They're here again! (That time of year)

I picked up a bra from the washing basket and a huge spider ran out, yuuuuuck. Sent DH for the vacuum spider catcher and after much furniture shifting he caught it. They seem to let themselves into the house via the bathroom windows.

Spiders 10: me 0!! Until last week when I sprayed the whole house. Job done. Cat is useless. So many here and they bite and I react badly. Can't stand them anyway. They breed in the stone walls of this old house. Not very brilliant at dealing with the fly population. Happy for them to inhabit some parts of the grounds.

They've been in Aberdeenshire for a couple of weeks. I have two regular visitors. Boris is under the 'fridge and Horace scuttles across the living room floor each evening. They are both huuuuuge, so are probably ladies, but they don't bother me as they hunt other nasties in the house.

Daughter has 2 Tarantula spiders and 4 cats - if the former escape it should be an interesting scenario. She use to suffer from arachnophobia. Huge spiders in the woodpile here in Portugal, hopefully no snakes this year.

I don't think it was mentioned earlier in the thread but has anyone read of the beneficial effects of leaving cobwebs alone.
It is said that there are fewer upper respiratory tract infections in houses where they are not swept up. The web acts as a filter for viruses

These past couple of weeks, while out dog walking, I've been amazed by the numbers of wild geese in the skies. There is a wetlands reserve nearby, and just wondering whether they're 'stretching their wings', ready to fly south.

Now the swallows have left us for warmer countries 'lucky little b*****s' I reckon spiders are taking advantage of the fact there is more food for them
The webs show to be covered and it is fascinating to watch how they spin the threads around these hapless creatures.

I am very spider-phobic, especially with the big, dark, scuttly house spiders. I don't mind the ones that make webs outside the kitchen widow, as long as I'm on the other side of the glass. I am OK with beetles, bees, moths, mice, worms, snakes, slow worms .... it's just spiders that scare me.

When my husband died last year, my daughter (who can pick spiders up with her bare hands!) knew I would have a problem if I encountered spiders on my own. She said, "There's a present in the post, and Amazon package." It was a spider-catcher, the kind with a sticky brush operated by a lever. It works very well - in fact last night I saw a big one in the middle of the bathroom floor, and managed to catch it and release it in the garden. I still felt jumpy afterwards, and took the gadget to the bedroom with me in case there were any more.

Sorry that should be here not hear - oops!!

Had couple of big uns hear by the sea but the plug in thing seems to be working a bit. My youngest cat started eating them when she caught them but now just leaves the bodies for me to find. Possibly caught one of the false widows that i have had a couple of very nasty long lasting bites from . They are the only ones i will kill as i dont like swollen lumps & antibiotics when they have bitten me.

Felt very guilty washing a large spider down the plughole in my bath, but I couldn't bathe with it in there, and couldn't bear to touch it to move it elsewhere.

I have been told that peppermint oil wards them off (16 drops In a spray bottle with water and a little wash up liquid shaken and sprayed) doesn't harm them. Have tried to leave some in their fav place in our French house and will see if it worked soon! ?

No they're alive and kicking here in North Yorkshire.

We have had them for a few weeks here in Sussex I have had heard tales of giant examples from several friends??

We're in the south-east and rural - had a huge one run across the carpet the other night. Me- 'OMG, OMG' (loud and with feeling), dog jumped up barking, spider took cover under a heavy item of furniture. Husband then said it was my fault for frightening the dog/spider! It's has to be somewhere.........

I have an agreement with the spiders here, in the garden I will ignore them but one leg inside my house and they will be squashed.... or eaten by the cat. The choice is theirs!

Read somewhere (might even have been here) that the average life of a spider is four days. Somewhat comforting but the damage they can do in that time e.g. reproducing via eggs is considerable. I'm sure you disapprove but I kill 'em all whenever I can.

I like spiders. They help reduce the number of problematic insects and are about the only thing that keeps silverfish down.
I am never quite sure where they come from as I am in a first floor flat and I don't have enough to think that they are nesting here, but I don't disturb them if I see them.
I don't like things like moths that fly into light fittings and make a noise or fly into your face.

They arrived in the south west a few weeks ago... some whoppers in the baths and a brave few running across the carpets. My cat is useless at catching them but I am getting quite good with my old spider catcher. I take the spider to the end of the card and release them into next door's garden. I don't mind the garden spiders - although there seem to be more than ever this year.

We are dog sitters and have quite a few varied breeds and size dogs in our home, we also have a mostly paved back garden for practicality reasons, I wonder if the dogs see a spider if they eat it or kill it, and the fact we don't have any grass, we haven't had many spiders in our house this year.
My husband is fantastic at getting them for me, I hate them
Still my family get worse ones in Australia.

My trees are covered in the most intricate ad beautiful webs in the misty mornings now, I love that lacey effect!!!!

They are welcome to winter with me............

This makes me laugh ?

They've been here in darkest Sussex for several weeks . There was a big black one in the shower this morning, daring me to shift it. With enormous bravery, I picked it up in a LARGE duster and hurled the whole lot out of the window. Must look for some new conkers---the trouble is, most of the horse chestnut trees round here are on their last legs (roots?) because of that rusty blight.

Good old lakeland , always has a gadget for everything. £12???? A container and a bit of paper slid under will do the trick and save a few squid.

Sitting reading the paper yesterday when out of the corner of my eye saw something black move on the armrest a few inches from my arm. A massive spider, which looked as shocked as i was, it scurried away very fast so have to assume its still somewhere in the room.
Caught another under a glass at my daughters yesterday and put it out onto a nice plant in her garden.