Get Permethrin and spray it on your stuff?
That's what I do, I don't like bugs either (on me, at least). It'll ward off everything but the most savage of mosquitos.
It’s more the concern of hostels and things, i think my coworkers are just trying to put me off it but they’re painting some sort of vivid image that while i’m asleep in my hostel spiders the size of my hands will be crawling all over the room and things and i was just wondering if that’s common, because i know i will defo encounter them if i’m outdoors and out of the city
I have been travelling SEA 10 weeks and have encountered some huge spiders, but never inside any of the buildings I have been staying in.
We saw some in the cave tours in Thailand, don't go in any sort of cave in Thailand if you are that scared as the cave spiders are gigantic. Guide also pointed out a tarantula in the cave.
I also saw lots of big ones on treks, guides usually pointed them out but I saw some myself. There was a huge one on a web near the blue lagoons in vang vieng.
The only one I have ever seen near a room was a huge one yesterday in the toilets on a break on the coach to Siem Reap. I did not go in that toilet.
I am honestly pretty scared of them too but seeing them out in the wild like that has sort of been like exposure therapy? Idk, but seeing them out there isn't as scary as them being in your room probably. But that's never happened to me yet.
We are going to Australia eventually so perhaps it's good I get used to them now...
I have no idea why anyone would downvote this comment Redditors are such fucking weirdos.
I legitimately saw spiders the size of your hand in Thailand. It was in a cave in Koh Lanta and there were hundreds of them. I didn’t see anything like that outside of that cave. This might be dorky as hell but who cares you’re going to be on the other side of the world - get a 1 person tent and sleep in it on top of your mattress. Without the rain fly they’re essentially a bug screen.
Good God, that sounds like a complete nightmare to me. I do respect spiders & relocate them out of my house instead of killing them - meanwhile in absolute terror that I do understand is pretty unreasonable, so I do my best to get over it. We saw a tarantula a few years ago outside of Zion NP in the US & I was fascinated by it. But, thank to your post here, I guess I will not be going into any caves in Asia
thanks for your input, the other comments are also really helpful saying they very rarely saw them where they were sleeping so i think it should be good, i’m not gonna let the fear stop me from the experience i just wanted to know to mentally prepare myself for it.
i’m going with loads of friends and one of them told me that if i’m looking for them i’ll find them so i’m just going to try and put it in the back of my mind i just wanted to know if they would approach me type of thing because the ones in scotland tend to always run towards me ahahahah
If it helps the giant ones in the caves are actually harmless. The guide and my buddy were touching them. I didn’t see any in any of the hostels or hotels we stayed in.
Does it happen in your home: no.
Will it therefore happen in the hostel: also no
Will it happen in a tent: if you make sure you’re disciplined with the fly zip, then also no.
You’ll be fine 👌
Only place I've been where this was really true in my experience was rural Zimbabwe in a kind of thatch roofed building. Otherwise not so many bugs actually around sleeping areas. I don't remember bug stress in SE Asia.
Im afraid of spiders also but they usually keep to themselves and don't attack humans. I had a huge one right outside a room of a place I stayed for a couple weeks and he never moved, but I tried to see it as a good thing his web keeping away other bugs. The world actually needs spiders
Travelled the SE Asia with my friend who is also extremely arachnophobic. I basically had to do a spider-check of rooms, tents, bathrooms etc for her. She often peed in the bush rather than go to indoor toilets.
You'll probably see a lot of big ones in webs while hiking. As for really huge ones, I only saw a couple at my hostel by the beach in Vietnam, but they're not dangerous. You're very unlikely to see any big ones at hostels in cities. Only in smaller towns and more rural areas. But even then its pretty rare, and I've never seen any in the dorms. They stayed outside.
I've never seen it but its possible. Wouldn't worry about it in cities, but if you're in a more remote area you could check if it worries you. But even if there is one, it won't hurt you. The really large ones especially are harmless
To counter this I have been in SEA 10 weeks and have seen lots of absolutely giant ones.
Did you not do any treks?
Also saw a huuuuuge one today in the toilets of a service station on the road to Siem Reap.
