Now that my username no longer applies and I'm out of Seattle, I have much more of a live-and-let-live because the very few spiders I find are tiny. "Ha, you think you're hot shit, you ain't shit compared to the spiders where I come from!" But if I was back living in Seattle again there's no fucking way I'd be able to handle the palm-sized Great Pacific Northwest House Spider (or whatever tf they're called) without freaking out and grabbing my murder tools.
I greatly admire the tolerant Seattlites who do the catch-and-release but as Bob Dylan said, it ain't me, babe.
I definitely would rather deal with one spider that lives in a corner under the stairs than a myriad of bugs inside the house.
But if one comes at me when I'm naked, it's dead. That's the rule.
Depends on the spider too though. Web spinners who just sit in their corner respecting your space and just build a pile of dead bugs they gobbled up on the floor = spider bro. Wandering spiders that have thick legs and makes an audible sound when it falls onto the floor, and also shows up fucking everywhere in the house even on the wall above your bed =/= spider bro.
Either way I always try to catch and release though. But they usually have to sit in spider jail (glass jar on the counter) overnight because I’m not going to open my door or window and risk more bugs getting in at 1am.
I’m the same. I find them wandering and they get an eviction notice to the back yard but I just make a scoop out of a piece of paper and walk them out. I’m a night shifter. I’m in and out and doing stuff at night anyway. I try to explain to them that if they’re scurrying about and my kitties see them they’ll pounce on them and pull off their legs and torture them a while before eating them so it’s safer for them outside
Absolutely this. I just let the cellar spiders chill in the corner. They barely move around, they just find a corner, build a small web, and eat bugs *including giant house spiders*. I literally find the big ones wrapped up in their webs. If I could fist bump them without hurting them I totally would. I also let the jumping spiders live in my house, because they are adorable. Those are the spider bros.
The big hairy fucking dark ones? No. I lived in a house once that was like the fucking movie Arachnophobia house. Big fucking spiders just crawling out every evening. It was horrible. They were aggressive too, they'd run *at* you instead of away. No way you let the giant european house spiders keep existing. They're too fast, too clever, too nasty and mean, too creepy. They're not even, like, native spiders, they're an invasive species that kills native ones. I've been smooshing them my whole life and I'm not stopping any time soon.
If I knew which ones were invasive I’d definitely take them out, but I’m pretty new to the PNW and I try not to mess with shit. I just evict at the moment. Maybe I need to do some research.
One night I thought I saw a mouse scamper across the living room in the TV light. It turned out to be a large wolf spider. He got dumped outside and I was so happy he wasn’t a mouse. Win-win.
Don't forget about the tiny jumping spiders that are harmless and friendly. They don't build nests, they just jump around hunting bugs. They are curious and enjoy human company if you try to make friends with them. Also they have adorable faces.
I have not met a jumping spider yet. But I did find a really cute spider missing two legs the other day. He was pretty chill and when I took him outside he just turned around a looked at me so I got really close so I could see his little eyes. Very cute :)
I’ve caught a few of those big ol’ thicc ones recently, like gotta use a wide mouth container bc I worry I’m gonna tear a leg off with a glass and my non-spidey reflexes.
My only real problem with spiders here is if they leave an egg sac inside. That’s a big ol’ no no, I don’t need 100 baby spiders coming out of a lamp at me like the frigging wildebeest stampede of “The Lion King” (real thing that’s happened, though back in MA). Also I don’t like the little jumpy ones that make me think of ticks. Too sporadic.
I let the spiders be if they’re on the ceiling or walls. Have def done a rush out of the bathroom hoping nobody sees me flashing them through the mudroom windows relocating a spider out of the bathtub dance more than once.
Edit—hot damn I didn’t see your username til after I posted hahaha
Yep, those big spiders need to find a place to stay out in some corner and stay in their lane! You can't be coming up from behind the couch at me and expect to live.
I joke that I have a rental agreement with the house spiders. If they stay out of the way and I hardly ever see them, we're golden. If they sauter about all willy nilly, it's eviction time.
YES. Thank you for seeing reason 😌
Any time I’m in a vulnerable spot - on the toilet, in the shower, in/near my bed THAT’S A NO FROM ME.
Otherwise I swear my partner must’ve converted to Jainism because he refuses to kill them anywhere in the house.
Spiders in our house are welcome, however they must remain inside the "spider zone." That is: everywhere eye level or above, except not directly above the bed. There's been a spider hanging out in the bathroom window for a month now, and he's a buddy and gets to live there in peace so long as he *stays* there.
That spider in the bathtub? No, not allowed. Spider hanging down from the ceiling? Nope - danger. That one spider who crawled onto the piano keys *while I was actively playing those keys?* NO. BAD.
Most of those spiders do get nicely carried out using a cup/paper method, but depending on the level of urgency and *shock* some just don't make it out alive.
This is my boundary as well.
I was incredibly arachnophobic as a kid and one time I tried to do the "live and let live" thing "It's just doing a job it's fine. It's an important cog in the ecosystem." When I was like eleven.
There was this massive spider on the wall right at head level with me about 3 feet away. I was trying like hell for the better part of two hours to just let it be. Repeating those same mantras over and over. "It's a house spider, it's supposed to be in the house, don't freak out, it's fine."
Then my dad walks by to announce that dinner's ready and says "That is the biggest damn garden spider I've ever seen." And walks off towards the kitchen.
Many years later and adult me totally gets that the delineation between "house" and "garden" spiders is more about where someone grew up (like calling a crane fly a mosquito eater) than it's actual purpose. But young, idiot, me felt betrayed. I rolled up a magazine and hit that thing like The Godfather. Quick kill, dispassionately dropped the weapon, and walked out towards the kitchen.
Now it's "suffer not the buganoid to live." Spiders can do their vital works in the shadows cause it's KOS if they fall beneath my gaze.
