Why are we scared of spiders?

reply to post by intrepid


LOL! That spiders on drugs video is freaking hilarious, thanks for posting that.

I live in western WA state, I don't run into spiders often but if I do I take them outside with a tissue or broom or whatever, I usually don't kill them.

I think it's a learned behavior, my daughter is fascinated by snakes and spiders because she wasn't raised to be paranoid about them. (Understand some are poisonous and should be avoided, yes.) I'm a woman and I'm calmer about snakes and spiders than most of the guys I've dated. It's pretty interesting.

reply to post by Orion65


lol!!! I'm way more calm about spiders than my ex was... I had forgotten about that.

Usually I'm the one to get the piece of paper, let the spider crawl on it, and take it outside. It's just what I do.

reply to post by JayinAR


Ah, I never thought of cellucitis. I looked it up, apparently it can be quite a problem.

I am pretty sure it was a spider and not a wasp, because there were bite marks side by side. Which is why I ended up with a vampire bite look. LOL

It was a double puncture wound. That ended up forming to long lesions. About 2 inches I would say.

There wasn't a web involved I don't think. Just throwing large piles of brush. Could of tossed it on myself.

I don't think brown recluse either, because they are not supposed to be in this area.

I eventually got more tolerant to spiders. When you work at the park, you get pretty constant to exposure. But in close quarters I still freak.

Now, one day I was weedwhacking along a ditch that was lined with gabion baskets. And one of the grey rocks started moving.

I stopped thinking it was my mind playin tricks on me. But sure enough, one fo the rocks started moving again.

This time I shut the machine off and got a closer look. sure enough this rock had eight legs.

figure that one out.

Oh the weird things in nature.

[edit on 23-8-2009 by nixie_nox]

reply to post by nixie_nox


Spiders have two chelicerae.

firstaid.about.com...

Originally posted by nixie_nox
I am pretty sure it was a spider and not a wasp, because there were bite marks side by side. Which is why I ended up with a vampire bite look. LOL

Well, both wasps and scorpions have the ability to sting more than once, perhaps you were hit twice, so it looked like a vampire bite. Unless it was a tarantula (or a black widow but you'd have probably had some muscle spasms with it), which you'd know if it was on your neck, the fangs on a smaller spider would probably be too small to look like a vampire bite.

edit: after thinking more about it, it could have been another species of spider i guess. The back of the neck is pretty soft so who knows...

here's a picture of the jaws of the ugliest spider we have around here, the sun spider (same as the camel spider in iraq)







[edit on 23-8-2009 by 27jd]

I can't say I'm afraid of spiders, but wasps/bees freak the crap out of me. I've woken more then once on a summers day when hearing the iconic "Bzzzzzzzt" sound.

More then once, I've hurt myself trying to get away.


I am such a sissy.



Peace,
FK

reply to post by 27jd


All spiders have two chelicerae (fangs) and I think other species are capable of puncture.

So... I would say even house spiders can leave two marks. But I'm not an expert. I know about arachnid anatomy but not their bites very much.

reply to post by ravenshadow13


You're right, after thinking a bit more about it, could have been another species...

Originally posted by wylekat
I had a wolf spider doing laps in the kitchen recently- I went and got a glass, and put his happy butt out. He was kinda HUGE. He was strolling around like he owned the place. He should be lucky *I* found him- he could have been a cat toy!

That made me laugh.

My sister was backpacking through Costa Rica years ago, they almost ran into this giant web with a huge green spider in it. I think it was a golden orb spider, she said when she stepped back to take a good look at it that she had to admit it was pretty cool looking, very colorful. They also found a tarantula in their hotel room, they were joking about the spiders being their "tour guides".

reply to post by intrepid


Wow...that video was freaking hillarious. After I stop laughing I'll try and throw together a real post but man I have to give you a couple

Alright I've stopped laughing and I have a couple things to say:

1) I hate spiders. They creep me out to no end and it's one of the only things I'm afraid of.

2) I'm glad there's a thread going like this that people share stories about why they're afraid... there's no real debate going on about why people are scared of stuff like that, just opinions and some backstory to get the point across.

I'd like to share some of my own experiences, hopefully someone will laugh like I have been through this entire thread just about.... maybe laughter will help some of us arachnophobic people get over some fear eh?