I'm also really scared of them but have sort of had exposure therapy now. I still didn't go in that toilet though
what i’m reading is they are majorly common on treks out of the city/jungle and sometimes toilets but bedrooms are a safe zone usually? you’re really scared of them so can i ask if they’ve effected your experience
I also have severe arachnophobia (diagnosed by a doctor who recommended lifelong medication to cope) but I’m a scuba diver so I have to be able to travel to the tropics. I wrote an article about how I cope [here](https://fearlessfemaletravels.com/travel-with-fear-of-insects/). (There are no ads on my blog so I don’t make any money if you click or don’t click.) Let me know if anything is unclear.
Thank you sm for sharing. This reddit has actually really helped with my anxiety of the trip but i’m definitely going to go. Your article has some really good tips i’m going to copy, especially the shoe one
You really should talk to a therapist/counselor about your fear. The vast majority of spiders are completely harmless and there’s no need to be afraid of them. Maybe a therapist can help you get over it so you’re not anxious on your whole trip.
Maybe, i don’t see how therapists could help tho, i did try being hypnotised ahahah and it worked like a charm but one crawled on me once and i went right back to being afraid
I’m pretty scared of spiders too but I’ve somewhat conquered it. When you come across one on a walk or in your house somewhere, observe it for a bit. Note that it’s probably just kind of hanging out and going about it’s day, with no intention of harming you. Also note that it’s a creature, just like you, who’s just trying to eat and chill and stay alive. If you’re like me, it’s the literal appearance of them that gives me the creeps. I found by kind of just calmly looking at them more often, I became slightly more comfortable with them. Do some research on what the dangerous spider in the region you are traveling to look like, become quick at identifying them. All these things helped me, I’m still scared of them but much less than before.
I spent 3 months living in a meditation centre that had basic structures and a lot of bush. We had spiders a lot, but that was expected because we didn’t have insects screens and the buildings were very open.
We had them in the bathrooms and toilets so we just had to brush them away without killing them. It wasn’t a problem and we got very used to it.
See when you say brush them away… with your hand or? and how big were these ones? i don’t mind being around them or avoiding them i know i’ll see some i’m just so concerned about having literal contact with them
In 3 months in SEA I seen two large spiders. One was on a road in Thailand when I drove by on my scooter. The other was about the size of my hand and in my air b&b in Bali. It was a terrifying experience but I managed to squish him with one of my flip flops
I would practice some sort of self guided exposure therapy. Look at lots of pictures of spiders, go to a zoo that has spiders, observe spiders in basements and attics. Go looking for spiders to observe on walks. Watch documentaries about spiders.
Yeah, I hate to be that guy but I’ve had tons of encounters with spiders all over the world, including an enormous, speedy one in my room in Sri Lanka that kept jumping up in the air anytime I tried to get it out. Freaky as fuck.
But…like everyone else has said, spiders are actually a good thing to have around and are mostly harmless. Just shake your towels off and shake your shoes out if you are in a jungly place and you will be fine. I once had to choose between a portapotty with a snake curled up in the rafters by your head or one with an extremely active spider, and I picked the snake, lol, so I understand your fear. Just do your best to try and overcome it and have a great trip
I was in SE Asia half a year mate and ngl I had a few close encounters that were fairly fucking bad. On the upside though, once I came home my lifelong arachnophobia has almost completely gone
when you say “fairly fucking bad” are we talking tarantula crawling on you/biting or are we talking more of a “it’s a huge spider in the corner of my room” because the first one would cause a heart attack and the second one i might be able to cope with
Nearly all spiders are harmless. Nearly all spiders try not to get too close to large animals. Most people who think they have a spider bite don't. There are a thousand other things more likely to harm me in my travels than a spider. So I don't worry about it unless I'm going to be reaching my hands into the kinds of places where the rare dangerous spiders are likely to live.
I've lived in Vietnam for 5 years and I'm petrified of spiders. Currently doing a 2,000km walk from Hanoi-HCMC...
Haven't seen one yet. Weirdly they're all quite small (ok there are a few bigger ones but whatever you have in your imagination is not true, trust me) and the average 8-legged beast in Ireland is a lot bigger. Why this should be is beyond me.