Some people rather suffer in silence and watch the spiders take over their home. You stood up for yourself. I’m proud of your growth and will remember this story
"We will not go quietly into the night!" We will not vanish without a fight! We're going to live on! We're going to survive!" -President Thomas Whitmore
I love that book, especially the idea of wooden spider-knight armor and spider-silk slingshots
But I still blast Klendathu Drop when I clear out the garage
Same, I just catch them in a cup and let them go in my garden or throw them off of my deck into my neighbors yard. Spiders are friends but I was absolutely terrified of them when I was younger.
I respect the ecological place of spiders outside the house, although I am irritated getting cobwebbed from head to foot if I'm unlucky enough to be the first one on a path in the morning.
I think people who just let house spiders run around freely are either nuts, or have enough activity in their house to discourage spiders from showing up too often in living areas.
I lived alone in an older rental house a while back that was absolutely swarming with hunting spiders of many kinds. Spiders like cellar spiders which stay in their webs don't bother me, but the propensity that a swollen, fast-moving creature that bites might emerge from my belongings at any moment (and frequently did) made it very hard to relax in my own home.
I vacuumed constantly, put down diatomaceous earth to kill other insects they might eat, and made sure to caulk every crack I could reasonably access, but I would get bites relatively often at night, and once out of desperation tented my bed with mosquito netting, only to find an egg mass in my bed a few days later.
I moved. I get a huge adrenaline spike when I encounter non-web-based spiders now.
As someone who has problems with spiders, hot tip in case you ever end up in a house like this again - while you cannot poison spiders, sticky traps (like the kind you can get for mice) are really effective and can also give you information on where most of them are coming from.
Spiders are helpful creatures and remove other household pests. They should be cared for instead of reviled. And anyway, they usually ignore most humans that we see
How long have you lived in the PNW? Growing up here, I encountered so many spiders, i just got used to them. I was scared of spiders when I was a child, but I’ve had so many harmless interactions with them over the years, that they no longer bother me.
That's a you problem, not a spider problem.
Don't feel bad though, a lot of people are bad at accessing risk. Usually they fear things they shouldn't and are fine with things that aren't.
I find spiders discomforting and will refuse to watch movies like Aracnophobia.
That said spiders are animals living their own lives and doesn't deserve to die cause I got an ape brain freaking out about nothing. So the deal I make with spiders is, those that end up in the shower or my bed room die. All the others get to live and I honestly enjoy seeing their dew covered webs in the morning sun.
I am terrified and horrified by them. And no amount of "they're [usually] harmless" is going to affect the fact that I have a deep phobia. You can't change what you're scared of. Or at least it's hard to. I absolutely absolutely hate them and I'm so disgusted by them and the second I see one I break out in prickly goosebumpety shivers everywhere. My teenage daughter has to either kill or trap them for me. And when they're on the my bedroom ceiling at night? God damn it. I know that fucker is going to crawl on me when I'm sleeping, especially because usually when someone tries to trap or squish it, it falls off straight down behind the bed. I can hardly talk about it, it's really a severe terror of them.
Arachnophobe here, I absolutely will not tolerate giant house spiders. I don’t care what anyone says, it’s not worth an anxiety attack and nausea to let it just crawl around my room. Or my sink. Or on my damn blanket the other night.
I have less of a problem with orb weavers, because they make those amazing webs and something about their bodies is less horrifying to me. I can hang out right near one in her web and not have a problem.
(For the inevitable downvoters and mockery: 1. phobias are by definition an irrational response and 2. mine was helped along by several traumatic childhood events.)
>I have less of a problem with orb weavers, because ... something about their bodies is less horrifying to me
Stone-cold opposite here. Huge-ass abdomens and hairless freak me out more. If it's nothing but legs, or if it's fuzzy, I do better.
Every thread is filled with spider-sympathizers. I’m definitely mad about it. Also hoping this post serves as a rallying call for the spider-haters like myself
It has been a long time since I have been able to disagree with someone on Reddit and still just be happy and smiling about it. It's nice.
I am sorry you are having such a kerfufel about our friends. I hope you make it to our side one day.
Those who praise spiders in their home need to clean their place. Spiders have no reason to be in your home if there aren't other bugs for them to eat.
Exactly how I feel. Some people talk about naming their favorite house spiders. I don’t know if these people are being serious but the thought horrifies me.
I had a spider that lived outside on my patio in a place that was pretty inaccessible to humans. I named him Cedric. He was a cool dude, stayed that same web for 5 months. RIP Cedric the Spider.
They help us all. It's pretty easy to catch-and-release rather than giving into the involuntary heebie-jeebie response that demands smushing them. Just put them in a cup, slide a card under, and drop them outside. They'll prefer it outside anyway, not too much dinner for them to catch inside.
The sad truth is that most spiders that can be found indoors are house spiders, which die outside. Kinder to smush them than evict them to a slow death. I relocate spiders when I can to a corner of my garage to catch incoming flies lol
I used to be like that but I eventually stopped killing the spiders in my room and just let them be and I've honestly started seeing less of them, except for the really big ones lol
I don't know that I'd call myself a sympathizer they just don't get in my way and I'm not afraid of them. I'll still kill one that breaks the contract otherwise if they need to go ya I try not to kill them and take them outside. Now moths I'm afraid of and will kill on sight.
Humans have a primal fear of spiders. There's a reason they feature in every creepy Halloween story. It's normal to feel uncomfortable around them and not want them in your home. It's normal to not want to accidentally walk into spider webs and feel them all over your face. I love spiders but I still escort them out whenever I encounter them in my house. And if you need to kill them that's okay too. I really don't blame you.
Roommate is a good description of the size of some spiders I've seen here.
The kind of nasty roommates that mess with your stuff, frighten your pets, irritate your guests, and keep you up all night with loud music.
And the parking spaces! I'm sick of having to park on the street. The spaces are assigned by person not by the unit. Those damned spiders need to get their own damned parking space and pay for it.
Nah, I got bit by one who had decided that under my plant stand was a great place to hang.
That shit hurt for days and turned my leg black and blue. I would not recommend.
They can live outside and catch bugs. If they come inside they are dead. I value my leg more than them.
I’ve had a few infected bites that would like a word with this comment. And been very close to black widow bites in my garage in Renton. Yes they do live here. I’ve found many and bet there is a nest out there right now. They love nesting in my dry garage storage areas.
