For several months I have had a spider infestation. At first I tried putting them outside, but I kept seeing more. So now I am killing them figurng they were coming straight back in, but it makes no difference! Its got to the point where I find a new one every 2-3 days. If I dont kill them I'd soon have 20-30 of the things inside a few months!!

Is there something to use which will make them go away, so I dont have to kill them? what can they possibly like about my flat so much?

A new one every 2-3 days ehh nightrider.... We get 2-3 every day :wink:
If the dog doesn't get them (weird animal), i do! :suspect:

do you have a lot of fly's too? afterall thats what most spiders eat so would be the only reason tons of spiders would want to invade your house?

i've had some pretty big spiders lately in my new place... one the other night scared me crapless... thought i had a mouse in my room scurrying about, turned out to be a huge spider running over my posters lol

I've seen a few more spiders than normal over the past week or two - put it down to the change in the weather - they're probably coming inside to find somewhere warm for the winter.

They are probably getting in through air-vents, open windows/doors etc. Unless you see a spiders nest, I don't think there's a great deal you can do - if you find out something let me know!

I have some insect spray but rarely use it because I don't think it does anything but kill the one's you spray, so doesn't deter them.

THIS YEAR NO WASPS BUT LOADSA SPIDERS??? Anybody able to explain why this could be???? :confused:

With all due respect, if you only see a new spider every two or three days, you are not seeing very many. You will never get rid of spiders from houses (or indeed anywhere else, except where the atmosphere is so dry that it will not sustain life). All British spiders are harmless. They don't bite, smell, buzz round your face or make a noise. They are not interested in you or your food. They eat things that are interested in you and your food however. Spiders are your friends. I would say welcome them into your home, but you don't have to - they come on in anyway and always will.

When I moved into my flat with my son, because this flat had been empty for several months it was overrun with spiders of all descriptions, to such an extent that I'd be woken up at least once (usually more times) a night by a spider running over my face, and I used to spend a lot of time during the day catching them and throwing them out....I could never kill one. It always bothered me that they could be running over my son's face as well.

Anyway, with perseverence, I seem to manage to get rid of the majority of them, but still find cobwebs so there must still be some around.

I've heard that lavender is a deterrent....not sure if that works though.

Originally posted by Shiesh
THIS YEAR NO WASPS BUT LOADSA SPIDERS??? Anybody able to explain why this could be???? :confused:

The wasps will be along in a few weeks Shiesh, so don't worry you wont be left out :o

Is this the arachnophobe club here then? How many members?

There are millions of spiders across the land, x thousands of them to a square acre. Some come indoors and some like living rough. They serve the community and are pretty much harmless (notice the change there from being completely harmless). In the home they are great for keeping down the number of other pests you could well get infested by.

It is unlikely your home will ever have an infestation of spiders. They are not exactly communal creatures. And whats the worst you have to put up with - a few webs here and there. Hardly constitutes a major problem.

Leave them alone. Get over that inane fear.

Dragon

Poor spiders! :(

A spider give birth (or its eggs hatched, I don't pretend to be an expert...) on my front door earlier this year - there were about 300-400 spiderlings running around and making tiny webs. But after a week or so they had gone - I'm not sure that very many at all survive from each 'litter' so an infestation would be rare.

I've actually had surprisingly few spiders this year - only one all summer. Which is fine by me!! Although I tend to find Autumn is peak time for them, they've got big and fat and juicy over the summer and they come in out of the cold and rain to take advantage of your central heating.

Originally posted by Mathom
there were about 300-400 spiderlings running around and making tiny webs. But after a week or so they had gone - I'm not sure that very many at all survive from each 'litter'
There's a lot of siblicide - provides food for the strongest, who then have a better chance of starting their own furry family. Most fascinating are the cases of sexual suicide, eg the Australian Redback spider. But I'll spare us all from further Biology teaching...

Anyways, I've found the best way of making spiders locally extinct is with the help of a feline friend - thanks Charlie :)

My goodness, I thought / think i may have a family of em living under a pile of clothes in my room.
For the last three night running i have found a spider running across my floor. All three have been much larger than most you find. I had to take a picture of one as it was so sick.
I have to put a bucket on top of them till somebody else can get rid of them for me. It is disgusting when you can hear them scratching around against the side of the bucket. I am to scared to move the pile of clothes now incase loads come out.

http://www.sausagefingaz.homecall.co.uk/pictures/spider.jpg

That looks like a Huntsman Spider - they tend to be the biggest you get native in the UK. It's probably the same spider each time though! Spiders don't really like one another very much so they travel alone...it's the males you see most often.

Yeah, felines do like hunting spiders, eand then eating them, but they can make them sick so I try to stop them doing this.

When you see dead ones all curled up on the floor, don't get too excited. Those are more than likely just spider skins that have been shed.

Spiders are in the 'white hat' team as far as keeping other things you don't like out of your house. A normal house with attic and the like will have over 200 spiders living in and around it, most of which you will never know about or meet. Spiders only eat the 'black hat' team and only when they are actually alive, so they won't spread poisoning through the food on your table like flies do, and they won't do damage to the fabric of your house like ants do.

Give them a break. They are part of the natural fauna in your house, and you'll thank them when their little webs catch the influx of flying ants that are around already or the influx of wasps that are due in the next month.

I'm currently trying to get hold of an electronic spider repeller which apparently send some sort of signal around the circuitry and deter them. At the moment I'm resorting to killing them off with bug spray and nearly gassing myself (i've just moved into a ground floor flat which has been vacant for a while and the window left open to air, so it genuinely is infested, the whole place is covered in cobwebs eugh).

Its all well and good telling us that they're harmless and useful but when you have a phobia that really doesn't matter you can't just 'get over it'. I can think about a spider now and feel fine but if one comes near me I will go into a blind panic and there's nothing I can do about it.

I'm with you Twiglet. Home alone this week as my housemate's away and have had two big'uns over the weekend. Am actually glad to be taking refuge in work for today!

I've heard that conkers in the house repel them. Don't know how true this is though. Has anyone tried it? Woud be good to know if it's a myth before I go scrambling around horse chesnut trees and fighting schoolchildren for the shiny, brown treasure...

September is a month for the damn creepy crawlies to be coming in as it gets colder outside... May June time is when they go out due to the warmer weather change...

This is why at certain times of the year you will see them more on a regular basis...

My tip is get rid of the tiniest of spiders that you may have in your home as they all grow...

I hate it when people tell me its only a money spider or its only a baby... i dont care get rid... there's always that chance of it getting bigger... ewww :gag:

Unfortunately i have a serious phobia... so on occasions i do need a hand in getting rid!

