Saturday 3 October 2009

Arachnophobia Anyone?

Photo copyright: Maggie May

There has recently been an announcement on the news, here in Britain, that there are going to be very many more spiders about than normal. This, apparently, is because of the Indian Summer that we have been experiencing for the last month. It has been fairly warm and sunny without much rain for several weeks, although it does get quite cool in the early mornings and the evenings.
I wouldn't say that I had arachnophobia, a severe fear of spiders but I really don't like them.
So OK, their webs look lovely with the sun light shining on them and if there are little drops of dew on the web, so much the better. They are also very good at keeping flies and garden pests at bay. So why are they disliked and avoided?
I think it is the sheer speed at which these creatures run that makes me want to get out of the way. The thought of one on my body is really awful. They are creepy.
At the After School Club where I work, I put on an act of bravery and catch the spiders and throw them out of a door. I usually get a mug, catch the spider in it and put a stiff card over the top and release them outside. My boss, if she catches me, tells me to throw the mug in the bin, even though I think that is such a waste because everyone knows that the mug would wash clean. Its not as though I caught a rat or a cockroach. That would be an entirely different matter.

I read somewhere that the average person swallows thirty spiders in their lifetime, while they are asleep. The thought of that is appalling, especially if you are a vegetarian, as I am. A few years ago, I did wake up one night and felt something on my face. Immediately I snatched it off and threw it down. It was a spider. What if I hadn't wakened up in time to throw it off?

So what is it about spiders that you don't like? Or maybe you do like them.





31 comments:

Sniffles and Smiles said...

Hi, Maggie!!!! Oh, I SHARE your dislike of spiders!!! Have disliked them since I was a child...and apparently, we have something else in common...I am a vegetarian as well!!! Wow! I knew we were kindred spirits!!! Well, even though, you do not like spiders, you have made a delightful post of it...Your photograph is gorgeous, as always!!! Thanks for stopping by today!!! You are in my thoughts, and your family will be in my prayers!!! Love to you~Janine XO

P.S. No news yet...surgery in 2 weeks. Thanks for asking...It means the world to me! ~J.

Jeni said...

Hah! Vegetarian or not, I too find the thought of swallowing even only one freaking little itty bitty spider to be appalling too! I dislike spiders immensely. Not that I am in terrible fear -not quite that bad -of them but I do NOT like them creeping and crawling anywhere near to me! Daughter Mandy, on the other hand, goes into screaming, jumping, hissy-fits if she sees one and calls me to please come kill it will ya mom anxiety at its highest, ya know.

Casdok said...

Ive certainly noticed more spiders in my house - bigger and hairier than usual. Makes me shudder. But like you i catch them and throw them out.

Anonymous said...

I never minded them until I discovered they jump! YIKES!! In my area of the country there are some that jump. Now I live in fear of one jumping to me that is poisonous. GREAT photo of the little devil.

cheshire wife said...

Spiders themselves do not really bother me. What I do dislike is that they just die wherever it suits them - in the porch, in the conservatory, in the greenhouse and I have to sweep up the mess!

Rosaria Williams said...

I'm not a vegetarian, and still do not like spiders. I know they are beneficial insects; still, I can't accept their crawling on my body. Thanks for the beautiful picture.

Anonymous said...

I don't like spiders, they are so creepy to me. We live in the country and they are all over the place. In our basement, I ran across a very big one, and I thought I was going to faint. One night, I was in bed, and i felt something on my arm and yes, it was a spider. I have never moved so fast out of bed. I'm not sure why they scare me so much, I think the fact that some bites can be pretty serious bother me. My ex-boyfriend, had a bite on his head and it was horrible. I will spare you the details, but it was very serious.

However, their webs just fascinate me. So beautiful.

Sorry to hear that you will be be having more of these visitors this year.

Mimi said...

I don't mind spiders, funnily enough.
Isn't it interesting how we're all afraid of something, or dislike something. I dislike cats (intensely) and am afraid of dogs.
But, although spiders don't bother me, I don't like the thoughts of swallowing one, or more.
Having recently had a mouse in our house,which resisted being caught(I blogged about it ad nauseum!)a spider or ten would be ok!

SandyCarlson said...

Oh no! 30 spiders in a lifetime while sleeping? That gives me the creeps, makes me wish I could keep my mouth shut. The only hope is that the halatosis wil keep them away!

Interesting critter taking up housekeeping in your garden, Maggie.

VioletSky said...

If only they didn't just appear out of nowhere. Flying and jumping and dropping down with those almost invisible threads. Sticky threads that grab onto your skin making your hair stand on end. And have you noticed how impossible it is to drown one? They crawl right back up the drain, or somehow revive themselves in the toilet bowl and start swimming to the side... nasty, nasty creatures.

Brian Miller said...

i dont mind them as long as they dont wake me up by walking across my face...or crawl down my neck in the dark while i am driving...yeah i dont like them then.

Dimple said...

I like spiders as long as they are outside! I used to tolerate them inside, too, but I got one too many spider bites at night and decided that inside spiders were a no-no. I don't like to kill them, but I do anyway!

Robynn's Ravings said...

Oh Maggie! I have READ that sickening statistic and I PRAY it isn't so! I'm not especially bothered by spiders and it completely freaks me out! My son is a dyed-in-the-wool arachnophobe. If he ever hears this, he'll croak!

