Community Chat

[icezeus]

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@BlueFinch wrote:

I catch and release most bugs that I can identify as being non-threatening to me. But, I've seen so many victims of bad spider bites, that I'm always leery without close inspection. 

A friend was with my brother camping out and managed to get a Brown Recluse spider in his sleeping bag. Maybe more than one. Who knows.

Before he could wake and get out of that bag, it had bitten him several times. My brother rushed him to the hospital, but it wasn't close. He feared he would die, before they got there. These spiders are bad news. He had mental confusion, fever, and more. It left abscesses everywhere it pierced the skin. His reaction was bad.

Another friend was visiting a country setting with an outhouse. While taking care of business, he was bitten by a Black Widow spider. He said the symptoms really scared him, but they weren't long lingering.

So, yeah, it makes sense to be scared of spiders, until we can carefully rule out the bad players.  

That said, I had one of the black fuzzy spiders that took up residence in my kitchen window. He made a little web in the corner and was great at catching gnats and occasional flies that would intrude into my kitchen.

I kept him and he was somewhat of a pet. He'd come out on the window ledge to watch me. One day, I saw he had drowned in a pan I had soaking in the sink. It's crazy, but I was very sad. I would have resuscitated him, if it was possible.

@BlueFinch 

I will pray for you. :-) LOL

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[icezeus]

I think the pictures throughout this thread will give me nightmares tonight. 

I hate all bugs, with a special hatred for spiders. Let's not even discuss my crazy fear of snakes. 

I consider my house to be the kill zone. You are not allowed here and somehow if you survive all of the poison on the outside and make it in.

Your dead!!

The other night, I was going to bed and I looked up at my ceiling which is pretty tall in my master bedroom, and there was black one right above my bed. (Your not welcomed) I went and picked up my squisher, it's actually a cleaning device, and smashed and dragged it, just to make sure it did not survive and fall on my bed. Ugghhhh..

I have a pest control service that sprays the perimeter of my house, knocks down spider webs, and other pest duties every three months. Once a year, in the summer. I have them come inside and spray the entire house.

[Shaunac]

Really surprised by the number of people killing spiders. 

If I'm able to catch them, I take them outside so they can live.  If I can't, they stay inside with me. 

They catch and kill other insects.  Secondly, they're not bothering me and so why would I want to kill them? 

I could never kill a spider.  Why? 

[Tinkrbl44]

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@phoenixbrd wrote:

Most bugs are innocuous....I pick them up and place them outside so they can find a new home.

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@phoenixbrd 

ITA .... and often wonder why women get so upset over something so inconsequential.  Perhaps to pretend hysterics just to make their men feel useful?  

Yes, there are other creepy crawlers that are actually dangerous ... and I certainly wouldn't challenge an alligator coming in through the doggie door!   

But small bugs .... nah.

[Imaoldhippie]

@icezeus .................I think they posted the pictures just to be hornery.  I too will probably have nightmares tonight.

[Imaoldhippie]

@Shaunac .............Im surprised at the number of people that DONT kill them.

[Imaoldhippie]

@Tinkrbl44 .................Obviously you do not have a phobia, lucky you.  Your statement of "pretend hysteria" is just plain mean, rude and degrading to those who are affected by a phobia disorder.

[Glittergal]

No one has to love them, but I see no reason to harm them just because they are ugly.  They have important roles to fulfill to manage other pests and to provide food for others.  I don't kill any creatures.  I trap and relocate.  Smashing them is just cruel and gross (who wants bug guts smeared all over their home?) and exterminators/spraying chemicals around your house is bad for your health and it poisons the ecosystem for us and other creatures.

[Tinkrbl44]

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@Imaoldhippie wrote:

@Tinkrbl44 .................Obviously you do not have a phobia, lucky you.  Your statement of "pretend hysteria" is just plain mean, rude and degrading to those who are affected by a phobia disorder.

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@Imaoldhippie 

Uh, no, I just grew up in a household where we acknowledged that bugs are a fact of life.  Sometimes they get in and we deal with them, one way or another.  Not a big deal in the overall scheme of things.  JMO, of course.

[Carmie]

@amyb   It was pretty traumatic at the time.  I was screaming so loud, the neighbor came to see if everything was okay.

My sister was trying to get me to drink water and I wanted it gone,  I didn't want to swallow it.

My husband, my then my boyfriend, was there too.  That has been more than 50 years ago and the story keeps coming up every time someone sees a spider.

I don't like spiders, but centipedes are the worse.  I have had a couple of bad experiences with them too, but never ate one!

Surprisingly, snakes don't bother me. My sister won't even look at a picture of one.  I used to pick up garden snakes with

my father when I was a kid.

I guess we each have a different phobia.