Originally posted by Twiglet
I'm currently trying to get hold of an electronic spider repeller which apparently send some sort of signal around the circuitry and deter them. At the moment I'm resorting to killing them off with bug spray and nearly gassing myself (i've just moved into a ground floor flat which has been vacant for a while and the window left open to air, so it genuinely is infested, the whole place is covered in cobwebs eugh).

Its all well and good telling us that they're harmless and useful but when you have a phobia that really doesn't matter you can't just 'get over it'. I can think about a spider now and feel fine but if one comes near me I will go into a blind panic and there's nothing I can do about it.


I got these from ebay well the mouse onces as in my old house got a lot of mice with the house been knocked down near by.Now i moved i get the big daddy of the spiders i can not belive how big they are,they dont bother me one bit but my kid freeked by them,On the box its says it keeps spiders from bay so i plugged one in over night and not seen any that has repellers in the room's.I got them in liveing room kitchen-kids bedroom and not seen one in these rooms,but i do get them a lot on the landing where they no repeller at all.so i can say these do work but been told by the RENTOKIL people that its a lie that the repelling sound travels threw the wires of your electric in ur walls (as it states on box) they just send out a sound that in the room and belive that now with not haveing them on the landing.

Sell the house- that what i would do!!


(i know im a big scardy cat!!!)

has anyone seen the phil jupitus(sp) vidoe where he goes on about the differant catagories of spiders- hilarious!!!

Originally posted by LordChaverly
All British spiders are harmless. They don't bite, smell, buzz round your face or make a noise.

My Dad got bitten by an agressive house spider not that long ago.
He was asleep in bed and felt something bite him - pulled back the sheets and there was one of the large house spiders in the bed. His arm swelled up like an egg and was quite painful!

So, I'm tolerant of these big spiders (I've had loads in my house recently) but if theres one in the bedroom its a goner!

eek spiders, I get loads of flys in my house, can't spray them because i have pets, how can i get rid?

is it bad luck to kill a spider?, i was told it is :)

spiders are our friends, and most spiders are less than 5mm long.

not this one though - http://www.netheredge.com/galleries/ecu/pages/B0003401_edited.html

I can't stand spiders, or the insensitive types who tell us arachnophobes to just 'get over it'. I'm well aware of the good they do, but it's an irrational fear that I have no control of.

I'm not afraid of any other bugs or creepy crawlies, and I'm a real animal lover, but even looking at a picture of a spider makes me feel panicy.

I don't enjoy being scared of spiders, but I've been like this ever since I was tiny. And it makes life a real misery at times. It's no fun at all being so petrified of something that is a common visitor to your home, your bathroom and your bedroom. Tingle and I have been seriously considering hypnotherapy to try to overcome the fear.

In the meantime though, I think that some of the Forumers who have posted on this thread could show a bit more sensitivity to those of us who live in daily fear of spiders. It's not pleasent.

Squash spiders all over the walls then paint over them.
Instant Artex. :thumbsup:

Stop being wimps :P

I had to fight one of these (http://www.ento.csiro.au/aicn/images/cain3290.jpg) that decided to hitch a rise back in my aunts suitcase from Australia. Was gonna just squash it with a spade, but decided I wasnt gonna be cleaning spider guts up. So after quite some time (not know it wasnt venomos) or trying to to get bitten, it got cornered under a bucket and some books on top. Got the RSPCA out and they came and picked it up. The thing was huge. The RSPCA recognised it as an Austrailan Whistling spider, and they regularly come back in peoples luggage. One of the biggest spiders in the world, but not venomous to humans (but can give a nasty bite).

Joel

Strangely Joel, I'm not as frightened of those larger spiders - tarantulas or similar. They look more like animals than aracnids. I saw plently of them in the Amazon Jungle when I went travelling and wasn't that bothered. I found it much easier looking at that picture of the Australian Whistling Spider than of some of the others posted on this thread from people's homes.

It's those disgusting huntsman spiders that you find in houses that bother me the most. They literally make my blood run to ice.

I'm really scared of spiders too!

When I lived on my own I adopted three cats to hunt and kil them because I couldn't even bring myself to do that. I worked though and all I have to move is dead spiders now!
Cruel I know, but at least I'm no longer a nervous wreck in my own house.

:rant: Let the rany begin. RIGHT... All the people who say that spiders in the uk dont bite. thats a load of spherical objects. the proof is the 2 white lumps on my index finger. recently having an influx of big spiders (2-3 per day) i picked 1 up to scare our Lass, and hay presto the f*$kin thing bit me. I shat myself. Turns out its called a woodluse spider. Beware. google it find out what it looks like a watch out for the little blighters, not so much as a pain but an anoyance for just short of an hour, but the marks are still there 3 days later. any idea how to get rid of em? ta guys Ian.

I read that spiders don't like conkers!!

I read that spiders don't like conkers!!

I heard that aswel.


*shell goes on the search for hundreds of conkers* :hihi: :hihi:

I'm currently in my bedroom cos the mother of all spiders is on the wall in the living room and I'm too scared to go in there till it goes :help: I'm ok with the little ones but the big ones scare me witless.

I used to work in a supermarket and one day a box of bananas was opened and a huge spider (tarantula) 'jumped' out :o The shop cleared in about 1 an a half minutes whilst the bravest of the boys tried to catch it. It was a spider skin :hihi: Still scared the begeezez out of me though :roll:

I have two spider removing devices they are called Billy and Mojo, my cats. There is no easier or more effective way to get rid of them.
I also get Daddy longlegs spiders and they eat other spiders so where as you would have a few scuttling around your house you just get one lying in wait.

I'm currently in my bedroom cos the mother of all spiders is on the wall in the living room and I'm too scared to go in there till it goes :help: I'm ok with the little ones but the big ones scare me witless.

I used to work in a supermarket and one day a box of bananas was opened and a huge spider (tarantula) 'jumped' out :o The shop cleared in about 1 an a half minutes whilst the bravest of the boys tried to catch it. It was a spider skin :hihi: Still scared the begeezez out of me though :roll:

I can imagine, what I tend to do is put a box or something over it and then get someone to slide cardboard under the box and take it outside to a grid if possible when they come in

We moved to Beighton last year and couldn't believe how many spiders there were in the house. It had been empty for a few months. Someone told me its because we live near swampy land such as Rother Valley park.

Anyhow we still see some but the missus is petrified of the things to the point of screaming the house down - the neighbours must think I beat her or something. She has ordered one of those things you plug in and it ommits a signal which spiders dont like. Anyone ever used one?


