Spiders

I remember watching this with DS2! Lovely music.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgQ1JuUIexA

I don't like them either but I don't scream or leap up, OH is the scaredy cat I am the one with the glass and cardboard and carefully put them into the garden.. I wouldn't be able to wash them down the plug hole as I'm certain they just cling on and crawl back again when one is in the shower.

Have been unwell (cold) so back on now and lots of spiders, Hertfordshire Horrors we call them. I had a shower with one on Friday last. I stood there starkers and this great lump of a spider was crawling down the corner of the shower. Every time a sprinkle of water hit it it shot a few inches either way. I kept my eye on it while I cautiously washed my bits and pieces and when I was about to jump out of the shower it dropped down behind the shampoos etc. I was not going to hunt for it in the nude so left it with a spider 'ladder', my beautiful new bath towel draped over the edge of the bath. (overhead bath shower) The next day no spider to be seen. The day after it appeared in the bath. I used my neighbour's trick (the wincyette lady who calls my DH out in the middle of the night to get a dead HH from under a David Attenborough tome - remember) She does this with small spiders not worthy of my DH's attention. She takes a length of loo paper and picks the offending creature up and deposits it out of the bathroom window. I unravelled a length of loo paper, opened the bathroom window, grabbed the arachnid in the Sainsbury's Softest Toilet Paper and threw the lot out of the window, hey presto it appeared again, dropping into the sink, I grabbed it again and threw the wind again blew it back in. This happened three times in all. In desperation I picked the loo paper complete with parachuting spider and dropped it as low down as I could and it sailed away. The next night its big sister appeared next to my bed on the floor, I had trotted out of the bedroom to go to the loo and came back to see a suspicious black shape (large black shape) next to my bed. I put the bedside light on and it was another. I peered closer and it started to raise up on all -fours- eights, bobbing up and down in all I can describe as a threatening manner. I threw a pillow at the snoring DH who fell out of bed in shock mumbling something about backing the winner (he doesn't even bet) We managed to 'rescue' the animal and dropped it out of the bedroom window. Low and behold last night I was sitting peacefully watching a thriller on TV when another damn thing came scuttling across the lounge carpet and hid under my fan. I am thinking of setting up a hostel for homeless spiders to overwinter. Luckily I am not phobic about them but still..........

Well, yes - you don't want them laying eggs in there...

My Dyson 'Animal' has been my friend whenever I've spotted a 'beasty'!
Then I empty it on the garden, so I don't feel too guilty.

Extremely large ones here at present Mr P got rid of 2 huge ones from the bedroom on Sunday, but last night when I went to bed there was another one, and no Mr P to remove it I tried to get the cats on the case but they were far too soundly asleep on the bed.

I tracked for as long as I could, but eventually it disappeared so I told myself it had gone.

Oliver Sprout had 3 very large dead ones lined up on the hall floor this morning

Last night late on the neighbours burglar alarm went off. They are on holiday. We have the keys and code but as next door is Spooky Hollow I refused to let DH go round on his own(they have been a target for burglars before) I phoned the police who spent quite some time taking details and telling me they didn't come out for alarms. I told them that on one side there was an 80+ widow, husband died on Saturday, on the other was a housebound 80+ widow and a third house was a dying woman. Yes I know we are not the cheeriest little corner in the NE. The police came round and searched the gardens and very cheerily went into the house with DH to check up whether or not the lights were security lights or a burglar. By the alarm was a MASSIVE spider and our cheery policemen said there the culprit. I'd gone and double locked our doors .

Anyone else plagued with Daddylonglegs? I've never seen so many - and so big! I evicted six the other evening within the space of a couple of hours. No idea how or when so many came in, as we'd aleady shut the windows and doors after the first two and there were no others in sight. The following morning I discovered another two, but these poor unfortunates had met their Waterloo in a spider's web

Went to bed the other night and there on the wall was the biggest spider I'd ever seen outside of a zoo! It was about 3inches across and had thick woolly looking legs and a woolly looking body. Thankfully DH was home and calmly covered it with a mug and card and took it down the garden. If he'd not been there I don't know what I would have done. I'm still recovering - and shake my clothes out each morning just as if I were in the tropics!!!!

