It's life Jim, but not as we know about it.

[robinbloke]

Caution this post contains references to creepy crawlies

Spiders. Spiders spiders spiders. Now normally I don't have a problem with these little guys, note the use of the word little money spiders and suchlike I find pretty harmless and ignorable, but lately forces of the ISLF (International Spider Liberation Front) have been steadily taking over my house and I had been doing my best to ignore them and let them get along with their eight legged lives, such as it is. Including a fair sided one (about a inch and a half) across in my office that had a tendancy to hang over my head on the ceiling. After all, live and let live this is a planet of things more than humans and generally speaking enough though I am a self confessed carnivore I have no wish of unneccessary harm to any sientiant thing, save wasps, hornets and other flying stinging things which must all be wiped out.
Last night the spiders crossed the line when, when going to do my teeth before beddy byes, I discovered a four inch across eight legged beastie of doom sitting in my sink. Irrational icky sensations crawled down my spine and I ran out of the bathroom like a scared little puppy, grabbed my can of nuke-a-bug and ran around the house spraying everything I could find that had more than two legs (which meant incidentally that my penguins were safe) however the huge creature of death in my sink refused to go, even after I sprayed it to death and tried to flush it's shudder evil carcass down the sink with boiling water. It is currently suck in the sink bit at the bottom, one leg pointed slightly up as if to point at me and say "I'll get you for this, my minions will rise again".
My new plan is to get some sink de-gunger and chemicalise it away in a toxic burst of evil hissing and bubbling - which will make my bathroom stink even more after the lingering scent of bug-b-gone is still hanging there - because there is no way I want to touch the thing at all, or even go close to it. I did my teeth and shaved in the kitchen sink this morning.
Yes this is irrational, yes this thing could in no way hurt me, save in ways I don't really want to think about - but that doesn't mean that in any way I want to go near or touch the bloody thing, ewww.
This morning they struck back, and the war against spiderism went up another notch; I extracted my car from my garage this morning, so I could drive into town over lunch, and noted I'd left the sunroof open. Sure enough, hanging in my car was a frikking spider. I punted it out the car with a piece of cardboard.
Well if they want war, it's war they'll get.

Comments

[davywavy.livejournal.com]

If it makes life a little more bearable, the Harvestman Spider you describe as being in your sink has the deadliest venom of any spider known.

However, it's fangs can't penetrate human skin, so you're completely safe.

[riksowden.livejournal.com]

I have a simple rule, anything with more than 4 limbs is a travesty against god (well, me) and should be destroyed. But by someone else cos i can't bear to get close to them. Euugh...

You brave man, you're fighting for all of us, and we salute you...

[riksowden.livejournal.com]

You sick, sick, man... Still, know thy enemy i guess...

[karohemd.livejournal.com]

A spider (only about an inch across incl. legs) has now decided to build a net across the back garden door (which I use to get to my car which is parked around there), so every morning and evening I run into it because I'm not remembering most of the time. I bet the spider hates me for it ;o)
It's quite amazing how quickly it rebuilds that thing and I'd be tempted to set up my camcorder to film it building its net if I had a way of protecting the camera from rain and from being stolen.

I only kill them if I get really annoyed, in the kitchen for example because I'd like to eat my food myself, thank you very much.

Sympathies

[k-lioness.livejournal.com]

I know exactly where you're coming from, and I have a rule... First of all, the smaller spiders in my house are female and docile (it's just easier to think of them that way), the male spiders are the big scary ones and the ones who locate themselves in inconvenient places. The males get 24 hours notice, "Please vacate the premisis or I will be forced to take action," then I come after them with the hairspray. (Hairspray is cheaper, safer (for houses with small children), and less smelly than bug killer, and it's just as effective.)
Now if only I knew what to do about the 4 inch long mosquitoes...

Re: Sympathies

[robinbloke.livejournal.com]

Hmmm, good idea on the hairspray, my bathroom current reeks of bug-b-gone...

[littlecat.livejournal.com]

I have a couple of spiders that live quite happily in the corners of my kitchen window, which is really good because the kitchen goes straight onto the backgarden and therefore flies have a tendancy to come in and buzz around, and try to get near the food. The spiders do a great job of dealing with these, and tend to just sit there enjoying the sun. More natural and better than any bug zapper!

'The spiders are not insects, but in a war they would side with the insects...Traitor spiders in an insect nation!'
Human Slaves in an insect nation - Bill Bailey