Anyway, last year in my old house I was woken by a tickling on my face. Half asleep i grabbed something in the palm of my hand and threw it on the floor. It was the biggest spider I have seen in my life scuttling away on the floor.

Eugggghhhhhhh

I can imagine, what I tend to do is put a box or something over it and then get someone to slide cardboard under the box and take it outside to a grid if possible when they come in

Its been there since i got up this morning. I've been out and about and come home and its still in the same position except with one leg :gag: slightly moved. I'm sat staring at it on the other side of the room wondering how to pack the stuff in here up and move without disturbing it, or whether to just call it a day and start afresh and buy new furniture :huh:

I've seriously contemplated asking my neighbour to help out but I'm supposed to be an independent woman so guess i'll just go to my bedroom instead untill it moves, then I'll spend the whole time worrying where its gone!!!! :help:

I'd put something over it but its up on the wall near the ceiling taunting me...

Its been there since i got up this morning. I've been out and about and come home and its still in the same position except with one leg :gag: slightly moved. I'm sat staring at it on the other side of the room wondering how to pack the stuff in here up and move without disturbing it, or whether to just call it a day and start afresh and buy new furniture :huh:

I've seriously contemplated asking my neighbour to help out but I'm supposed to be an independent woman so guess i'll just go to my bedroom instead untill it moves, then I'll spend the whole time worrying where its gone!!!! :help:

I'd put something over it but its up on the wall near the ceiling taunting me...
What if it moves to somewhere you can't see it while your in the bedroom:o Then later whilst you unsuspectingly settle down to a hot chocolate and a bit of telly..... there it is.....on your face from out of nowhere:gag: :gag: :gag:

What if it moves to somewhere you can't see it while your in the bedroom:o Then later whilst you unsuspectingly settle down to a hot chocolate and a bit of telly..... there it is.....on your face from out of nowhere:gag: :gag: :gag:

Oh your horrible, you do realise I'll be sitting upright ALL night now watching that it doesn't creep up on me, I'm even considering getting my little black book out for a suitable male to remove it for me :hihi:

Oh your horrible, you do realise I'll be sitting upright ALL night now watching that it doesn't creep up on me, I'm even considering getting my little black book out for a suitable male to remove it for me :hihi:

I bet you could beat it in a fight:hihi: Don't worry your pretty little head, I'm sure the spider is just resting before making it's egg sack behind a mirror or something and then it will be on it's way.
Seriously, if your that worried by it, get one of your neighbours to shift it for you:)

I bet you could beat it in a fight:hihi: Don't worry your pretty little head, I'm sure the spider is just resting before making it's egg sack behind a mirror or something and then it will be on it's way.
Seriously, if your that worried by it, get one of your neighbours to shift it for you:)

Yeah but.. i don't wanna ruin my 'hardgirl' image :cool:

I'm seriously considering it, but think my neighbour maybe just as scared as me!

It's big, its hairy, I'd take a pic but too scared to get any closer!

That egg bit BTW was just plain cruel *sobs*

Yeah but.. i don't wanna ruin my 'hardgirl' image :cool:

I'm seriously considering it, but think my neighbour maybe just as scared as me!

It's big, its hairy, I'd take a pic but too scared to get any closer!

That egg bit BTW was just plain cruel *sobs*

It's braver to admit fear than to hide behind a facade!:P




Sorry about the egg thing.....I'm sure it's not egg season

It's braver to admit fear than to hide behind a facade!:P




Sorry about the egg thing.....I'm sure it's not egg season

Ok ok I'm scared, come and do your lightening trick on it, don't mind having to re-decorate after!

Is there anyway of getting the bloody thing off the wall without getting too close??

Ok ok I'm scared, come and do your lightening trick on it, don't mind having to re-decorate after!

Is there anyway of getting the bloody thing off the wall without getting too close??

A towel, get a bath towel and flick it off the wall with it.

I couldn't have done the towel thing there'd be too much chance of it accidently getting flicked where It could skitter away making me freak out, no, I would've had to move or use a blow torch on it.

Anyway its all academic now, my neighbours son came round to lend ketchup(!) and he saved the day and took it outside after laughing at me :hihi:

I bet you could beat it in a fight:hihi: Don't worry your pretty little head, I'm sure the spider is just resting before making it's egg sack behind a mirror or something and then it will be on it's way.
Seriously, if your that worried by it, get one of your neighbours to shift it for you:) theres nothing wrong with spending an (cant spel) extortional ?? amount of money on one of the newspapers availlable on sundays to SWAT the evil eight legged things with !!!!! oh sorry ! to all the sport readers !! thats a broad sheet to you ? you know one of the bigguns:hihi: :hihi:

Help I have 2 Spider Egg Sacks Outside 2 of my windows and the mothers are guarding them. The egg sack is in the corner of the double glazed wndow on the outside.

How many eggs will hatch? I am worried that I will have hundreds of spiderlings running around and potentially get into the house. How do I get rid of them, I don't want to kill them because its a bit cruel...what do I do???

A lot of these posts keep going on about spiders "coming in from outside" or being "put outside"...well if you google the British house
spider or giant house spider (which is what most are) you'll see that they live in doors all the time that is now their natural habitat.
The ones which you see will be the male looking for a mate the females stay hidden away behind boxes and in nooks and crannies.

It's only in the last couple of years that theyve started being seen a bit earlier as previously it was quite rare to see a big one in a house outside the late September to November period.Even now this is still the period when you'll see the vast majority.

I bought a spray from Towsure £2.50 called No More Spiders, it deters them but not harm them. Its great not seen a spider in the house since used it. Its smells like dentist as its clove oil but can cope with that. XXX

I'm not a big fan of spiders and seeing as my housemates HATE it when I'm hoovering them up at 2am my parents got me this funky little thing on primrose-london.co.uk called a spider repeller and it works in the whole house.

Works well so far and I haven't seen any since plugging it in in our hallway, but spider season is yet to come round so I guess I'll have to wait to see whether this really works. :o

If anyone has any better suggestions I am open to ideas, I don't mind spiders outside just not in my room!

For several months I have had a spider infestation. At first I tried putting them outside, but I kept seeing more. So now I am killing them figurng they were coming straight back in, but it makes no difference! Its got to the point where I find a new one every 2-3 days. If I dont kill them I'd soon have 20-30 of the things inside a few months!!

Is there something to use which will make them go away, so I dont have to kill them? what can they possibly like about my flat so much?

