On 21 Aug 2009 at 10:51pm Spinster Of This Parish wrote:
I usually associate the arrival of autumn with dew and cobwebs (and spiders), but I have noticed that there have been loads of spiders this summer.
I have been plagued by invisible spiders that create chaotic sticky webs that hang like hammocks. This evening, as I was watching the Martians stride across planet Earth (War Of The Worlds), I had two monsterously huge spiders run across my lounge floor (but I managed to squash one of them!!)
Are there any arachnologists out there that can explain the apparent increase in eight legged fiends and/or predict what we are likely to expect when autumn officially arrives?
Also, what is the best way to kill spiders? It has been recommended to me to spray them in "Brass Monkey" therefore enabling one to shatter them into lots of pieces (if one desires to).
On 22 Aug 2009 at 11:05am Bruce Parker wrote:
You murdering bitch. Get some aversion therapy. If it wasn't for our eight legged friends we'd be knee deep in flies. P.s Did you know that house spiders ( the big black hairy ones) can give a painful bite!!! They're coming to get you
On 22 Aug 2009 at 11:17am Little Miss Muffet wrote:
I can't kill spiders,although I don't like them very much.
I too have noticed more spiders in the house this summer.
You could always get a frog....
On 22 Aug 2009 at 1:29pm Annette Curtin-Twitcher wrote:
Keeping conkers in the corners of a room allegedly deters spider.
On 22 Aug 2009 at 1:47pm Spongebob wrote:
There's been loads of those big hairy buggers in the past few weeks. I can't kill them and usually chuck em in the garden (via a piece of paper and jam jar). Failing that, our dog eats them !!!
On 22 Aug 2009 at 10:19pm Bongo wrote:
My sodding cat brings them inside to play with! She even brought in a huge long slow worm the other morning, and dumped it on my bed. Such a sweetie, young Ruby Lou is 
Staykill is a great anti-spider spray - around £10 a can (do a search on-line)
On 23 Aug 2009 at 8:18am wanderer wrote:
along with conkers my mum swears by pine cones ?? anyone else heard of that
also that new spider is around lewes has a large black body on its back with like a white shield on the black bit has a bite like a wasp or bee ?? seen a few already
On 23 Aug 2009 at 9:30am expat wrote:
Sounds a bit like our white tail spider that came over from Aussie. Maybe they've learned to swim. They can bite and the site can necrose. The scariest looking ones here are trap door spiders. We have our house sprayed each spring, and don't see too many.
On 23 Aug 2009 at 10:07am Spinster Of This Parish wrote:
The suggestion that I am a "murdering bitch" seems a little harsh as I am a huge goose when it comes to creepy crawlies.
I amazed myself at being able to kill a spider the other night - maybe the worm has turned - so beware Brucie!
On 23 Aug 2009 at 10:35am Cliffe Hanger wrote:
Yes SOTP, the "murdering bitch" label does seem a little harsh! I am a big lad but I will freely admit to being terrified of spiders. I have noticed quite a surge in the number invading my flat this summer. I'm afraid I kill them as soon as I see them, but still they keep coming! Why?!
On 23 Aug 2009 at 12:09pm Little Miss Muffett wrote:
'If you want to live and thrive,Let a spider run alive' my
Mum used to say.I cannot kill a spider...Maybe they are searching for thier dead relatives CH....
On 23 Aug 2009 at 9:59pm Squidward wrote:
Please don't kill them - spiders are nice and good!, just wrap them in kitchen roll and flick them out of the window.
On 28 Aug 2009 at 12:37am Alois wrote:
Wanderer - You're refering to the deadly 'Bavarian Bird Eating Spider'? It has a white cross on it's back and can, if you are allergic and weak, be fatal. I have only seen them in Bavaria, thus the name, many years ago. I only discovered them in Preston Park two years ago and it seems that they have spread out although not as much. Seen one near Ellie September last year.
On 28 Aug 2009 at 10:46am Its Not Rocket Science wrote:
Found two of those spiders with the white shield on their back in my garden at the weekend. Their bodies were round, about the size of a marble, virtually black, but with a deep reddish tinge.
On 28 Aug 2009 at 10:56am Little Miss Muffet wrote:
On 28 Aug 2009 at 1:29pm jonnyboy wrote:
Wanderer, the spider you're referring to is the False Black Widow (Steatoda nobilis) and it can give a very painful bite. The spider is native to the Canary Islands but arrived in England in around 1870 through bananas sent to Torquay. It's been spreading ever since and bites are extremely rare.
On 31 Aug 2009 at 3:06pm bobosnoot wrote:
I have huge spiders they all seems to be coming from my bed room they've been on my bed on my headboard even in my clothes there running all through my home where are theny coming from do you think there coming through open spaces in the walls I have an old house..Its so bad now I won't sleep in my room I have moved upsatirs...as I have ahd 2 run up my arm when in bed..help someone How best do I get rid of them?