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CLose Encounters of the Eight-Legged Kind (1 Viewer)

birdman

birdman

Орнитол&
Ugh!

Now, I'm not great with creepy crawlies…

Like most people, I don't have a problem with butterflies and moths (in the case of moths – providing they keep still). Ladybirds/bugs… love 'em.

Shield bugs… can't say they bother me too much either.

But just about everything else… ugh!

Now don't get me wrong… I'm not frightened of them (except wasps, but that's a different story), I don’t find the repulsive, and if they keep themselves to themselves – we get along just fine. But once they start coming for me… I just recoil. Ugh ugh ugh ugh!

Why am I telling you this?

Well this week, I have had to evict 2 (count 'em 2!!!) house spiders. One from the bedroom for Pete's sake!!!!

You know the one's I mean… they're about 3 or four inches across, with a body of, maybe, an inch, and the have "boxing gloves" – and size 9 boots!

Now for those of you from warmer climes, who are used to spiders that are the size of dinner plates and take down small mammals (like ponies) you can laugh as much as you like.

But here in the UK, most of our spiders are about the size of a pinhead.

Then you get one of these things marching towards you, with a gleam in its eyes – and drooling – it gives you the willies, I can tell you!!!!

I've just found out from the web (the WEB… how ironic!) that for some reason the British spiders don't bite, whereas their American counterparts do. Well I ain't giving up half an arm to disprove that theory!

So armed with a plastic cup, and an envelope, and seriously outstretched arms – I successfully threw this one out of the window. What a hero!

(Just as a little side issue, and bearing in mind the context of this post – I once held a 10 inch millipede – Weird!)
 
I know what you mean, Dave. I'm a bit of an arachnophobe myself.

We had one in the corner of the bathroom ceiling and I am sure it was laying eggs. It didn't move for days. I could just picture standing in the shower one day and looking up and seeing hundreds of the little horrors heading down the wall. Anyway, Keith managed to clear it, and its little nest, and move it into the garden.

If the length of your arm is bothering you when dealing with these things, next time you get a Betterware or Kleeneze catalogue have a look for a Bug Katcha. It's a stick with a box thing on the end with a sliding door. Put the box over the insect, slide the door carefully, cos you don't really want to kill it, do you?, and transport it outside. Twist the handle round so that the door slides open and the creature drops out at arm's length. Even I can cope with this.
 
Hi Birdman - I know what you mean there - personally I'm not so bad with spiders as they're sort of predictable and you can see where they're going.

But wasps etc thats something completely different. I was going to put up a ? post about this to see if anyone knew what it was - but on reflection I really don't care what it was

We were out somewhere last week (Fritton Woods I think) and there's this big yellow & black wasplike thing - twice as long as a wasp and had 2 real nasty looking streamer-things trailing behind it. A pretty ferocious looking beast but it was minding it's own business - no problem with that I thought .... then suddenly it's flying towards us, with its heat-seeking cruise missiles at the ready ....... needless to say we didn't hang around to check it in the guide book !!
 
I'm seriously considering the Bug Katcha d-b!!!!

Carlos... sounds like you and me are of the same mind! I can spot a wasp at fifty paces - they just have this "aura" - AND THEY CAN SPOT ME!!!
 
Carlos, that wasp could have been a wood wasp, or horntail, and I really don't do wasps/ nonw of them, including bees, gnats and anyother flying biting stinging insects, as they do me serious reaction allergies, and as for arachnids, they are alright as long as they don't move, especially towards me. Rodents dont bother me nor snakes, and I positively love lizards, so why, oh why, am I so paranoid about spiders? Nina.
 
Yeah don’t like wasp much at all, but I don’t freak out like some people.
The trouble is my daughter has seen people freaking out over this kind of thing and now she does it too, the tinniest little fly will have here crying and screaming, it is annoying as she used to be fine with them.
I take her out for walks to show her birds and Dragonflies she is spotting them before me and they don’t bother here, I don’t understand the logic. Moths in her room at night = Freak out, but butterflies in the garden, no she wants to get as close as possible. !!!
I keep telling her they can’t hurt her and that they are more scared of her, that kind of thing, but she won’t have it.

Spider are different though something about the way they move, people don’t like, I have kept tarantulas and used to handle them regularly, but I don’t really like those house spiders, there is no logic there either.
The most fascinating Spider in the UK to me is the Raft spider the only one I know anything about as its behaviour intrigued me, it will eat Damselflies and Tadpoles, it can walk on water and its looks nice too. (Well I think so ;-) I even have a Webpage with some pictures and info.



Rich

Nice isn't it?
 

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I've had a thing about wasps since the day one flew into the kitchen, made contact with the flourescent light bulb and fell, slightly stunned, down the back of my shirt. Imagine the scene: me running round the kitchen screaming "Get the *!"*"(*" thing off me! and ripping my shirt off, while my wife stood by hooting with laughter.

Spiders no problem.
 
I have a deal with spiders, they won't do me any harm, so I won't do them any harm and spiders in Iceland are far more innocuous than even British ones.

I do remember on one occasion checking into a hotel in Noosa, Australia when the owner of the hotel put his hand down inches from a Huntsman (very large Aussie spiders, apparently harmless but make UK house spiders look like dust mites in comparison) which was sitting on an outdoor table.

"You do realise that there's a gigantic spider right next to your hand, don't you?," I ventured.

He looked at me for a second, bewildered and then he realised,
"Ah you're a Pom aren't you?" and flicked it away as if it had been a gnat.

E
 
I don't have arachnophobia but I am nervous of wasps--I'm still getting agro from a sting three years ago.
In, or rather above, our garden pond we've got a yellow spider (body about 1cm long and thin) with long, forward pointing legs (perhaps 2 cms)... wierd and wonderful. No idea what it is.
 
birdman said:



I've just found out from the web (the WEB… how ironic!) that for some reason the British spiders don't bite,

Don't you believe it Birdman, I was bitten by a British spider that got into my shorts in the bedroom and bit my bottom! My wife thought it was hilarious - what is it about these women!

James
Click to expand...
 
I have a friend who has a phobia about segmented things that move so this not only majors on earthworms but also applies to the vacuum cleaner hose!!!!!!!!

James
 
I can't resist this. This is my 100th post. Will I suddenly become a senior member? will bells ring?

James.
 
Congratulations James on your 100th post. Did BF send you a new Swarovski AT HD 80 scope free of charge as they did for me when I passed 100? If not you want to get on to them.

E
 
Sorry Robinm but this friend is a woman and she has a smooth hose for cleaning!
Click to expand...

Damn - still a good excuse though. I might try it !!!

Congrats on 100th post. Did the earth move as well?
 
My problem is with ants, in particular safari ants in Kenya where I lived for four years some time ago. It is not a good idea to stand in their trail. I did so on two separate occasions. (Some people never learn) Once they get up your legs and start biting chunks out of you there is absolutely no choice but to remove trousers and pants no matter what company you are in!! On one of those occasions my wife was carrying the camera !!!
No, I am not going to post it here - it is well lost in the loft.
 
No bells, no earth movements. Sometimes I am a bit thick (only sometimes???). I would post something and it would say "posts 53" for example and I would look back at the last post which also said "53" and I would think that maybe it only counts the ones you originate. It has taken me 100 posts to realise that it updates ALL posts at the same time (even old ones). Still I get there in the end slow as I am!!!

I think my new title should be senile member!

James
 
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