You have to kill them:suspect:
Its a well known fact that spiders have a homing device and whenever someone brave enough comes along to put them outside, they will wait till our not looking and make their way home.
They always bring mates back with them, so now yo have a bigger problem.
If only you had splatted the horrible little things in the first place, then you wouldn`t have his problem:rant:;)

I read they don't like conkers, I did have a sort of scooper which closed with a flap, till my son broke it

I use this stuff
http://www.shop-com.co.uk/No_More_Spiders_500ml-45187244-p!.shtml?sourceid=363
They hate it, and I have one of them electronic things.

I lived in a house that had loadsa spiders. I used to dread september cause thats when u see the biggest, the most. I once had 3 beasties darting across my living room floor in the space of 1 hr (killed em all). People told me it means u have a clean/dry house, but as i have a real phobia, that was no reassurance! The only time i didnt see many was when i had cats (they had to go though cause i was allergic!) and when i did see 1, i showed the cats and they got rid! Also, spiders apparantly hate the smell of citronella, so smear some of that around your skirting boards.

I use this stuff
http://www.shop-com.co.uk/No_More_Spiders_500ml-45187244-p!.shtml?sourceid=363
They hate it, and I have one of them electronic things.

..Jesus, I can't buy that, it's a got a picture of a spider on the label! :help: :cry:

Stop looking so tasty ... you do know they eat a little bit of you each night don’t you :D

Stop looking so tasty ... you do know they eat a little bit of you each night don’t you :D

And if the spider is unfortunate....the wind is blowing in the right direction....and you sleep with your mouth open.....you might actually eat the spider whilst you are sleeping :hihi:

do you have a lot of fly's too? afterall thats what most spiders eat so would be the only reason tons of spiders would want to invade your house?

i've had some pretty big spiders lately in my new place... one the other night scared me crapless... thought i had a mouse in my room scurrying about, turned out to be a huge spider running over my posters lol

Indeed, they are eating something, getting shut of the predators isn't very sensible.

I used to stay in a hotel in Krasnodar, it was full of cockroaches until I took a Tupperware box full of spiders out there and let them loose on the 11th floor.

The next time I went there were no cockroaches on the 11th and plenty of big spiders. I'm told they have reached ground floor and spread to adjacent houses these days.

Get a hoover with a LOOOONG extension and hover over it until the suction takes effect!

Get a hoover with a LOOOONG extension and hover over it until the suction takes effect!

Is there an echo in here:thumbsup:

The wasps will be along in a few weeks Shiesh, so don't worry you wont be left out :o

I'd much rather spiders than wasps- at least they can't fly!

Get a hoover with a LOOOONG extension and hover over it until the suction takes effect!

But dosn`t the spider still keep living in the hoover?
Eventually it will find its way out(its the homing device thing again)
Only sure fire way s to splat em good!;)

But dosn`t the spider still keep living in the hoover?
Eventually it will find its way out(its the homing device thing again)
Only sure fire way s to splat em good!;)

I don't think there would be much left of spidey once it had travelled up the tube of a hoover.

I hoovered (well vaxed :hihi:) up two spindley large ones this morning....my maisonette has been beseiged with them ever since the contractors came and did the bathroom refurbishment. They are everywhere even a year on.....thin fine legs....little round body.....but a legspan of over two inches :gag:

I don't think there would be much left of spidey once it had travelled up the tube of a hoover.

I hoovered (well vaxed :hihi:) up two spindley large ones this morning....my maisonette has been beseiged with them ever since the contractors came and did the bathroom refurbishment. They are everywhere even a year on.....thin fine legs....little round body.....but a legspan of over two inches :gag:

They're daddy longlegs spiders and you should keep them as they eat other spiders. We get them here alot too.

They're daddy longlegs spiders and you should keep them as they eat other spiders. We get them here alot too.

As you were replying I was googling and came up with this (http://www.britishspiders.org.uk/html/bas.php?page=faq&faq=9).

Indeed they are daddy longlegs spiders. There would be nothing for them to eat here because any big spiders also go up the hoover :hihi:

leave em alone.
thay dont say anything to ya.

I've got plenty of family who live down under, they tried sprays (like various people have recommended already) but they told me about a repellent thats a little more 21st Century.

They described it as a night light which will drive out spiders (or any other pests that invade your sitting room) out sharpish. It also stops them from settling down in your walls/loft etc etc by turning the wiring of your house into an electromagnet which will consistently unsettle the little buggers.

I'm currently on the look out for one so if i find one, i'll let you guys in on it.

Quick update!

Alas, the answer to all your questions....

Spider repellent:

http://www.primrose-london.co.uk/spider-repeller-whole-house-p-1277.html?cPath=24_147

Poor(er) man's version:

http://www.primrose-london.co.uk/ultrasonic-mouse-control-400-plug-single-room-p-170.html?cPath=24_147

Thank me later :hihi:

Or this guy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ksMw4MJgn0&feature=related

If not he might make you giggle.

Hello everyone.
Spiders have been one of the major problems of my life. I never could conceive living on a ground floor, let alone have a garden. After years of efforts and after becoming an adult I am now able to kill spiders, even the big ones, but then my hands start shaking for about half an hour. I know people in much worse condition than I am. This is just as an introduction and to say that there is nothing on earth more stupid than to say to an aracnophobe "spiders are useful creatures" or suchlike.
I imagine that to say to an Auschwitz inmate "the world is overpopulated anyway, so get over it" would have been almost as stupid.
-----
It is that time of year again, and this year has not been easy. I had to leave Central London for financial reasons; Central London has a lot of mice but no spider problems as mice are big spider killers; also a lot of old houses with wood structure, again ideal for mice.
I now live in a concrete building surrounded by concrete buildings, no mice at all but spiders do are an issue.
----
I am now preparing for war (and please don't joke if you don't know what it feels like) and would like to devote some time to try and help the other people affected by arachnophobia out there and exchange what I know on the matter, and learn new things about what I am doing wrong.
I'll not be short. I do hope this will help aracnophobes for years to come as information on the internet tends to get around forever. I pray that this may help someone out there to cope with the problem. I ask them to say a prayer for me, is this is the case.

Unless you have a phobia about them - spiders are excellent things to have in the home. Just can be a bit off putting when they crawl on you uninvited. Makes me shiver when I am watching tv and see one of the bigger ones race across the carpet, but aside from that - they are helpful in keeping down other household pests and are really quite pretty when you look closely enough - plus they are harmless ... unless you have a phobia about them and even then - it is you and not they that cause the danger.

