Home › Forums › West Seattle Rants & Raves › Some thoughts on spiders . . .
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August 29, 2010 at 5:58 pm #596165
DPMember(Ahem . . .)
Argh! Spiders!
Um. What I really mean to say is . . .
   Argh!! Spiders!!
Oh. Heh heh.
Did I say that already?
Well how about this . . .
Â
    Spiders !!!!  Argh !!!!
Â
August 29, 2010 at 6:47 pm #702383
velo_nutParticipantI’ll take spiders any day over these damn Odorous Ants!!!
August 29, 2010 at 7:11 pm #702384
hopeyParticipantA couple years ago I researched online how to keep spiders away. It turns out that spiders “taste” through their feet. Spiders also really do not like the taste of Pledge lemon furniture polish. If you are having trouble with spiders in doorways, try spraying or wiping Pledge furniture polish on the door jambs. The spiders will stay away. It worked for me!
I’ve also been successful “relocating” spiders that persist in building webs across walkways between bushes or whatever. Use a stick to collect them and their web, and then put the stick in/near a different part of the yard, and they’ll build there instead.
August 29, 2010 at 7:20 pm #702385
JustSarahParticipantWeird timing (or completely appropriate timing, maybe): in the past week, I have come across three house spiders in my condo. I’ve lived here since January and previously never saw a spider; must be that time of year.
Also, house spiders – even the giant variety – are harmless unless threatened, at which point they may bite. They *do* eat harmful bugs and even some harmful spiders. If you can live with them, great, it’s good for your home.
Don’t kid yourself by thinking that throwing a house spider outside instead of killing it is humane; house spiders do not live outdoors, and will usually die anyway. If you really can’t live with house spiders, just kill them (or rehome with someone who likes spiders? :-) ). I’ll admit that I’m uneasy with spiders in my home, especially since I don’t have other bugs, so I either capture and set free in the building hallway, or kill (and then feel guilty, of course!).
August 29, 2010 at 7:21 pm #702386
JustSarahParticipantRegarding Hopey’s post: essential oils work great for this purpose. Citrus, cinnamon, and peppermint all work great, smell great, and are non-toxic.
August 29, 2010 at 8:02 pm #702387
hopeyParticipantCool, I thought it was something specific to the furniture polish. I wonder if the citrus-oil-based room freshener spray would work just as well, then.
August 29, 2010 at 8:56 pm #702388
JoBParticipantso how do i keep them out of my tub?
for the past week there have been spiders in my tub every morning…
and yes.. i am absolutely sure they aren’t the same spider coming back…
August 29, 2010 at 10:57 pm #702389
JanSParticipantmaybe they’re coming up the drain? close it overnite? wild guess on my part :)
August 29, 2010 at 11:08 pm #702390
anonymeParticipantThe spider that most people find in their homes or trapped in their bathtubs at this time of year is Tegenaria gigantea. This is mating season, and a significant number of the specimens found will be males in search of females. They’re in your house all the time, but keep to themselves the rest of the year. While tossing them outside is not the best thing you can do, I think it’s preferable to killing them.
These spiders do NOT come up through the drains. Tegenaria, unlike some other species, are unable to climb up the smooth enamel surface of the tub. They wander (or fall) in and then can’t climb back out.
August 29, 2010 at 11:46 pm #702391
hammerheadParticipantGod does everyone want to kill everything if it bothers them. I do my best not kill them, I just put them outside. When I clean my clients house I do that too. It is kinda funny actually.
They do much more good than harm.
August 29, 2010 at 11:54 pm #702392
GinaParticipantSpiders make wonderful cat toys.
August 30, 2010 at 12:29 am #702393
JayDeeParticipantIn my house, there is a simple rule for spider longevity: Do not be seen. Otherwise I don’t actively hunt them out (the garage is a different story). The world’s species diversity will not suffer from my small amount of attrition.
August 30, 2010 at 1:01 am #702394
JoBParticipantWhen clothed.. i relocate them.
but don’t generally bathe in my clothes so if they jump at me… they get smacked..
August 30, 2010 at 3:48 pm #702395
KBearParticipant“I do my best not kill them, I just put them outside.”
Don’t bother. As Sarah pointed out, house spiders can’t live outside, so if you do put them outside, you ARE killing them.
August 30, 2010 at 4:32 pm #702396
BlendParticipantmaybe if you put them outside they will find their way to another house to go into. It’s worth a try. Or maybe they can come back in my house..and just hide from me better next time.
