Big spider...ick!!!

**popcornbird** · 05-24-2005, 04:36 PM

Ewwwwwwwwww!

LOL! So are we going to start a new Spider rights organization or something?

I would never kill a spider or any insect outside...they're free to 'enjoy' their natural habitat, BUT...when they enter my house, they're dead. Its not easy to take them outside when you're so afraid of them (the door is usually far away)...AND...sometimes, I find spiders in my room in the middle of the night. There's no way I would ever 'carry' a spider and take it outside in the night when I'm half asleep. I can't sleep with a spider in my room, so.....it has to die.

The majority of the world hates spiders, and almost everyone kills them in some way. Its no big deal, and nothing to argue with a person about.

**caseysmom** · 05-24-2005, 04:57 PM

If I see a snail squirming to sure death across the sidewalk I throw it back into the bushes, when I see a worm I do the same thing, but spiders....ick...sorry but they scare me too much.

**K9soul** · 05-24-2005, 05:09 PM

While I would not condemn or judge someone for killing a spider in their home (as others have said, it is the most common reaction), I still wish a picture of the dead spider had not been included. I am extremely sensitive to this kind of thing. I find myself unable to kill much of anything besides mosquitos and ticks, and even then I get no enjoyment from it. I think I understand a bit why Suki Wingy is particularly upset. My first reaction to the first picture was "Wow! Amazing spider!" and then the second picture of it smashed is very sad (to me.) Showing a before and after picture makes it more emotionally charged for those sensitive to this type of thing.

Suki Wingy, you are not alone in being saddened by the death of even a simple spider, but you also won't get people to understand or share your feelings by getting angry or accusatory. It's best in these types of situations to simply live by example. I.e., if you find a neat spider, take a picture of it and show it being released outside.

Of course it won't sway a lot of people, but just maybe someone out there will think about it and decide to take that course of action despite their fears

. Most hatred is born of fear, some people just fear them too much to do anything other than eliminate it.

**IRescue452** · 05-24-2005, 05:53 PM

Looks like what I had in my room. I don't mind them when they stay in the basement, but when this big one came into my room it wasn't gonna live long. It must've come up on my shoe or something because they never come out of the basement on their own. Now they are all dead, yea exterminator. I'd have run out of the bathroom naked.

**AlleyCat** · 05-24-2005, 10:55 PM

Well, I wasn't able to see the pix of the dead spider (not sure I would have wanted to anyway) but I totally agree with Gemini - I am terrified of spiders, large or small, and any of those in my house are gone, gone gone. If I don't have the nerve to kill it I make my hubby do it. I will say that if I'm near a window or door I try to get it on a piece of paper (alive) and shoo it outside, but something that big in the shower is going to be GONE. I would rather get stung by a bee then have a spider run up my arm.

**slleipnir** · 05-24-2005, 10:57 PM

That reminds me of a story this guy told me at work.

This girl he knows found a worm of some sort inside I guess..so she look it to release it back outside where it can be FREE and live on!!!

What happens moments later? A bird swoops by and eats it...

**K9soul** · 05-25-2005, 07:47 AM

Originally posted by slleipnir
That reminds me of a story this guy told me at work.

This girl he knows found a worm of some sort inside I guess..so she look it to release it back outside where it can be FREE and live on!!!

What happens moments later? A bird swoops by and eats it...

But see, that wouldn't upset me like me killing it would have. At least it's death wasn't senseless, it went on to feed a bird and possibly its young

.

I know many people feel that my feelings, and Suki's, are silly on this type of thing. I grew up studying animals of all kinds, including spiders, and I don't have much fear of them, so to me they are not a threat. I understand that to others who fear them, they are a threat and I don't judge or condemn them for feeling that way or for doing what they feel is best. However, in my eyes, there is no reason for me to kill one if I come across one. I generally just leave them alone. Coming across venomous spiders in MN is rare. They were much more common where I grew up (esp brown recluse), and I was a bit more jumpy about them though still didn't really kill them. I captured them in a jar to get a closer look at them and usually went ahead and moved them outdoors. I really only recall coming across a recluse once and it wasn't even at home.

I understand fearing something so much, and feeling that it is a threat to you so much, that you want it dead. I was trapped on a moving bus once with an angry yellowjacket (one thing I do fear, as I have been stung and am allergic), and a guy was trying to kill it, and I truly at that point wanted him to succeed.

I used to be really embarrassed to admit my soft spot for all creatures, but now I am more open and comfortable about it since I've grown out of being afraid of being mocked about it

. I used to save drowning bumblebees out of the city swimming pool, toss a drying earthworm back into the earth off the sidewalk, and so on. I know things live and die every day and it's a part of life and nature. I just feel for myself personally, I'd rather be a creature's second chance than their end if possible.