P.S. Don't take this the wrong way but, keep your mouth shut! :)

Robynn's Ravings said...

P.S. My word verification was FATLYPH. Founds like fhat you fay after a phyder have crawled into your mouff!

Ayak said...

I don't mind spiders as long as they keep their distance. I have had a couple of incidents during the night when a spider has crawled across my face...and now I've read that statistic...I feel a bit sick to be honest...eeeeurrgh!

www.retiredandcrazy.com said...

Yuck! We have been overrun with HUGE spiders this autumn. I hate them. OG says they clean up the house, as in - eat the other nasty things - but I still hate them.

Irene said...

Hi Maggie, I'm a vegetarian as well, but that's not the reason why I don't want to swallow spiders. I'm actually scared of them myself and I always hope that the cats catch every one of them in the apartment, which they very often do. I still have the windows open, so every once in a while one does get in, a big hairy one usually. I'm not as kind to them as you are when they get inside. I had a huge fear of them when I was a kid and I've not quite gotten over that, no matter how rational I am now.

Rose said...

For some reason, Maggie, I have never been afraid of spiders, but my son hates them. On the other hand, I absolutely hate snakes! I know they're beneficial in the garden, too, but there's something about the way they slither about that sends chills down my spine. I think we all have some type of phobia.

I've heard the fact about swallowing spiders in your sleep before--yuck! Makes me want to put tape over my mouth before I go to bed:)

Valerie said...

I don't mind the spiders, my pet hate is Daddy Longlegs, the one that fly in your face. Ugh!

Hilary said...

I don't like them much either, but I try not to kill them if I can help it. I do understand all the good they do. I just prefer they do it at someone else's home. Frank, on the other hand, has had one living on his kitchen window ledge for the past several weeks. It's growing noticeably and he's taken to calling it Henry. I want him gone!

Lane Mathias said...

When I was a child my father threw a tomato top at me (thinking it was hilariously funny) and I spilt hot tea in my lap. I really, really don't like spiders although I've improved. I can deal with them, up to a certain size. But I hate their blackness, and the way their legs bend. And I can't even look at photos of the monster ones.

I don't mind the garden ones though, like the one in your photo. Strange.

And that statistic is just shudderable!

MARY G said...

Ew! BTW, I have posted a link to the blog that is going to do the Sunday Roast, with a bit of an explanation leading people through here. Hope that is okay; if not, email me and I will take it down.
http://themsmysentiments.blogspot.com/2009/10/recommendation.html

What About The Girl? said...

Hmm...I am not scared of spiders. I used to play with them when I was little. I would put them inside a matchbox. I didn't know then that spiders are poisonous.

Well..now..I don't think I'd mind if I become spiderwoman ;-)

Elizabeth Mahlou said...

Please don't tell that to my grandson. He will want to move to England! He loves spiders. He can tell me what kind of spider has built a web on our railing without even seeing the spider. (We live in spider country here on the central coast of California.) He and his father spent the weekend at a tarantula festival. As for swallowing those spiders, I am just as happy being asleep and not knowing! (Did you really have to tell us?)

Helena said...

Maggie - as the only female in the house, I am the 'spider-ridder'. Not scared in the least bit and always usually get rid of them by hand. Men are such woooses!

I always say that if spiders were pink and glittery they'd be in the same league as butterflies and ladybirds.

ps....loved the vegetarian bit btw!lol

Nessa said...

Ok, you didn't have to tell me I swallow spiders. I have enough trouble sleeping.

Sandi McBride said...

Oh my Mags! This reminds me of when we lived in Beaconsfield (Bucks) and I'd be out walking The Girl (Digby, our Old English) and just getting beneath a canopy of trees, a spider would suddenly be dangling before my eyes causing shrieks and howls..lol...I learned to ignore them, just brushed them away and hoped that I wouldn't be carrying any inside on our return from "walkies"...loved this...
Sandi

Thumbelina said...

I don't like how fast they move! Funnily enough, I don't mind them in the garden where they belong. But in the house I am not fond of them! Like you I can manage to put a cup over them and throw them out of the house.
But more recently, there has been a spate of "wolf spiders" which are huge things. I have had five yes FIVE in the house in the last month or so. And these boys move fast!! And they are BIG.
So I don't like them. They bite sometimes too! But itty bitty ones especially in the garden - no problem!

(Word veri is "granin". Does that mean you're in Maggie? - gran in?)

Akelamalu said...

I don't mind spiders at all but the thought of swallowing one whilst I'm asleep has just made me feel physically sick! :0

aims said...

I don't mind spiders Maggie even though I did get about a dozen bites on my hip and leg from one that was in my pants when I put them on.

For me it's snakes. Totally.

Well - bears aren't good either -

We've got snow today. So the spiders will be trying to get inside I guess. As long as they go their way and I can go mine.

I'm not too happy about the swallowing bit. Not sure I wanted to know that.

Working Mum said...

Ooooo, think I'd rather not wake up and therefore not know about the spider. We've been inundated here. Daughter came screaming out of the lounge on Monday when one ran across the floor. I didn't tell her about the tarantula that had been living in the curtains for days!

PS Thanks for your comment today.