beginning that the hoover was required.

Not nice I know but the numbers have stayed down, obviously new ones appear but not as bad as when I first moved in,
 
Expected large 4k picture of spider. Disappointed.

Best solution = cat. Also deals with rodents and pigeons.
 
We live in the UK we don't really get big spiders here, but I do appreciate they can freak people out, because of not knowing about them. So either see a specialist, or learn more about them to help with your fear? If it really is crippling speak to a doctor.

I find mosquitoes and flies more irritating in the summer than spiders - nothing worse than that buzzing sound at night and you know you're about to be stung!
 
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