Never will I ever.……….

OMG! Reading this has made me itch. YUK! We have a 'sous sol' in our French house and huge spiders take up residence. I refuse to go in. They don't often leave their home, but not long back, while hubby was in the kitchen, once fell on his head. I wasn't there to witness it, but I'm sure he did a rather fetching jig as he flipped it off ... he tells me he's not frightened of spiders .... yeah, right!

I keep a shaped towel for my hair when I've washed it,
the sort you can twist and button at the back to keep in place. I'd washed my hair, put the towel on and when I took it off to dry my hair there in the folds was a large spider!! It went out the window quick sharp and I always check now!

Spiders have no redeeming features for me, I'm afraid. I was brought up in a house with an outside loo. It often had spidery inhabitants lurking in the dark corners. Going to the loo in the dark was worse. My imagination ran wild. When my Dad lifted the galvanised bath into the house on a Saturday evening, I would make sure no creepy crawlies were inside. Quite an irrational fear really because they are not dangerous. I have an 8 year old grand-daughter who describes spiders as 'cute'! She doesn't get that from me!

Whilst in Tripoli, the practice was to turn your shoes upside down whilst not in use. This was to discourage tarantulas from taking up residence. Huh! I did more than that.

One night I felt quite itchy and kept scratching. When I put the light on I found I was covered in ants!
Another time I got into bed and was stung on the foot by a hornet. It took 2 weeks for the swelling to go down.

I went to make toast the morning after arriving in France - put the toaster on and heard a dreadful noise - realised there was a mouse in there. Luckily turned the toaster off before the poor mouse got badly burnt. Recently my daughter was complaining about a mouse in the house they were renting, her husband and one of the children said it was nibbling their feet in the night. The people renovating the house next door popped round for a word and said "Just to let you know that we have discovered a nest of rats" - yep, that mouse was a young rat - shudder.

Oh I so wish I had not read this thread. As someone said you cannot un-read it once read. My house was already feeling a bit chilly (due to brand new AGA log effect gas stove, looks beautiful, but complete rubbish at keeping us warm), now icy shivers up and down my spine every time I think about approaching my bed.

Spiders eat 1000 times their own weight of other insects in a year. So where would we be without them?
I once saw a cockroach in Spain, it was a deep red brown and was six inches long, plus another 3 inches of feelers.

Last year unbeknown to me the cat had brought in a mouse as his contribution to the family foodstores. I discovered him/her when I put my slippers on and it had found refuge in one of them. I don't know who was more shocked, me or the mouse!

Years ago in a different house I had a big larder off of the kitchen and used to hang saucepans on the back of the door to it. Opened it one day to find a mouse sitting on one of the saucepans. My DH is a better mouser than the cat as when he brings them in my DH ends up having to catch them...

I once rented an old house in Southampton. Many times I found a large spider in the bath. Worse was the toilet which was outside. There were always massive spider on the inside of the door. I got used to going to the loo with the door open so I could not see them. I can manage seeing all the other nasties mentioned but not huge spiders.

I lifted two cushions from the floor back onto the bed and saw a black spider run off up the bed over the pillows and disappear only to reappear running over the pillow, just as I was returning to my bed after a trip to the toilet in the early hours of the morning.

I used to keep a glass of water on the bedside table. Taking a drink in the dark felt something in my mouth. It was a spider. Now I put a lid on the glass.
When my husband was in Palestine during the war he found a scorpion under his pillow. For years afterwards he always lifted his pillow when he went to bed.

Regarding spiders in the bed, you can minimise the risk by ensuring that your bed is well away from the wall and that no bedding touches the floor.
Seal outside doors with draught excluder. That keeps them outside.
Keep a glass jar and piece of card in every room so that you can catch them. Always examine them from a distance to see which way they are pointed and creep up on them slowly from behind. They can only see fast movement. Position the jar above them and when you see them through the bottom of the jar quickly lower it over them.

I remember once seeing a black blob on tje ceiling as I went to bed. Popped my glasses back on to look and tjere was a spkder right above my pillow....
Bedcovers were piled right over my head that night!!

Have had 3 spiders in bed or under pillow this Autumn so have checked every night since, was about to stop with the cold weather thinking it’s too cold. Will carry on now.
Years ago I was woken in the night by something running over my face, I leapt out of bed shaking the sleeves of my nightie just in case and a very big spider came flying out. I was living alone and was traumatised.

I was always led to believe that spiders came into the house as the weather got colder......??

Many years ago in a gite in France, DD moved her bed into the room her brother slept in because it had a carpet. In her room, once dark, she could hear the various creepy crawlies scampering around on the wooden floor.

Always keep socks in the top of my wellies. Would probably have a heart attack if I found a frog or toad in them. Spiders are OK, which is just as well considering the numbers in our house.

It wasn't unusual to find a mouse in one of my wellies as a child. The cat we had used to play with them and flip them up in the air----but it was always my welly they landed in and mum used to shout at me because I couldn't get it on, only to find the mouse tucked into the toe area.

The cat was pretty hopeless as it was too( lazy) well-fed to bother, so I was used to mice running around.

Nothing prepared me for the livestock found in Oz though.

I so wish that I hadn't read this thread!

How wicked was this ? I used to collect empty cicada " shells " and bring them home to scare D's H at the time ( now her ex.)

I don't mind spiders and always turned a blind eye to the long runway web we had at one time which ran across the ceiling over out bed, and it's occasional occupant (I am not a domestic goddess - too many other things to do than housework!). Until the night something woke me up running across my bare shoulder and back - then I am afraid the said occupant had outstayed its welcome and it and its housing estate were evicted.

I dont spiders but not so keen on mice and toads or frogs! We’ve recently acquired 2 cats so might have some wildlife to look forward too!????

Electronic plug in gadgets that broadcast soundwaves can be helpful for deterring spiders and other creepy crawlies but you have to get a good one or it's possible to hear the soundwaves yourself. There might be a few spiders dashing out to see what the horrible noise is but after that they disappear. You usually need several for a 3-4 bed house. Since we installed ours, I've only met one spider and that one looked very uncomfortable and was running for the front door!

If you get one from Amazon, check the reviews carefully to see if it's noisy.

Goodness me what a nightmare! I will be on spider patrol tonight after reading all of the above. My friend will only have white bedding and plain carpets in her house, she has arachnophobia +++