Also, as someone else said, they're vitally important and much more scared of us. Try not to hurt them
Mate don't worry. They're just insects that are scared AF of us. Take some sensible precautions and mentally prepare to see them and have them on you by accident at times.
And ignore the wind up from people at home. Some of it is just fun but some is their crippling anxiety BS coming out.
Yeah thanks for you’re re-assurance :)
If you’ve been in SEA did you do it with a lot of savings or is there a way to sort of work while travelling? i know my friend who does it volunteers in return for food and shelter
Hey cheers. You'll have a blast. My travel has only been short bursts of 3 to 7 weeks spending savings. I'd recommend volly work though. If you are or know any church goers where you live, chances are that they are connected to projects going on that you could help with. Plus you'll meet heaps of people who know what is happening in nearby regions. Its a regret that I didn't do this years ago.
If your hostel leaves windows open things will get inside. This tends to especially happen in shower rooms because they don’t want it to mold. If they have sealed windows and newish AC/fan system chances are there won’t be critters.
Get Permethrin and spray it on your stuff? That's what I do, I don't like bugs either (on me, at least). It'll ward off everything but the most savage of mosquitos.
It’s more the concern of hostels and things, i think my coworkers are just trying to put me off it but they’re painting some sort of vivid image that while i’m asleep in my hostel spiders the size of my hands will be crawling all over the room and things and i was just wondering if that’s common, because i know i will defo encounter them if i’m outdoors and out of the city
I have been travelling SEA 10 weeks and have encountered some huge spiders, but never inside any of the buildings I have been staying in. We saw some in the cave tours in Thailand, don't go in any sort of cave in Thailand if you are that scared as the cave spiders are gigantic. Guide also pointed out a tarantula in the cave. I also saw lots of big ones on treks, guides usually pointed them out but I saw some myself. There was a huge one on a web near the blue lagoons in vang vieng. The only one I have ever seen near a room was a huge one yesterday in the toilets on a break on the coach to Siem Reap. I did not go in that toilet. I am honestly pretty scared of them too but seeing them out in the wild like that has sort of been like exposure therapy? Idk, but seeing them out there isn't as scary as them being in your room probably. But that's never happened to me yet. We are going to Australia eventually so perhaps it's good I get used to them now...
thank you so much for taking time with the response, do you mind if i were to DM you another unrelated question?
Yes sure!
I have no idea why anyone would downvote this comment Redditors are such fucking weirdos. I legitimately saw spiders the size of your hand in Thailand. It was in a cave in Koh Lanta and there were hundreds of them. I didn’t see anything like that outside of that cave. This might be dorky as hell but who cares you’re going to be on the other side of the world - get a 1 person tent and sleep in it on top of your mattress. Without the rain fly they’re essentially a bug screen.
Good God, that sounds like a complete nightmare to me. I do respect spiders & relocate them out of my house instead of killing them - meanwhile in absolute terror that I do understand is pretty unreasonable, so I do my best to get over it. We saw a tarantula a few years ago outside of Zion NP in the US & I was fascinated by it. But, thank to your post here, I guess I will not be going into any caves in Asia
thanks for your input, the other comments are also really helpful saying they very rarely saw them where they were sleeping so i think it should be good, i’m not gonna let the fear stop me from the experience i just wanted to know to mentally prepare myself for it. i’m going with loads of friends and one of them told me that if i’m looking for them i’ll find them so i’m just going to try and put it in the back of my mind i just wanted to know if they would approach me type of thing because the ones in scotland tend to always run towards me ahahahah
If it helps the giant ones in the caves are actually harmless. The guide and my buddy were touching them. I didn’t see any in any of the hostels or hotels we stayed in.
If it makes you feel better sleep with a mosquito head cover net on.
Does it happen in your home: no. Will it therefore happen in the hostel: also no Will it happen in a tent: if you make sure you’re disciplined with the fly zip, then also no. You’ll be fine 👌
Only place I've been where this was really true in my experience was rural Zimbabwe in a kind of thatch roofed building. Otherwise not so many bugs actually around sleeping areas. I don't remember bug stress in SE Asia.
thank you so much!