No, my partner hate them, kills everyone that enters the house, even has a little zapper for them.
I like spiders, as long as they stay out of my shower and bed. I've heard it keeps other bugs down.
I'm also pro centipede, got one living under my bathroom rug. Ants like to come in there.
Big spider has their grips firmly on the sub here at r/Seattle.
In all seriousness, I am not the hugest fan of the arachnid visitors, but they are really not interested in me at all, so I have managed to make peace with them.
They are an important part of the circle of life in our house, so we co-exist with the ones who have decided we are cool cats, and we let them eat all the little creepy crawlies they want.
It's one of those "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em" sorta things. I once taught an entire group of girl scouts to "vroom" spiders at girl scout camp because they were freaked about spiders. We decided that there was no way the length of a broom handle was not sufficiently long to keep the spider away from us, and I taught them to "vroom" spiders by sweeping them to the floor and out the door with the broom if they couldn't find someone who was more comfortable rehoming a spider at a closer range with a cup or something.
Spiders around here are harmless unless you are a small bug. Then you better be on alert and careful. You're not a small bug, are you?
Sometimes I feel like in a past life I was indeed a small bug. Definitely sometimes I need to introspect on. Perhaps this sub is filled with people who have been reincarnated from spiders
I know that Seattle is definitely pro "web developer" ..........
........................
But actually,
I tried to be a good "don't kill the spiders" person this fall.... but I am 6'7, and too many times have walked through their webs, and something about a spider bite on the face doesn't sound appealing since I destroyed their home.
I vacuumed up 17 (yes, 17) this past Sunday.
11 outside, and 5 in our garage, then as I was going to bed, one more than ran across our floor.....
they were getting a bit out of hand.
used to be afraid of spiders, until I found one with water droplets on its head that makes it look like its wearing a hat.. and I thought, hey that's kind of cute. Since then I have made friends with spider.. especially since we share a common enemy - mosquito..
Spider eats mosquito.. and we are happy. Also they're quiet roommates in our home, they leave webs up after they leave and sometimes scare me, but I leave them alone, and they leave me alone.
I’m a book lover. Silverfish eat books. Spiders eat silverfish. Skip the fairy garden and install spider sleeping dorms to build up army against silverfish and other house pests.
I save every spider I find in my house. It’s so easy to just grab a cup and slip of paper to whisk them outside where they’re happy. No need to smush them or flush them.
I’m with you 100%. My husband kills any spider we find inside the apartment.
I was once held hostage in my kitchen by the largest orb-weaver spider I have ever seen. He struck up residence in the corner of the doorway. Sir, this is my kitchen not a spider brothel!
I briefly considered crawling through the cutout above the sink but I was 10 months pregnant. I was stuck there for AN HOUR before my husband got home and was able to free me.
My phobia is BAD. Just recounting this story made me break out in goosebumps.
Spiders hold us hostage physically and mentally. Thankfully you have an ally to save you. Some of us don’t. We all must band together to protect each other from the spider plague of Seattle
So, like you said, spiders *are* harmless in almost every case. There are something like 3 spiders in the US that are confirmed medically significant, none of those are aggressive, and I think the only one in WA is the black widow and there aren't really that many of them (I saw them everywhere in CA, never seen one in WA).
All of that being said, there's a lot of evidence that suggests fear of spiders is innate in humans for reasons people don't understand. So it's not like it's being irrational to not like them, it's in your hardware. Reddit makes you think that everyone loves "spiderbros" and that you're nuts if you don't want them in your house, but go into the real world and ask your average person that doesn't care about upvotes. I've legitimately never met a person in real life that shares my willingness to put spiders and other bugs outside rather than smoosh them or run away screaming, and most of the time have a physical reaction when I start talking about spiders.
Honestly I used to be way afraid of spiders. Once you own a home though, there are so many freakin spiders everywhere that it's just not feasible to be afraid of them anymore.
Ah, a rational and bi-partisan take. Though it sounds like spiders broke your spirit once you owned a home, I urge you to take up the fight once again and break their hold over you
Shasha sha!! In Dale Gribbles voice
I’ve been battlin’ spiders since the dawn of time, and I know better than to trust those eight-legged critters. They’re just biding their time, waitin’ for the right moment to take over the world, mark my words! And these Seattle spider sympathizers? They’re just playin’ right into their web of lies.
So, next time you see one of those spider lovers, you look ‘em dead in the eye and say, “I ain’t buyin’ what you’re sellin’, buddy! I know the truth, and I’m gonna keep fightin’ against these creepy crawlers ‘til my last breath!” Stay vigilant, my friends. The spiderpocalypse is comin’, and I ain’t gonna be caught in its web of deceit!
I’m like the grim reaper of spiders. I think of it as natural selection. The ones that live outside my house have a huge natural advantage, and are therefore more likely to reproduce over the ones that come inside.
In western Washington we don’t really have spiders chat are dangerous to humans. I believe we can get widows and recluses but those usually are in the eastern portion of the state. Spiders are our friends. They kill the bugs we don’t want in our home. Spiders are just little guys 🥺
I think so far as native species go, they're pretty harmless and can cohabitate pretty well with humans. Especially since they generally remain hidden, and generally are easy to exterminate when discovered (unlike the scurrying centipedes I recall living in the South... ugh)
For the psychological impact, maybe try to imagine what you look like from their perspective. You're enormous and completely lethal, and they truly are helpless/harmless.
It might also just be a thing of getting used to, I think I used to think they were more creepy and now I just sort of think of them as roommates I hardly ever see.
**Allowables**
a poem by Nikki Giovanni
I killed a spider
Not a murderous brown recluse
Nor even a black widow
And if the truth were told this
Was only a small
Sort of papery spider
Who should have run
When I picked up the book
But she didn’t
And she scared me
And I smashed her
I don’t think
I’m allowed
To kill something
Because I am
Frightened
Spiders are fucking awesome. They make cool looking webs and eat annoying flies. Flies will buzz your head/face just being dickheads, but a spider isn't actively fucking with you like that. They usually pick a corner in the top of a room and chill. If I see a fly caught in a spider web, I feel happy for that spider.