On the spiders' habits, this is what I know.
1) spiders hunt at night and retire at dawn. This is useful for you because by ventilating your rooms early in the morning you minimise the chances of spiders getting in (that is: you reduce the ingress, I doubt any apartment can be sealed in such a way as to keep them out altogether).
2) spiders seen in the morning on a room are probably sleeping. You can kill them with one full stroke of your, say, broom. They could also be either old hungry males, hunting during the day because not able to ensure their pray during the night.
3) spider *perceive the presence of humans in the room*, largely because of the heat emitted by humans. I had the most astonishing proof of this when leaving in Germany near a wineyard, on a roof apartment very warm in summer. I had to open the window at night and whilst staying there I could see the horrible brown creatures gathering around the window cornice, never daring to get in. Once, though, my father who was on visit from Italy opened the windows without telling me anything and then we stayed on the roof terrace a couple of hours before i came back to the living room find it literally invaded by the enemy. After saying to my father some of the unkindest words of my life, I had to deal with the problem or move apartment. I killed fourteen of the brown hairy things and got from it a sleepless night and the biggest hand shaking experience of my life. In no way it could have proved to me more impressively that spiders will (generally, desperate or very old examples excepted) not enter a room with a human in it.
Always stay in the room whilst it gets aired, open the window completely for some minutes, this is more than sufficient to change air.
4) Spiders don't like light. They can move well in the night without light and even if their sight is not very advanced, they know that light makes them vulnerable. If you keep light on in your closet it will help to make the place inhospitable, and you may want to leave the lights of your bedroom (at least) on if you plan to go out and get back at night.
5) Spiders move more than you think. Never think that a spider in your living room will not go into your bedroom. To them, it is just the next bus stop.
6) spiders kill other spiders. A place where anti-spiders policies are in place is very unlikely to ever get infested, as the scarcely available hiding places will not allow a large number of them to live there; or you might say, after a certain point spiders will do the job for you; the downside is that this will leave you with the more aggressive, generally bigger spiders on the battleground.
7) spiders don't like clean places. Keep the place very tidy, hoover a lot, etc. You must show to your invader a barren environment, a carpet with as few micro organisms as possible, with no insects (kill the flies yourself, don't wait for the spiders to do it). In short: follow a scorched land policy.
8) Never let a spider survive. When you see him he is dead, period. Spiders do come back and if you want to fight the war, you must kill the enemy. Kill the smallest spiders as they are food for the bigger ones and you don't know which ones are from races which stay tiny and which ones are from races which get big. Kill all of them. A spider will not be motivated to stay on a hunting ground with no pray, deserted by other hunters and inhospitable in any way. You'll always get some (as is unavoidable), but they'll be a tiny minority of old or desperate examples.

1) Spiders are in that like you, that they love warm and fluffy things. The cosiness of staying under the sheets and a warm blanket; a towel; your favourite pullover are all very high in their preferences. Try and have as many of those as you can sealed (eg. a wardrobe with closely fitting doors rather than a closet; pullovers you don't use on those practical stowage boxes; no clothes left around lying on your bed or sofa).
2) Spiders swim. Never think that a bit of water will do them much harm. You can let them go down the drain, they'll probably come back whence you sent them. If you are a boater, you'll notice that a spider sent overboard is not really bothered.
3) Spiders are extremely resistant. Several times as a child I've seen big spiders squashed for all the world happily running away again after a couple of minutes (background: we always called on our father or grandfather to squash them when on the stoned garden of our weekend house; father or grandfather came and squashed it; but I was always afraid of the body and never lost sight of it, therefore I was always the first to raise the alarm when the ******* got out on his legs). When you squash a spider, you accompany it with a movement of your broom or shoe which truly destroys the beast. One or two lost legs mean obviously nothing, they'll grow them again.
4) spiders hide in the most improbable of places; never turn of pluck a leaf of ivy (very common plant in Italy where I grew up). I tried to make macro photography and had the most shocking experiences, with spider's eyes looking at me from inside flowers.

Weapons in your fight against spiders:
1) try to seal your place as good as you can. It'll never be ideal, but you'll reduce ingress anyway. Put one of those things (don't know the name in English) on your entry door which reduce to zero the space to the floor; if you own the place and can afford it, put a new door which absolutely seals the place, also check that your windows are absolutely air-tight (nowadays most are I believe). My impression is that an awful lot of spiders come from the front door of your apartment as the hallway is much colder than your apartment but warmer than outside, and pretty well connected to the basement. It's like a spider conduit.
2) check for possible entries and seal them with silicone of the likes; in this country build quality is often vast inferior to that in Italy and Germany, you can have tubes communicating directly with the outside and with the hole not sealed. Seal everything you can find, mice can go through silicone, spiders obviously not.
3) natural warfare: citronella is extremely effective against spiders. Unfortunately, not everyone likes the smell and the citronella plant has such an aggressive smell that some plants will not grow in its vicinity. Also pay attention to get the real citronella plant, there are plants commonly called citronella but are not the real thing; ask your friendly garden shop.
Also (apparently) extremely effective is Jasmine. Very strong odour, but pleasant to most people I'd say. If I had to have a garden, I'd have the place full of jasmine. Evergreen too, and pleasant to look at.
4) Chemical warfare (yes: chemical warfare). I found moth balls to be effective in the extreme. Obviously not very healthy, but you don't spend hours every day sniffing your closet and if you are single and with no pets around is worth considering where you want to employ it.
5) favourite among boaters: put the moth balls in those 100% air and watertight kitchen containers like the "lock & lock" things. Leave the container open and close it according to need.
Example: if you have noticed spider presence in your kitchen, open the can in your kitchen before you go to bed and close the kitchen door; when you get up in the morning, close the container and change air (see above about the hunting habits of spiders).
6) always have the most lethal insecticide you can legally buy ready at hand; you'll not need it often, but it paralyses the animal, therefore it will be very easy to despatch it; this is how I killed my fourteen intruders on that horrible night in summer 1994. Please consider that it is very difficult for a spray to immediately kill a spider; he'll most likely come to his senses after a while and try to escape (seen many times); he'll probably die after some time, but you want to have it dead now and not between your bed sheets after a while.
7) in doing this consider that the spider always tries to escape by letting himself fall on the vertical. if you have a spider rather high on your wall and you spray it, the spider will invariably let himself fall on the vertical whilst spinning a web "rope"; he will not try to, say, hide on the nearest book on the horizontal. I have seen this on very many occasions and have always noticed that the spider does not lose time in looking for the nearest hide, it just tries to take you by surprise by falling.
8) Ultrasonic devices: I had excellent experiences with ultrasonic spider repellents on my cellar in Germany. On the other hand, I had horrible experiences with ultrasonic mice repellers in England. I tend to believe that whilst every one of these devices will have some effect on some type of animal, I doubt that the at least 10,000 species of arachnid in this country will all be deterred by ultrasonic devices. If you ask me, it's a weapon in the armoury but not the most effective one, let alone the killer application every one of us is looking for.
If there's something which deserves the name killer application that'd be the mothballs I'd say, but again this is a highly toxic element.
9) before going on holiday or everytime you can be bothered to do it, put some water on your basin/bathtub and then close the lid leaving some water in it (not too much, that's humidity not good for your tiles etc.), your water pipes are often directly in communication with a place rich in spiders, they can and occasionally will crawl up your pipe (if you allow the use of words); when you find a spider on your sink or bathtub, well, that was not a coincidence. I think that the drier tohe water pipe is, the more attractive for the spider, therefore it is so important to make this before going on holiday.