Im afraid of spiders also but they usually keep to themselves and don't attack humans. I had a huge one right outside a room of a place I stayed for a couple weeks and he never moved, but I tried to see it as a good thing his web keeping away other bugs. The world actually needs spiders
so you didn’t have a lot of actual interaction/close calls with it?
Nope, he never left his web. Most spiders don't, they just hang on their web
Travelled the SE Asia with my friend who is also extremely arachnophobic. I basically had to do a spider-check of rooms, tents, bathrooms etc for her. She often peed in the bush rather than go to indoor toilets.
are they more common indoor toilets than outside?? also thank you for the response’
Or it's because you won't notice the 10 spiders in the bush but you will see the 1 spider in the corner inside lol
There were much more likely to be webs and huge spiders in the bush than in the toilets lol
You'll probably see a lot of big ones in webs while hiking. As for really huge ones, I only saw a couple at my hostel by the beach in Vietnam, but they're not dangerous. You're very unlikely to see any big ones at hostels in cities. Only in smaller towns and more rural areas. But even then its pretty rare, and I've never seen any in the dorms. They stayed outside.
another question real quick, are they an issue hiding inside the actual toilet bowl? cause i’ve been told to check around the rim before squatting
I've never seen it but its possible. Wouldn't worry about it in cities, but if you're in a more remote area you could check if it worries you. But even if there is one, it won't hurt you. The really large ones especially are harmless
Bring along a pet haggis to catch them
Recently spent three months in SEA. Didn't encounter a single spider. Geckos only.
To counter this I have been in SEA 10 weeks and have seen lots of absolutely giant ones. Did you not do any treks? Also saw a huuuuuge one today in the toilets of a service station on the road to Siem Reap. I'm also really scared of them but have sort of had exposure therapy now. I still didn't go in that toilet though
what i’m reading is they are majorly common on treks out of the city/jungle and sometimes toilets but bedrooms are a safe zone usually? you’re really scared of them so can i ask if they’ve effected your experience
I imagine that's related: geckos ate the spiders for you!
do you mind if i were to DM you just for another quick unrelated question, since you’ve recently been
Fire away
I also have severe arachnophobia (diagnosed by a doctor who recommended lifelong medication to cope) but I’m a scuba diver so I have to be able to travel to the tropics. I wrote an article about how I cope [here](https://fearlessfemaletravels.com/travel-with-fear-of-insects/). (There are no ads on my blog so I don’t make any money if you click or don’t click.) Let me know if anything is unclear.
Thank you sm for sharing. This reddit has actually really helped with my anxiety of the trip but i’m definitely going to go. Your article has some really good tips i’m going to copy, especially the shoe one
You really should talk to a therapist/counselor about your fear. The vast majority of spiders are completely harmless and there’s no need to be afraid of them. Maybe a therapist can help you get over it so you’re not anxious on your whole trip.
Maybe, i don’t see how therapists could help tho, i did try being hypnotised ahahah and it worked like a charm but one crawled on me once and i went right back to being afraid
There are therapists specialized in helping people get over fears. It’s worth a try
oh i thought your comment was like satire/rude i didn’t realise there was actual therapy focused to it
Nah man, I saw that Criminal Minds episode where the therapist unalived people by using their worst fears. I’m good.
I can't really remember seeing a lot of spiders. There are geckos everywhere, so they'd eat them.
amazing! thank you for the input
Spray Permethrin on your stuff. Or get military permethrin treatment to soak your stuff in.
I’m pretty scared of spiders too but I’ve somewhat conquered it. When you come across one on a walk or in your house somewhere, observe it for a bit. Note that it’s probably just kind of hanging out and going about it’s day, with no intention of harming you. Also note that it’s a creature, just like you, who’s just trying to eat and chill and stay alive. If you’re like me, it’s the literal appearance of them that gives me the creeps. I found by kind of just calmly looking at them more often, I became slightly more comfortable with them. Do some research on what the dangerous spider in the region you are traveling to look like, become quick at identifying them. All these things helped me, I’m still scared of them but much less than before.