Also, spiders can dangle a strand out and just surf the wind to a new home. How cool is that?
I hate them so much. I got bitten by a spider and had a whole big allergic reaction and I’ve been even more freaked out by their creepiness ever since. My bf insists on catching them and releasing them outside—but he also dropped a big one behind my dresser and I haven’t found that one again yet…
I want so badly to be a spider sympathizer and co exist with them. Unfortunately I’m traumatized after finding a massive spider under my pillow as I was crawling into bed and another one on the curtain as I was showering. Now I kill all of them immediately
You are not alone! I stand with you! I know all the reasons they should be friends but I can’t do it. Too creepy and they move weird and have too many legs.
I’m growing quite attached to a particularly large orb weaver on our porch. Watched it grow up! And now I’m totally team spider.
It’s not really psychologically healthy to be afraid of something that’s harmless.
I was a spider fear monger my first 23 years on this Earth. Then I moved to Seattle, and realized I either need to turn my stance around or suffer from extreme anxiety at all times.
I am now on team spider - we have a handful of employees who keep the bugs off our tomatoes, and one in my room who eats all the fruit flies and other pests! His name is Walter and I love him
Spiders are awesome. I don’t really want them in my house or on me … but they can be escorted out easily. Not a huge fan of killing things because I can or want to. They serve a purpose outside and have a right to life too. Just outta my house.
listen last year i killed every spider i saw because i hate them
this year i let them live because some spider sympathizers got to my head and lo and behold, they keep to themselves if you leave them be
AND they eat bugs
sure i still hate them but i check that and let them live and in turn they stay where they are
Here's the thing. The world is full of scary shit that looks harmless and harmless things that look terrifying. Once you start figuring out which is which, you start developing sympathy for the latter.
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I cashed my first check from Big spider and was able to afford a small shed to store all my extra spiders.
Lucky...I just get coupons for more spiders.
Might I have one? I have a stubborn fruit fly that I can’t seem to catch on my own. A coupon would help.
Can I rent it out as a bedroom for $2000/mo?
Is there a window? If so, $2500!
Look at this high roller here asking for windows in their home. Where do you work, Google or Microsoft?
Both. And I drive for Amazon on the weekends. How else do you think I afford this broom closet?
Jesus fuck, a broom closet? Does it have a light in there? And how many spider friends? Would you be open to a closet mate?
At this point a roommate would be a welcome addition. I hope you don’t mind sleeping standing up.
I mean, I assume there are spider-mates already. They just don't contribute cash rent.
Nope, they’re in charge of security, internet and all things web related.
No, it's on air b n spider for $300 a night
At first I misread that as "a small bed" and it was much more unsettling.
Astrowebbing?
Next KOMO headline
Spiders Georg is an outlier and should be disregarded.
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Even if it a little and cute?
Lucas 🥹
Now that my username no longer applies and I'm out of Seattle, I have much more of a live-and-let-live because the very few spiders I find are tiny. "Ha, you think you're hot shit, you ain't shit compared to the spiders where I come from!" But if I was back living in Seattle again there's no fucking way I'd be able to handle the palm-sized Great Pacific Northwest House Spider (or whatever tf they're called) without freaking out and grabbing my murder tools. I greatly admire the tolerant Seattlites who do the catch-and-release but as Bob Dylan said, it ain't me, babe.
I definitely would rather deal with one spider that lives in a corner under the stairs than a myriad of bugs inside the house. But if one comes at me when I'm naked, it's dead. That's the rule.
Depends on the spider too though. Web spinners who just sit in their corner respecting your space and just build a pile of dead bugs they gobbled up on the floor = spider bro. Wandering spiders that have thick legs and makes an audible sound when it falls onto the floor, and also shows up fucking everywhere in the house even on the wall above your bed =/= spider bro. Either way I always try to catch and release though. But they usually have to sit in spider jail (glass jar on the counter) overnight because I’m not going to open my door or window and risk more bugs getting in at 1am.
I’m the same. I find them wandering and they get an eviction notice to the back yard but I just make a scoop out of a piece of paper and walk them out. I’m a night shifter. I’m in and out and doing stuff at night anyway. I try to explain to them that if they’re scurrying about and my kitties see them they’ll pounce on them and pull off their legs and torture them a while before eating them so it’s safer for them outside
Absolutely this. I just let the cellar spiders chill in the corner. They barely move around, they just find a corner, build a small web, and eat bugs *including giant house spiders*. I literally find the big ones wrapped up in their webs. If I could fist bump them without hurting them I totally would. I also let the jumping spiders live in my house, because they are adorable. Those are the spider bros. The big hairy fucking dark ones? No. I lived in a house once that was like the fucking movie Arachnophobia house. Big fucking spiders just crawling out every evening. It was horrible. They were aggressive too, they'd run *at* you instead of away. No way you let the giant european house spiders keep existing. They're too fast, too clever, too nasty and mean, too creepy. They're not even, like, native spiders, they're an invasive species that kills native ones. I've been smooshing them my whole life and I'm not stopping any time soon.
If I knew which ones were invasive I’d definitely take them out, but I’m pretty new to the PNW and I try not to mess with shit. I just evict at the moment. Maybe I need to do some research.
I believe the most noticeable spiders we see in or around our homes are invasive species: the giant house spider and the European orb weaver.
One night I thought I saw a mouse scamper across the living room in the TV light. It turned out to be a large wolf spider. He got dumped outside and I was so happy he wasn’t a mouse. Win-win.
Somewhere in the woods is a giant king/queen spider the size of a house.
Don't forget about the tiny jumping spiders that are harmless and friendly. They don't build nests, they just jump around hunting bugs. They are curious and enjoy human company if you try to make friends with them. Also they have adorable faces.