Flower

I did once rub a stranger's thighs, saying 'Cor lovely firm thighs' it turned out to be a complete stranger. I thought it was a friend who's controlling husband had bought her a racing bike to 'Firm up your chunky thighs'

Essence of Horse Chestnut oil WORKS...I am certain of it.

I was sitting reading this afternoon when a small donkey came galloping across the carpet! Yes really!
I'm not usually bothered by the carpet stomping spiders but this one was beyond a joke.
I didn't know I could leap so high
I had to get the Dyson Animal to suck it up and it just sat there and let me!
Clearly a spider of very little brain.

I rather like the idea of a spider in each room to catch all the bitey things and flies, but if I find more than one I catch them in a beer glass and put them out into the garden. I didn't mind picking them up when the kids were little if they were frightened so maybe I'll be doing that again when the grandchildren are a bit older!!

My neighbour is terrified of them. I am certain she waits until gone midnight to phone my DH so that he slips round next-door in his PJs to rescue her from the beasts. Her in her wincyette nightie and all.

Once she phoned about 12.30am in terror because one of them had appeared in her bedroom. He went round glass and postcard at the ready. He asked where was the horror. "Over there." she replied pointing at a Sir David Attenborough tome on the floor, underneath lay the dreaded arachnid, squashed beyond recognition.

@Brendawymms - Yes! I too do the loo-roll ladder thing!

You lot are a bit vicious aren't you? Washing spiders down the plug-hole, sucking them up with vacuum cleaners - I hope you get lots of flies as a result of your actions!

What exactly do you think they would do to you?

Does anyone know why the brutes run towards me while I'm frozen with fear? Remembering DM's thought that they're more frightened of me than I am of them just doesn't work any more, and I don't know how I'd manage without the "No More Spiders" spray - 99p from local cheap shop.

Removal of very large black ones is a job for the boys (or the Dyson if desperate) but I will collect and tip outside any smaller ones. Otherwise they set up home in corners by the PIR detectors and set off the burglar alarm. There is a fun list of 'spot the scare stories' here

I use a long handled feather duster or magic duster. I let the spider crawl onto the feathers and then shake it outside!

I have never been so grateful that I had children as when my eldest son removed a huntsman spider from the floor of my bedroom in Thailand. It was the size of my hand and they move very quickly as they chase their prey and don't bother with webs. And DS hates spiders as much as I do, although I spent years pretending otherwise so as not to pass on the irrational fear! He had to put a ice cream box over it as it was much too big to cover with a glass. Horror!

That is easy, you buy a spider catcher from Safari UK (online site) and quietly catch the spider no matter what the size and safely put it outside unharmed. For maximum hero effect wait until the grandchildren are watching.

We have a plug in pest repeller. It lets off an ultra sonic shriek which insects hate and I can honestly say that we hardly ever see a spider in here. I have a massive spider phobia so its worth its weight in gold.

I am seriously arachnaphobic. All my life I have tried to conquer it but without success. Couldn't even go to a therapy session as cannot bear to think of having to handle one - uggh ! and double ugh! My remedy is the other half and a slipper. Sorry all you s....(can't even type the word) lovers and I may be damned to Hell but it's a chance I'll take.

I must admit I hate the big black housespiders that race around at this time of year [shudder.]Conkers or Horse Chestnut oil in strategic places does keep them out of cupboards.I usually meet one at dead of night in the bathroom and last week there was one sitting happily on the shower curtain watching me take a shower. The water didn't bother it at all, and I only spotted it as I was getting out[ funny, I didn't realise I could still move so fast!]

Well, Flower if I ever meet you I will bear that in mind.