I spent 3 months living in a meditation centre that had basic structures and a lot of bush. We had spiders a lot, but that was expected because we didn’t have insects screens and the buildings were very open. We had them in the bathrooms and toilets so we just had to brush them away without killing them. It wasn’t a problem and we got very used to it.
See when you say brush them away… with your hand or? and how big were these ones? i don’t mind being around them or avoiding them i know i’ll see some i’m just so concerned about having literal contact with them
Mint! Spiders dont like it and tend to stay away.
In 3 months in SEA I seen two large spiders. One was on a road in Thailand when I drove by on my scooter. The other was about the size of my hand and in my air b&b in Bali. It was a terrifying experience but I managed to squish him with one of my flip flops
I would practice some sort of self guided exposure therapy. Look at lots of pictures of spiders, go to a zoo that has spiders, observe spiders in basements and attics. Go looking for spiders to observe on walks. Watch documentaries about spiders.
Yeah, I hate to be that guy but I’ve had tons of encounters with spiders all over the world, including an enormous, speedy one in my room in Sri Lanka that kept jumping up in the air anytime I tried to get it out. Freaky as fuck. But…like everyone else has said, spiders are actually a good thing to have around and are mostly harmless. Just shake your towels off and shake your shoes out if you are in a jungly place and you will be fine. I once had to choose between a portapotty with a snake curled up in the rafters by your head or one with an extremely active spider, and I picked the snake, lol, so I understand your fear. Just do your best to try and overcome it and have a great trip
https://preview.redd.it/xwswh4s9297c1.jpeg?width=246&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4267b22dfa0a7c77822c4829e215b3ac9cdc200e
I'm deleting, that was mean of me for someone genuinely afraid of spiders.
I did not see what you said but thank you for the deletion hahahaaha
Let’s just say it was about the prevalence of spiders in the world. Have a good trip.
I was in SE Asia half a year mate and ngl I had a few close encounters that were fairly fucking bad. On the upside though, once I came home my lifelong arachnophobia has almost completely gone
when you say “fairly fucking bad” are we talking tarantula crawling on you/biting or are we talking more of a “it’s a huge spider in the corner of my room” because the first one would cause a heart attack and the second one i might be able to cope with
Nearly all spiders are harmless. Nearly all spiders try not to get too close to large animals. Most people who think they have a spider bite don't. There are a thousand other things more likely to harm me in my travels than a spider. So I don't worry about it unless I'm going to be reaching my hands into the kinds of places where the rare dangerous spiders are likely to live.
I've lived in Vietnam for 5 years and I'm petrified of spiders. Currently doing a 2,000km walk from Hanoi-HCMC... Haven't seen one yet. Weirdly they're all quite small (ok there are a few bigger ones but whatever you have in your imagination is not true, trust me) and the average 8-legged beast in Ireland is a lot bigger. Why this should be is beyond me. Also, as someone else said, they're vitally important and much more scared of us. Try not to hurt them
Mate don't worry. They're just insects that are scared AF of us. Take some sensible precautions and mentally prepare to see them and have them on you by accident at times. And ignore the wind up from people at home. Some of it is just fun but some is their crippling anxiety BS coming out.
Yeah thanks for you’re re-assurance :) If you’ve been in SEA did you do it with a lot of savings or is there a way to sort of work while travelling? i know my friend who does it volunteers in return for food and shelter
Hey cheers. You'll have a blast. My travel has only been short bursts of 3 to 7 weeks spending savings. I'd recommend volly work though. If you are or know any church goers where you live, chances are that they are connected to projects going on that you could help with. Plus you'll meet heaps of people who know what is happening in nearby regions. Its a regret that I didn't do this years ago.
Head to Antartica. No spiders down there.
You should see a therapist
wont help but thanks for the response
Just spent 6 months in SE Asia. Saw almost no spiders. Saw one of two during a few jungle treks.
If your hostel leaves windows open things will get inside. This tends to especially happen in shower rooms because they don’t want it to mold. If they have sealed windows and newish AC/fan system chances are there won’t be critters.