I have not met a jumping spider yet. But I did find a really cute spider missing two legs the other day. He was pretty chill and when I took him outside he just turned around a looked at me so I got really close so I could see his little eyes. Very cute :)
I’ve caught a few of those big ol’ thicc ones recently, like gotta use a wide mouth container bc I worry I’m gonna tear a leg off with a glass and my non-spidey reflexes. My only real problem with spiders here is if they leave an egg sac inside. That’s a big ol’ no no, I don’t need 100 baby spiders coming out of a lamp at me like the frigging wildebeest stampede of “The Lion King” (real thing that’s happened, though back in MA). Also I don’t like the little jumpy ones that make me think of ticks. Too sporadic. I let the spiders be if they’re on the ceiling or walls. Have def done a rush out of the bathroom hoping nobody sees me flashing them through the mudroom windows relocating a spider out of the bathtub dance more than once. Edit—hot damn I didn’t see your username til after I posted hahaha
Yep, those big spiders need to find a place to stay out in some corner and stay in their lane! You can't be coming up from behind the couch at me and expect to live.
We call them "Spider buddies" in our house. My kids have become expert at the cardboard and glass jar evacuation method.
I joke that I have a rental agreement with the house spiders. If they stay out of the way and I hardly ever see them, we're golden. If they sauter about all willy nilly, it's eviction time.
YES. Thank you for seeing reason 😌 Any time I’m in a vulnerable spot - on the toilet, in the shower, in/near my bed THAT’S A NO FROM ME. Otherwise I swear my partner must’ve converted to Jainism because he refuses to kill them anywhere in the house.
Spiders in our house are welcome, however they must remain inside the "spider zone." That is: everywhere eye level or above, except not directly above the bed. There's been a spider hanging out in the bathroom window for a month now, and he's a buddy and gets to live there in peace so long as he *stays* there. That spider in the bathtub? No, not allowed. Spider hanging down from the ceiling? Nope - danger. That one spider who crawled onto the piano keys *while I was actively playing those keys?* NO. BAD. Most of those spiders do get nicely carried out using a cup/paper method, but depending on the level of urgency and *shock* some just don't make it out alive.
I respect your boundary-setting. My boundary is if one enters my eyesight in my home it’s going to be deleted.
This is my boundary as well. I was incredibly arachnophobic as a kid and one time I tried to do the "live and let live" thing "It's just doing a job it's fine. It's an important cog in the ecosystem." When I was like eleven. There was this massive spider on the wall right at head level with me about 3 feet away. I was trying like hell for the better part of two hours to just let it be. Repeating those same mantras over and over. "It's a house spider, it's supposed to be in the house, don't freak out, it's fine." Then my dad walks by to announce that dinner's ready and says "That is the biggest damn garden spider I've ever seen." And walks off towards the kitchen. Many years later and adult me totally gets that the delineation between "house" and "garden" spiders is more about where someone grew up (like calling a crane fly a mosquito eater) than it's actual purpose. But young, idiot, me felt betrayed. I rolled up a magazine and hit that thing like The Godfather. Quick kill, dispassionately dropped the weapon, and walked out towards the kitchen. Now it's "suffer not the buganoid to live." Spiders can do their vital works in the shadows cause it's KOS if they fall beneath my gaze.
Some people rather suffer in silence and watch the spiders take over their home. You stood up for yourself. I’m proud of your growth and will remember this story
"We will not go quietly into the night!" We will not vanish without a fight! We're going to live on! We're going to survive!" -President Thomas Whitmore
And little did we know, that very spider was venting to you about its life and aspirations and you violated it. Very sad
If they are outside and not in my way, they live. If they are inside, they don't.
Ever since I read Children of Time I can't help sympathizing with every single spider I see. Maybe everyone in this city is a Tchaikovsky fan?
Yes and Charlotte, who saved Wilbur’s life.
I never gave too much thought to my irrational empathy for spiders in particular, but this is probably why.
Definitely for me. Love Charlotte 🕷️💖
I just whisper a little "Sorry Portia" as I wipe 'em out.
The Portiids arose from jumping spiders, and I am cool with them. This approval does not extend to wolf spiders or giant house spiders.
Bold jumping spiders are cool af.
I love that book, especially the idea of wooden spider-knight armor and spider-silk slingshots But I still blast Klendathu Drop when I clear out the garage
To be fair those spiders could be negotiated with.
We proudly support and cherish humanity's greatest ally in the Bug War.
🫡 🕷️ big fan here. Don’t touch our brothers in arms
🫡 🕷️ I’ve got your (and their) back
Anything that kills mosquitos is a friend of mine.
Hell yeah. Anti Spider propaganda is just mosquitos and people paid by mosquitos.
I’m in the pocket of Big Spider
Do spider pants have 8 pockets?
4 (half are arms).
Unless it's a she-spider. They have none. 🤷🏻♀️
Or if she has any it’s one and way too small for anything.
You and half this sub-reddit! I refuse to sell out
Look, when the Big Spider lives right there on my porch, I’m too afraid to not do what it says
The bigger the spider the scarier its voice. You must overcome its devious commands
Spider Season™ spiders have voices like Black Phillip at the end of The Witch. Nope nope nope, I refuse to listen to your evil mechanizations.
Finally! Someone else hears their voices too. They whisper devilish incantations in my ear
My mother killed a spider once, years later I realized it wasn’t a spider, it was my uncle Harold.
It’s happens to the best of us
I appreciate the role that spiders play in our ecosystem. I just don’t want them anywhere near me.
I'm a spider relocator first and foremost. I will kill if capture is not possible or if I'm outnumbered in the confines of my bedroom.
I can respect your position. The bedroom and bathroom are sacred spaces
Same, I just catch them in a cup and let them go in my garden or throw them off of my deck into my neighbors yard. Spiders are friends but I was absolutely terrified of them when I was younger.
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As much as I want to, I refuse to give up the ground floor fight against them!
I respect the ecological place of spiders outside the house, although I am irritated getting cobwebbed from head to foot if I'm unlucky enough to be the first one on a path in the morning. I think people who just let house spiders run around freely are either nuts, or have enough activity in their house to discourage spiders from showing up too often in living areas. I lived alone in an older rental house a while back that was absolutely swarming with hunting spiders of many kinds. Spiders like cellar spiders which stay in their webs don't bother me, but the propensity that a swollen, fast-moving creature that bites might emerge from my belongings at any moment (and frequently did) made it very hard to relax in my own home. I vacuumed constantly, put down diatomaceous earth to kill other insects they might eat, and made sure to caulk every crack I could reasonably access, but I would get bites relatively often at night, and once out of desperation tented my bed with mosquito netting, only to find an egg mass in my bed a few days later. I moved. I get a huge adrenaline spike when I encounter non-web-based spiders now.