1) Spiders don't like ventilation. Paradoxically, a garage with the window left ajar may be worse for them than the same garage with window closed, particularly if the garage door closes well and affords relative warmth. On the other hand, this explains why they love your not ventilated, cosy closet full of warm clothes.
2) there are products which you can spread on the ground and will kill crawling animals by simply wounding them, works also for spiders. Not very practical for home ;), ideal for garages, workshops and the like.

Jeesus, you got it bad Torquemada!

Ps: Ive used RAID spray, the one for ants & cockroaches, which seems to work ok :)

Ps: Ive used RAID spray, the one for ants & cockroaches, which seems to work ok :)

MURDERER!!!!!:rant::rant::rant:

I just shout the cats in :hihi:

MURDERER!!!!!:rant::rant::rant:

Im afraid to say it's the one form of genocide I openly endorse :blush:

Whenever in a southern European hotel (I mean with blankets which surround the bed rather than with the duvet more spread in the north), always completely get the blankets out and "make the bed" again after checking there are no animals there. You'll be suprised at how often people get bitten by any kind of bugs in hotels; every frequent traveller will have stories to tell of mysterious bites mysteriously appeared after the fine night in the luxury hotel, but no, it can't be a bug or spider... or can it?
The problem is, very often you get a hotel making his washing in house and leaving the sheets to dry, say, in the basement. You'd never do that but they cannot have rooms on the inside where to dry them, it'd be too expensive; even when a hotel outsources, the problem might be exactly the same.
Again, you'd surprised and no, luxury hotels are no safer in this respect; very simply, there is no awareness of the spider and bug paradise created whenever large quantities of bedsheets are left to dry.

There used to be for sale a long- handled perspex box with a shutter to catch the spider and then carry it out of the house and release it near a drain on a road - usually for sale in a small leaflet like Health, those that come in newspaper supplements.

Ang on I know the answer to this one...

1 min...

she swallowed a spider to catch the fly, she swollowed a bird to catch the spider.

GOT IT ! get some Birds !

About animals.
Dogs are not bad at all, they like to kill spiders and they'll generally dispose of them in a way not disagreeable to you.
With cats is different, cats will more than occasionally come to you with a big spider in their mouth and deposit it at your feet; apparently it is their way to show to you that they give their contribution to the household's needs, so they actually expect praise from you, than then a horrified expression.
I have never had, but I have read around that a very good weapon against spiders is to gave a geko. They are apparently extremely good at catching spiders and have their same habits, that is: a geko will be rather unnoticed during the day and will get out at night, hunting the hunters...
The problems that I have read about concern - apart from the aesthetic aspect - how to feed them, particularly if living in an apartment: apparently they are not like cats (who, though we may not like to think about it, will kill a spider just for the fun of it) and would not hunt for spiders if already satiated; on the other hand, on an apartment a geko will not be able to live on spiders and insects; I think a normal house will garden will go a long way to accommodate the needs of both "master" and reptile.
----

There used to be for sale a long- handled perspex box with a shutter to catch the spider and then carry it out of the house and release it near a drain on a road - usually for sale in a small leaflet like Health, those that come in newspaper supplements.

..some of us are even too petrified to get that close! I always wondered, if you're spider phobic, why would you want to try to catch them in a box you can see through?? Noooooo!! :cry::cry::cry:

..some of us are even too petrified to get that close! I always wondered, if you're spider phobic, why would you want to try to catch them in a box you can see through?? Noooooo!! :cry::cry::cry:

lesser of two evils, ie rather than look at them in the house, wonder where they are or worse still what they are doing at night when you're in bed!!!:gag:

I agree with boyfriday, I think the natural "see-the-spider-safely-away-in-all-its-beauty"-methods are good for people who have a dislike for spiders, rather than a real problem.

We (my sister, who is the real aracnophobe in the family, my brother and I) want to see the spider unrecognisably dead for a lot of good reasons; 1) it is terrifying to know that it is still out there; 2) it might try to come back in (I think most do as they were there because they liked the room in the first place); 3) it gives you some peace of mind, not unlike the death of the enemy aliens at the end of "war of the worlds". Personally I have to repeat to myself "it is dead, it is dead!!" whenever the idea of the beast crawling back to my place presents itself, which is: uninterruptedly for at least 30 minutes after the combat. Once in August 1987 (still in Italy, extremely warm night and a huge ******* seeking some fresh place) I had to move all the furniture and abandon myself to a savage and terrifying chase until around 1:45 am, as the idea of going to bed with such an animal a couple of metres away didn't bear thinking. I admit that when I finally got the bugger I continued to savage its body for a good minute, making it in very little pieces and exorcising at the same time all the ghosts that had been accumulating during the chase (imagine to look for something you are terrified to see, in your own bedroom, for more than two hours, at night).
I remember sleeping very well after that chase, though.
----
I also protest against products like insecticides which carry ugly spiders in their cans, it is truly not very intelligent from the producers of such items.
----

I never use the hoover after an experience with my brother as a child, when we tired to wait in terror for the beast to crawl out of the hoover, went to look for very little stones and subjected the animal already inside to a Dresden-style bombardment which certainly was the end of it. Again, having a spider in your home of which you don't know whether he is dead or about to crawl out and say "hello" is not my cup of tea.
---
I use a broom as it gives me the certainty of seeing the corpse. I something do it without spectacles, not being able of bearing the sight of the animal in high-definition. The daddy long legs I can dispatch with only a slight nervousness for a while, but it stills give me that "Alamo feeling" of knowing that spiders are around you, waiting for the time to come out....
----