August 30, 2010 at 4:46 pm #702397
LucianMemberAugust 30, 2010 at 5:03 pm #702398
jwwsParticipantMy garden is full of the critters. Their webs look beautiful first thing in the morning after the irrigation has watered them – not so much when I walk into them and invariably get spider web in my face or spider in my hair! My lab loves to eat them while my golden just plays with them.
August 30, 2010 at 5:13 pm #702399
hollyplaceParticipantAugust 30, 2010 at 9:16 pm #702400
datamuseParticipantI just saw Tegenaria at my work. That’s a first. He’ll be lucky if the janitor doesn’t mop him up the next time she comes through…
August 30, 2010 at 10:54 pm #702401
JasperbluParticipantFor those who are adverse to “relocating” spiders outside, or to flushing them down the toilet (as I’m usually wont to do)… just GOOGLE the following:
tegenaria gigantea bite
I have a 4 year old in the house. I’m NOT interested in any kind of spider bites. Regardless of the species or how nice they are to keep other bugs in my house under control. If I see them, they need to go.
August 30, 2010 at 11:01 pm #702402
JasperbluParticipantAlso very interesting (re: “Hobo” Spiders, aka tengenaria agrestis spiders)… scroll down about 1/2 way on this page link:
http://www.bulkmsm.com/research/spider/Australia/page7.htm
[snip]
Necrotic Arachnidism — Pacific Northwest, 1988-1996
Although spider bites are common in many parts of the United States, most domestic spiders are not substantially venomous to man. The best known exceptions are widow spiders (Latrodectus spp., including the black widow L. mactans) and brown spiders (Loxesceles spp., particularly the brown recluse, Lox. reclusa). However, cases of arachnid envenomation from the hobo spider (Tegenaria agrestis) are being reported increasingly in the Pacific Northwest. This report summarizes investigations of three cases of T. agrestis bites among persons in Idaho, Oregon, and Washington; spider bites reported to U.S. poison-control centers during 1994; and emphasizes the need for physicians in the northwestern United States to consider this species as a cause of toxic arachnidism.
[end snip]
EEEEEK. Now I think they really need to go bye bye. Let the birds have them for dinner. Thanks very much.
August 30, 2010 at 11:19 pm #702403
anonymeParticipantThere is (and has been for quite some time) considerable debate over envenomation by Tegenaria agrestis. BTW, if you’re reading something that refers to hobo spiders as the “aggressive” house spider, you can be fairly certain that the author does not know what they’re talking about. The root of the word refers to agriculture, not aggression. Hobo spiders were once a species found only in the countryside, but are gradually becoming urbanized. Even so, there is no hard evidence indicating that this is a species of concern. There is plenty of unwarranted hysteria surrounding spiders without adding to the mythology. Anyone interested should check out Rod Crawford’s website on spider myths.
I have handled many thousands of spiders (used to raise them, including tarantulas & black widows) and have been bitten only once – while pulling weeds. Most house spiders are never even seen until mating season, but trust me – you’d miss them if they were gone. You have no idea how many thousands of biting,annoying,food invading,clothing/carpet/fabric-destroying bugs they save you from all year long.
August 30, 2010 at 11:21 pm #702404
KBearParticipant“just GOOGLE the following:
tegenaria gigantea bite”
I did. It said they pose no threat to humans. You are confusing the giant house spider (tegenaria gigantea) with the hobo spider (tegenaria agrestis). And according to the article below (as well as the one you posted), having the giant house spiders around prevents the hobo spiders from becoming established. SO, YOU WANT HOBO SPIDERS? You can make room for them by killing off your giant house spiders!
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2012744868_spidey28m.html
August 30, 2010 at 11:34 pm #702405
DMParticipantTis the season for a neighborhood wide game of “Spider Identification Bingo”!
August 30, 2010 at 11:55 pm #702406
JasperbluParticipantSorry for the erroneous post regarding spider bites… also, I come from the desert southwest originally, where we DO have venomous spiders.
I don’t really want any spiders in the house. And like I said, if I don’t see them, I don’t care. Once I see them, they go into the toilet or outside. The end. Regardless of their species. I am not afraid of them, so I suppose that’s half the battle. But I don’t like being bitten (have been), and don’t plan to make it easier for them to do so by just letting them take over my house.
Thanks for the correct info re: the giant house spiders vs. Hobo spiders.
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