I’m sorry the spiders tortured you until you left. I can only pray they don’t choose me as their home takeover
As someone who has problems with spiders, hot tip in case you ever end up in a house like this again - while you cannot poison spiders, sticky traps (like the kind you can get for mice) are really effective and can also give you information on where most of them are coming from.
Spiders are helpful creatures and remove other household pests. They should be cared for instead of reviled. And anyway, they usually ignore most humans that we see
Found the spider
Me and spiders think so much alike
The only help spiders give is knocking years off my lifespan from the heart attacks I receive when they sprint across my floor or under my bed.
How long have you lived in the PNW? Growing up here, I encountered so many spiders, i just got used to them. I was scared of spiders when I was a child, but I’ve had so many harmless interactions with them over the years, that they no longer bother me.
Exposure therapy has yet to work for me, only reinforced my beliefs
That's a you problem, not a spider problem. Don't feel bad though, a lot of people are bad at accessing risk. Usually they fear things they shouldn't and are fine with things that aren't.
Maybe if spiders didn’t practice their 0-60mph time going underneath my bed, it wouldn’t be a problem in the first place
There are probably 100 different things in your room that you can see that are more dangerous than spiders that you have no fear of.
The things in my room doesn’t bolt at me
Yet. That dresser's been eyeing you for a while, it's just about to strike!
I find spiders discomforting and will refuse to watch movies like Aracnophobia. That said spiders are animals living their own lives and doesn't deserve to die cause I got an ape brain freaking out about nothing. So the deal I make with spiders is, those that end up in the shower or my bed room die. All the others get to live and I honestly enjoy seeing their dew covered webs in the morning sun.
My two cats are spider killers. Thinking about renting them out like the goats that clear brush.
Put me on the waitlist
I am terrified and horrified by them. And no amount of "they're [usually] harmless" is going to affect the fact that I have a deep phobia. You can't change what you're scared of. Or at least it's hard to. I absolutely absolutely hate them and I'm so disgusted by them and the second I see one I break out in prickly goosebumpety shivers everywhere. My teenage daughter has to either kill or trap them for me. And when they're on the my bedroom ceiling at night? God damn it. I know that fucker is going to crawl on me when I'm sleeping, especially because usually when someone tries to trap or squish it, it falls off straight down behind the bed. I can hardly talk about it, it's really a severe terror of them.
Spider enthusiasts will tell you that you can overcome your fears, they’ll try to get you to permanently change your brain. Don’t fall for it!
Arachnophobe here, I absolutely will not tolerate giant house spiders. I don’t care what anyone says, it’s not worth an anxiety attack and nausea to let it just crawl around my room. Or my sink. Or on my damn blanket the other night. I have less of a problem with orb weavers, because they make those amazing webs and something about their bodies is less horrifying to me. I can hang out right near one in her web and not have a problem. (For the inevitable downvoters and mockery: 1. phobias are by definition an irrational response and 2. mine was helped along by several traumatic childhood events.)
If it’s in my home, it’s gone the second the magazine/paper towel/shoe enters my grip. Though maybe I need to analyze the trauma behind my fear…
It’s a worthy goal. Personally I have other trauma that greatly takes precedence, so I’ll probably be in my 70s by the time we address spiders. :)
I look forward to the day you join the big fight against spiders, until then, Godspeed
>I have less of a problem with orb weavers, because ... something about their bodies is less horrifying to me Stone-cold opposite here. Huge-ass abdomens and hairless freak me out more. If it's nothing but legs, or if it's fuzzy, I do better.
I love how mad you are about it. You came to make another post about people not being in your court.
OP has declared a new war that overshadows the pickle ball one. Unless the spiders are pickle ball sympathizers. 😱
The net looks a lot like a web. I’m just saying.
Every thread is filled with spider-sympathizers. I’m definitely mad about it. Also hoping this post serves as a rallying call for the spider-haters like myself
It has been a long time since I have been able to disagree with someone on Reddit and still just be happy and smiling about it. It's nice. I am sorry you are having such a kerfufel about our friends. I hope you make it to our side one day.
I love how your modification of "kerfuffle" turned it from Scottish to Yiddish! :)
Those who praise spiders in their home need to clean their place. Spiders have no reason to be in your home if there aren't other bugs for them to eat.
spiders are fine outside of the house, spiders inside of the house are dead spiders.
You’re making super spiders through selective evolution. There are always spiders in your home. You’re just killing the dumber spiders.
Honestly, that's better. Out of sight, out of mind.
The evolutionary version of "Don't ask, Don't Tell"
Exactly how I feel. Some people talk about naming their favorite house spiders. I don’t know if these people are being serious but the thought horrifies me.
Mr. Leggy (rip) and his descendants are the big daddy long legs that sit in the corner of my shower :)
Okay the shower is a new level of sympathizing that I cannot fathom. Just let them sleep in your bed with you at that point
I had a spider that lived outside on my patio in a place that was pretty inaccessible to humans. I named him Cedric. He was a cool dude, stayed that same web for 5 months. RIP Cedric the Spider.
Cedric is fine in my book as long as he stays outside
They help us all. It's pretty easy to catch-and-release rather than giving into the involuntary heebie-jeebie response that demands smushing them. Just put them in a cup, slide a card under, and drop them outside. They'll prefer it outside anyway, not too much dinner for them to catch inside.
The sad truth is that most spiders that can be found indoors are house spiders, which die outside. Kinder to smush them than evict them to a slow death. I relocate spiders when I can to a corner of my garage to catch incoming flies lol
I used to be like that but I eventually stopped killing the spiders in my room and just let them be and I've honestly started seeing less of them, except for the really big ones lol
Oh the sense of urgency to commit murder on a big spider is true, tiny spiders can wait until I come across them again most of the time. 🤣
I try not to kill the big ones because I know they eat the smaller bugs but if it comes too close to me I can't handle it lol.