..some of us are even too petrified to get that close! I always wondered, if you're spider phobic, why would you want to try to catch them in a box you can see through?? Noooooo!! :cry::cry::cry:

They're beautiful!

http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u49/monkeyloon/006-5.jpg
http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u49/monkeyloon/019-5.jpg
http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u49/monkeyloon/042-1.jpg
http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u49/monkeyloon/033-1.jpg

Tell me honestly that those creatures aren't at least slightly pretty?:love:

A towel, get a bath towel and flick it off the wall with it.
hair spray works.

lol, spiders are spiders they wont hurt you, i just let them get to where there going and no harm done

I have, as i speak, a great big spider in the corner of my living room. I'm waiting till hubby gets home from work and he can get it with the feather duster and chuck it outside. I am frightened it will crawl up my arm!:gag:

put conkers in the corner of the room where the problem is or on your window cill, they don;t like the smell and it stops them :-)

Asked for conkers today at the supermarket: too soon for the moment but I'll keep an eye on their shelves.
Can please someone advise whether I need horse chestnuts or the common conkers are good enough and what your experiences are.
-----
Extremely impressive demontration of RAID's power also this afternoon.
Before going out this morning I had bombed the living room, coming back this afternoon I open the door-window to the balcony (a notorious hide for spider by me) and as I am there I spray the sill and the cornice of the door window.
A couple of minutes later a big black spot on the cornice clearly indicates a rather biggish black beast. I t looked as if he was caught in the middle between the window and the cornice, more probably it was trying to hide some way and was disorientated by the spray.
I arm myself with broom and raid and march to the combat. Interestingly, in my nervousness I forgot to shake the can, as a result by "firing" a jet of almost liquid material came out directly on the spider, I sprayed from perhaps 60cm/less than 3ft.
The spider *instantly* transformed into a black ball with the legs completely furled, I had never seen the like of the speed with which it happened. I have used the broom to atomise the *******.
----
I am generally horrified even at a dead spider, I use long brooms because I don't want to go near them where I can see them clearly, or in the gravest cases I take my spectacles off.
But this was different. This was instantaneous and through the lightining speed at which the spider has folded its legs it was not even revolting to finish it off with the broom.
----
I had to remember my experience with such sprays as a child or adolescent, with the spider either frantically running away (horrifying!) or after a prolongued "treatment" remaining there as paralysed for a while before speeding away like hell.
This was utterly different. This was like a laser beam. I suggest to everyone whose fight against spider has priority over environmental or health concerns (I am one of those) to keep a can of Raid extra for this use, to be employed without shaking the can first. Besides, the utter curling of the legs makes the finishing off a breeze, no more blood freezing whilst the ******* runs like lighting behind the piano....
---
I can only recommend.
Today is a good day and - be it because the different composition of the UK's Raid or because of not shaking or because UK spiders are less though than Italian ones - the rules of the games have changed.
----

They're beautiful!

http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u49/monkeyloon/006-5.jpg
http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u49/monkeyloon/019-5.jpg
http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u49/monkeyloon/042-1.jpg
http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u49/monkeyloon/033-1.jpg

Tell me honestly that those creatures aren't at least slightly pretty?:love:


...you biatch, I'm guessin deh aint links to Kate Humble in the nuddie, so I aint lookin missy! :rant:

On a different, less poisonous note: I am trying to buy osage oranges. I live near London but have no problems with buying online (from the UK).

I'd be interested in both the plant, if it can be adapted to the living room of an apartment ( I suppose they have a pleasant smell?) and in buying the fruits themselves.

Anyone has experiences to share?

Thanks

T

lesser of two evils, ie rather than look at them in the house, wonder where they are or worse still what they are doing at night when you're in bed!!!:gag:

I really wish I could deal with them, but already they've started coming in and like you say who knows where they go.

Only the other night after going to bed, I'd taken off my specs and put them on the bedside table, later I was fishing about for them and realised they'd fallen on the floor, when I got them on my face I was greeted by one of the beggars grinning at me, sure he'd kicked me glasses there deliberately, needless to say I made my excuses and left (quickly), if it wasn't for the bravery of my partner in disposing of his mirth riddled carcass I would have happily given him the deeds to my house and never visited again :hihi:

I really don't like them, just watched 2 huge ones run under the chair and behind the TV. Seems it''s that time of year again but I am sure they are getting bigger, must have had around 6 v large ones in over the last 2 weeks.
I wished I could deal with it but I actually feel sick when I see one.
There has been a HUGE one in the garage for years I think it's one of those bird eating ones. I just have to try and not look.
The conker idea doesn't work either.........I think it's the speed they move which I hate and the fact one might crawl on me whilst I sleep :o

Even worse, my hubby catches them and tries to show it to me, or pretend to throw it at me ( he once actually did this) I think its grounds for divorce....

Asked for conkers today at the supermarket: too soon for the moment but I'll keep an eye on their shelves.
Can please someone advise whether I need horse chestnuts or the common conkers are good enough and what your experiences are.
-----
Extremely impressive demontration of RAID's power also this afternoon.
Before going out this morning I had bombed the living room, coming back this afternoon I open the door-window to the balcony (a notorious hide for spider by me) and as I am there I spray the sill and the cornice of the door window.
A couple of minutes later a big black spot on the cornice clearly indicates a rather biggish black beast. I t looked as if he was caught in the middle between the window and the cornice, more probably it was trying to hide some way and was disorientated by the spray.
I arm myself with broom and raid and march to the combat. Interestingly, in my nervousness I forgot to shake the can, as a result by "firing" a jet of almost liquid material came out directly on the spider, I sprayed from perhaps 60cm/less than 3ft.
The spider *instantly* transformed into a black ball with the legs completely furled, I had never seen the like of the speed with which it happened. I have used the broom to atomise the *******.
----
I am generally horrified even at a dead spider, I use long brooms because I don't want to go near them where I can see them clearly, or in the gravest cases I take my spectacles off.
But this was different. This was instantaneous and through the lightining speed at which the spider has folded its legs it was not even revolting to finish it off with the broom.
----
I had to remember my experience with such sprays as a child or adolescent, with the spider either frantically running away (horrifying!) or after a prolongued "treatment" remaining there as paralysed for a while before speeding away like hell.
This was utterly different. This was like a laser beam. I suggest to everyone whose fight against spider has priority over environmental or health concerns (I am one of those) to keep a can of Raid extra for this use, to be employed without shaking the can first. Besides, the utter curling of the legs makes the finishing off a breeze, no more blood freezing whilst the ******* runs like lighting behind the piano....
---
I can only recommend.
Today is a good day and - be it because the different composition of the UK's Raid or because of not shaking or because UK spiders are less though than Italian ones - the rules of the games have changed.
----

Just ordinary conkers, not had spiders for months

Just ordinary conkers, not had spiders for months

If only this theory worked, I'd be happy!