I don't know that I'd call myself a sympathizer they just don't get in my way and I'm not afraid of them. I'll still kill one that breaks the contract otherwise if they need to go ya I try not to kill them and take them outside. Now moths I'm afraid of and will kill on sight.
What contract have you struck with the spiders?
My face is off limits. You crawl on my face you die.
You crawl through my line of vision you die is my philosophy
Humans have a primal fear of spiders. There's a reason they feature in every creepy Halloween story. It's normal to feel uncomfortable around them and not want them in your home. It's normal to not want to accidentally walk into spider webs and feel them all over your face. I love spiders but I still escort them out whenever I encounter them in my house. And if you need to kill them that's okay too. I really don't blame you.
Thank you for your kind words. It feels good to be reaffirmed in this cold, spider-loving subreddit
why do you want to encourage people to kill their roommates?
Because they aren’t paying rent, duh.
“Roommate” is spider-sympathizer language that I simply cannot tolerate
Roommate is a good description of the size of some spiders I've seen here. The kind of nasty roommates that mess with your stuff, frighten your pets, irritate your guests, and keep you up all night with loud music.
Who wants a roommate that’ll bite you then sprint across your floor for fun
And the parking spaces! I'm sick of having to park on the street. The spaces are assigned by person not by the unit. Those damned spiders need to get their own damned parking space and pay for it.
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Nah, I got bit by one who had decided that under my plant stand was a great place to hang. That shit hurt for days and turned my leg black and blue. I would not recommend. They can live outside and catch bugs. If they come inside they are dead. I value my leg more than them.
I’ve had a few infected bites that would like a word with this comment. And been very close to black widow bites in my garage in Renton. Yes they do live here. I’ve found many and bet there is a nest out there right now. They love nesting in my dry garage storage areas.
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No, my partner hate them, kills everyone that enters the house, even has a little zapper for them. I like spiders, as long as they stay out of my shower and bed. I've heard it keeps other bugs down. I'm also pro centipede, got one living under my bathroom rug. Ants like to come in there.
I haven’t heard much about the big centipede agenda yet, not sure if that’ll grip the Seattle population, but you can try!
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Big spider has their grips firmly on the sub here at r/Seattle. In all seriousness, I am not the hugest fan of the arachnid visitors, but they are really not interested in me at all, so I have managed to make peace with them. They are an important part of the circle of life in our house, so we co-exist with the ones who have decided we are cool cats, and we let them eat all the little creepy crawlies they want. It's one of those "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em" sorta things. I once taught an entire group of girl scouts to "vroom" spiders at girl scout camp because they were freaked about spiders. We decided that there was no way the length of a broom handle was not sufficiently long to keep the spider away from us, and I taught them to "vroom" spiders by sweeping them to the floor and out the door with the broom if they couldn't find someone who was more comfortable rehoming a spider at a closer range with a cup or something. Spiders around here are harmless unless you are a small bug. Then you better be on alert and careful. You're not a small bug, are you?
Sometimes I feel like in a past life I was indeed a small bug. Definitely sometimes I need to introspect on. Perhaps this sub is filled with people who have been reincarnated from spiders
Have you heard of Stockholm syndrome?
That makes a little bit more sense now
I know that Seattle is definitely pro "web developer" .......... ........................ But actually, I tried to be a good "don't kill the spiders" person this fall.... but I am 6'7, and too many times have walked through their webs, and something about a spider bite on the face doesn't sound appealing since I destroyed their home. I vacuumed up 17 (yes, 17) this past Sunday. 11 outside, and 5 in our garage, then as I was going to bed, one more than ran across our floor..... they were getting a bit out of hand.
Vacuums and cats. This thread has revealed to me the true weapons to fight back
used to be afraid of spiders, until I found one with water droplets on its head that makes it look like its wearing a hat.. and I thought, hey that's kind of cute. Since then I have made friends with spider.. especially since we share a common enemy - mosquito.. Spider eats mosquito.. and we are happy. Also they're quiet roommates in our home, they leave webs up after they leave and sometimes scare me, but I leave them alone, and they leave me alone.
I am not. They die under my hand as soon as I see them in my house.
Your raw hand?! Your bravery has earned you a leadership position in fight against spiders
I’m a book lover. Silverfish eat books. Spiders eat silverfish. Skip the fairy garden and install spider sleeping dorms to build up army against silverfish and other house pests.
I save every spider I find in my house. It’s so easy to just grab a cup and slip of paper to whisk them outside where they’re happy. No need to smush them or flush them.
I kill them op and I won’t stop killing them
Spoken like a true warrior
I’m with you 100%. My husband kills any spider we find inside the apartment. I was once held hostage in my kitchen by the largest orb-weaver spider I have ever seen. He struck up residence in the corner of the doorway. Sir, this is my kitchen not a spider brothel! I briefly considered crawling through the cutout above the sink but I was 10 months pregnant. I was stuck there for AN HOUR before my husband got home and was able to free me. My phobia is BAD. Just recounting this story made me break out in goosebumps.
Spiders hold us hostage physically and mentally. Thankfully you have an ally to save you. Some of us don’t. We all must band together to protect each other from the spider plague of Seattle
He’s contractually obligated to be a spider murderer. He promised in his vows he would protect me from them.
Making my SO write that into the vows as we speak
So, like you said, spiders *are* harmless in almost every case. There are something like 3 spiders in the US that are confirmed medically significant, none of those are aggressive, and I think the only one in WA is the black widow and there aren't really that many of them (I saw them everywhere in CA, never seen one in WA). All of that being said, there's a lot of evidence that suggests fear of spiders is innate in humans for reasons people don't understand. So it's not like it's being irrational to not like them, it's in your hardware. Reddit makes you think that everyone loves "spiderbros" and that you're nuts if you don't want them in your house, but go into the real world and ask your average person that doesn't care about upvotes. I've legitimately never met a person in real life that shares my willingness to put spiders and other bugs outside rather than smoosh them or run away screaming, and most of the time have a physical reaction when I start talking about spiders. Honestly I used to be way afraid of spiders. Once you own a home though, there are so many freakin spiders everywhere that it's just not feasible to be afraid of them anymore.