PS Conkers aren't usually around till the autumn when they fall, not a good crop this year, the horse chestnut tree at work hardly has any on it at all this year.

Searched for conkers also today, unfortunately to no avail.

Went on a stroll on the river walk in Kingston. The most astonishing parade of big brown spiders on their huge nets ever seen in my life. You could see them one after the other, in group of three or four nets at times, from middle-sized to pretty big, some of them well into obesity. If I had been a child I had been crying all the time begging my father to take my away from that hell.
Even as an adult, a kind of gallery of horrors.
---
On my way home, there was another big part where the walk is flanked by big bushes and assorted vegetation. No nets to be seen there, strangely, I assume that the ventilation of the river walk provides a more favourable environment?
---

Spiders dont like home made napalm but I do .... Die spidey die...

Spiders dont like home made napalm but I do .... Die spidey die...

You're so brave and manly!!!:love:

Hi there!!
Somebody mentioned using lavender to keep spiders away. I buy the lavender and camomile plugin air freshners and keep one in the living room and the spare room. My apartment is small so usually the lovely lavender aroma fills the entire flat. It doesn't stop the spiders coming in completely but i don't get as many.

I hate to admit but i do find the large house spiders menacing especially when they run across the room suddenly. Luckily my partner loves them and puts them outside:D

do you have a lot of fly's too? afterall thats what most spiders eat so would be the only reason tons of spiders would want to invade your house?

i've had some pretty big spiders lately in my new place... one the other night scared me crapless... thought i had a mouse in my room scurrying about, turned out to be a huge spider running over my posters lolOnly orb web spinners catch and eat flying insects. Most spiders found within houses are of the sheet web or mobile hunting variety that catch non flying arthropods.

Spiders are cute really, and they tickle when they run across your skin. British spiders are nothing to be frightened of. However, if you go to Australia - watch out for the little so and so's.

I grew up with a phoiba of spiders. I don't like them but I can't kill them I get them in a glass and take them outside.
I got one last night and it had some cool markings on it's back.
I also have two cats though and they sometimes get to them before I do :(

Spiders are cute really, and they tickle when they run across your skin. British spiders are nothing to be frightened of. However, if you go to Australia - watch out for the little so and so's.

We used to live in Australia. My dad told me about one time when he woke up with a spider the size of a small plate sitting on his face!! :gag:

I grew up with a phoiba of spiders. I don't like them but I can't kill them I get them in a glass and take them outside.
I got one last night and it had some cool markings on it's back.
I also have two cats though and they sometimes get to them before I do :(

I hate the bloody things! I made myself a spider-catcher out of an old cotton-bud container and a chopstick so's I don't have to get too close to them. Sometimes, if they're really massive I'll just put glass over them and wait for my husband to get home :hihi:.

I once saw a huge grey spider in the bathroom sink, it was hairy and had like red markings on it's back. I didn't go to loo for hours eventually when couldn't take it anymore i got a neighbour to take it away:D

I was told about a year ago that putting a few conkers in each room would work so I tried it when conker season came around. I have to say I was surprised at the result, there were noticably less spiders in the house since then, ie from October onwards. They have come back this year though from about June onwards so I suspect the now dried and wrinkled conkers have lost their scent. It could have been coincidence but I can't wait to see if it works again this year.

I once had a spider I nicknamed Clive, he used to come out in the evening when i was having a smoke, once he abseiled down on to my beer.

Told Clive.

yeah, 2-3 per day is average, its only just Tuesday and I have seen 5 so far this week :)

put conkers in the corner of the room where the problem is or on your window cill, they don;t like the smell and it stops them :-)

Asked for conkers today at the supermarket: too soon for the moment but I'll keep an eye on their shelves.
Can please someone advise whether I need horse chestnuts or the common conkers are good enough and what your experiences are. --

Searched for conkers also today, unfortunately to no avail. --

I was told about a year ago that putting a few conkers in each room would work so I tried it when conker season came around. I have to say I was surprised at the result, there were noticably less spiders in the house since then, ie from October onwards. They have come back this year though from about June onwards so I suspect the now dried and wrinkled conkers have lost their scent. It could have been coincidence but I can't wait to see if it works again this year.

Conkers are round spherical objects, just the same as the theory that conkers / chestnuts will keep spiders at bay.

I can't believe that this load of old tosh is still doing the rounds...

Mick

Searched for conkers also today, unfortunately to no avail.
---

Are you still fighting the war?

I have also tried many methods over the past few years. The best I find is to keep a small electric BB gun for instant kills. Just be careful if they are on the walls(the bigger ones though are usually only on the ground) as if you miss, the BB could injure you.

Also, you can get special netting for windows to stop most things entering the room from that way. I've been using this all summer and until today the results have been 100% effective. My problem is that my room is the only one in the house with this defence so the enemy can attack from other parts of the house.

After waking up to go to work at 3am I found a very large ground dweller on the landing by the stairs. After panicking and looking for a suitably large object to dispose of the beast(I used a copy of Galileo's Commandment - Hard back), I got out my chemical spray and came back but noticed it had spotted me and moved.

I found it attempting to crawl into a cupboard so quickly sprayed it. As anticipated it ran much faster into the bathroom, allowing me to chuck the book flat on top of it.

Upon returning to my room another of the enemy showed itself! Exact same type, only slightly smaller. This one was dispatched by a book on Ghosts and Hauntings.

Now, my BB gun is cocked and loaded and I plan to hoover every inch of my room before being able to sleep today. And spraying some more around the door frame(I've had good results from this also).

Funny, I've been eyeing up local conker trees all week with this in mind.

Thank you for your input. I will be employing some of your tactics for future battles.

Get a couple of those plug in the wall Pest Repellants, my gaff was Spider Valley - now its been Spider free for a year.

My goodness, I thought / think i may have a family of em living under a pile of clothes in my room.
For the last three night running i have found a spider running across my floor. All three have been much larger than most you find. I had to take a picture of one as it was so sick.
I have to put a bucket on top of them till somebody else can get rid of them for me. It is disgusting when you can hear them scratching around against the side of the bucket. I am to scared to move the pile of clothes now incase loads come out.

http://www.sausagefingaz.homecall.co.uk/pictures/spider.jpg

Don't worry that's not a spider, it's an imposter, it only has 7 legs! :D