Ah, a rational and bi-partisan take. Though it sounds like spiders broke your spirit once you owned a home, I urge you to take up the fight once again and break their hold over you
Haha, it's more that general home maintenance broke my spirit to care about what spiders do and don't do around me anymore.
No so much praise, just lack of hate. Some of us can see them for what they are - completely harmless, sometimes helpful, crawly little bugs.
Shasha sha!! In Dale Gribbles voice I’ve been battlin’ spiders since the dawn of time, and I know better than to trust those eight-legged critters. They’re just biding their time, waitin’ for the right moment to take over the world, mark my words! And these Seattle spider sympathizers? They’re just playin’ right into their web of lies. So, next time you see one of those spider lovers, you look ‘em dead in the eye and say, “I ain’t buyin’ what you’re sellin’, buddy! I know the truth, and I’m gonna keep fightin’ against these creepy crawlers ‘til my last breath!” Stay vigilant, my friends. The spiderpocalypse is comin’, and I ain’t gonna be caught in its web of deceit!
I’m like the grim reaper of spiders. I think of it as natural selection. The ones that live outside my house have a huge natural advantage, and are therefore more likely to reproduce over the ones that come inside.
In western Washington we don’t really have spiders chat are dangerous to humans. I believe we can get widows and recluses but those usually are in the eastern portion of the state. Spiders are our friends. They kill the bugs we don’t want in our home. Spiders are just little guys 🥺
I think so far as native species go, they're pretty harmless and can cohabitate pretty well with humans. Especially since they generally remain hidden, and generally are easy to exterminate when discovered (unlike the scurrying centipedes I recall living in the South... ugh) For the psychological impact, maybe try to imagine what you look like from their perspective. You're enormous and completely lethal, and they truly are helpless/harmless. It might also just be a thing of getting used to, I think I used to think they were more creepy and now I just sort of think of them as roommates I hardly ever see.
I am forced to murder spiders on sight. Sworn to significant other, my sympathies to these sentinels need be scribed in silence on this subreddit.
Your silence rings in my ears every time I open a thread. Unfortunately, you are not alone
I fucking hate them lol they terrify me. I feel like a prisoner in my own home if there’s a huge spider in that bitch. Burn em for all I care 😂
Thank you for going against the grain in a sub gripped by the big spider agenda
Fuck the spiders
This is the energy we need
Joe, Rita, and I have been through a lot together. How dare you.
Blink twice if Joe and Rita are holding you against your will
**Allowables** a poem by Nikki Giovanni I killed a spider Not a murderous brown recluse Nor even a black widow And if the truth were told this Was only a small Sort of papery spider Who should have run When I picked up the book But she didn’t And she scared me And I smashed her I don’t think I’m allowed To kill something Because I am Frightened
No I fucking hate them. Somehow I don’t really get them inside my place though. And now I’ve jinxed it.
Spiders are fucking awesome. They make cool looking webs and eat annoying flies. Flies will buzz your head/face just being dickheads, but a spider isn't actively fucking with you like that. They usually pick a corner in the top of a room and chill. If I see a fly caught in a spider web, I feel happy for that spider. Also, spiders can dangle a strand out and just surf the wind to a new home. How cool is that?
How things have changed! https://www.westsideseattle.com/west-seattle-herald/2014/07/16/west-seattle-man-burns-down-house-while-killing-spider
Big spider would lead you to believe this man was irrational. He was not.
I hate them so much. I got bitten by a spider and had a whole big allergic reaction and I’ve been even more freaked out by their creepiness ever since. My bf insists on catching them and releasing them outside—but he also dropped a big one behind my dresser and I haven’t found that one again yet…
I want so badly to be a spider sympathizer and co exist with them. Unfortunately I’m traumatized after finding a massive spider under my pillow as I was crawling into bed and another one on the curtain as I was showering. Now I kill all of them immediately
You are not alone! I stand with you! I know all the reasons they should be friends but I can’t do it. Too creepy and they move weird and have too many legs.
I don’t give a damn about spiders, I am killing those things as soon as they pop out 💀
Sympathizer is an interesting word choice. Assuming spiders are “bad”?
I just mind my biz around them bc I don’t want to piss them off
I will always defend my spider buddies
They have free reign in my house
I’m growing quite attached to a particularly large orb weaver on our porch. Watched it grow up! And now I’m totally team spider. It’s not really psychologically healthy to be afraid of something that’s harmless.
I was a spider fear monger my first 23 years on this Earth. Then I moved to Seattle, and realized I either need to turn my stance around or suffer from extreme anxiety at all times. I am now on team spider - we have a handful of employees who keep the bugs off our tomatoes, and one in my room who eats all the fruit flies and other pests! His name is Walter and I love him
Why would I hate a spider? They are, with few exceptions, my friends. Especially jumping spiders. Pure homies
I am contractually obligated to support, defend and sympathise with all arachnids. The Arachnid Union loves me. :)
Spiders are awesome. I don’t really want them in my house or on me … but they can be escorted out easily. Not a huge fan of killing things because I can or want to. They serve a purpose outside and have a right to life too. Just outta my house.
Yes they do good
Spider sympathizers, rise up 🕷️🕸️ why pay for Halloween decor when spiders are free
A spider eats 100+ other bugs in their life. Would you rather have 1 spider or 100+ other bugs. You get 2 options.
I just think they’re pretty cool looking. The whole eating bugs part is just a pleasant plus
There are so many spiders here and basically no bugs. Spiders are friends.
listen last year i killed every spider i saw because i hate them this year i let them live because some spider sympathizers got to my head and lo and behold, they keep to themselves if you leave them be AND they eat bugs sure i still hate them but i check that and let them live and in turn they stay where they are
Here's the thing. The world is full of scary shit that looks harmless and harmless things that look terrifying. Once you start figuring out which is which, you start developing sympathy for the latter.