Like I've said earlier I'm afraid of spiders but one of the first memories I have is being in a resturant with my mom and dad very young.... and my mom has told me stories of this Out of nowhere I yelled "MOM THERE'S A SPIDER IN YOUR HAIR!" to try and freak her out I guess but she hopped up trying to swat it out. This was back in the 80s and she had the big poofy hair from that period. Just thinking about it makes me smile.. if not laugh out loud.

Another thing I noticed and took note of was a couple posters talking about how people eat 8 spiders unknowingly each year in their sleep? I've heard the same number (correct me if I'm wrong from the post I mentioned, I can't surf back atm) but my best friend woke up one morning and his lip was swollen like mad.... after asking me to inspect it I found two bite marks on his lip and he thought it was a spider... also he thought the girl he just stopped seeing was trying to get back at him with some crazy voodoo magic or something but I'll leave that to the imagination I seriously though think it was a spider bite... it looked like it and all yeah?

Being afraid of spiders I smash them when I see them. Unfortunately I live where there's lots of spiders.. all the time. They are not all necessarily poisonous but I still do not like them all the same. I was helping my dad build his house and I came across a nest of black widow spiders (yes BW not brown recluse spiders). I ended up catching the biggest one I could find and leaving the nest alone for a bit. The nest was holed up in a wall that had been recently covered in plywood and was still exposed, waiting for insulation. I kept the spider for the longest and named her Virgo.. I even captured a smaller male spider but he ended up dying. I kept Virgo for many weeks feeding her crickets or rolie-polies.. whatever I could find to throw in her capsule. She liked crickets mostly btw, I don't know if that's normal but I had to go out each morning and catch something for her to eat like that pretty much. She ended up dying after I had to leave for a couple weeks on vacation and the person that was watching her neglected to feed her. I still have her carpace in a jar in the garage, I couldn't bring myseld to bury her

Lastly.. as I said I live in an area where spiders are very common. I have to wash this place down with a pressure washer 4-6 times a year just to rid the wood spiders off the house. They're the worst pest even though they don't bite just because they make my house look like crap when you walk up. I've found a spray that supposedly lasts for 6 months at a time but I have to spray every 2-3 if I really want to avoid pressure washing just for spider mess. I'll tell ya that spider web mess is REALLY hard to get off even with high pressure water once it's been there for a bit.

Lastly -- I hate spiders. Never been bit by one that is super poisonous but I hate things that have more legs than something I would normally eat.

The Who described it quitewell.....

www.youtube.com...

reply to post by Yossarian


I'll tell you why we are so scared of spiders. Its because those damn things can kill you, that's why.



[edit on 24-8-2009 by RussianScientists]

reply to post by 27jd


Hello! I happened to catch your comment about scorpions and recall that I was told a LONG time ago that if you pour some whiskey on the back of a scorpion that it will literally sting itself to death.

I've never tested the theory but perhaps someone else might?

Enjoy your week!

I was just thinking what about the fact that humans are scared of spiders, what would be there reaction if an alien species, where of spider appearance, and massive.

I would say that would definitely freak people out, lol..

reply to post by ravenshadow13


Ok, I am interested in the link but if I open it is it going to be another freaky picture?

Im in the uk so we don't get any poisonous spiders,atleast enough to do any harm to a human.One of my friends used to have a chilean rose spider and i could handle that quite easily..apart from when catching it's live food it's very docile and slow so i can live with that...the common spiders we get here scare the crap out of me though.Very fast and bolt all over the place,thats what i don't like about them The only time i ever kill them is if they are in my house,if one happens to get on me when outside i usually lightly flick it off.In my house though? sorry it's a level playing field,come into my property and expect to merge with a shoe as soon as i spot you.

Originally posted by nixie_nox
reply to post by JayinAR

 

If you really think you have a brown recluse, you might want to get an exterminator. Their bites are really hard to treat.

According to whitewave, 35% hydrogen peroxide left on for 6 seconds and thoroughly rinsed away after being bitten by a brown recluse will completely neutralize the poison.


[edit on 24-8-2009 by technical difficulties]

Originally posted by m5nomad
Hello! I happened to catch your comment about scorpions and recall that I was told a LONG time ago that if you pour some whiskey on the back of a scorpion that it will literally sting itself to death.

I've heard the same thing, but about sunlight. Turned out to be a myth though, scorpions will not sting themselves to death under any circumstances. But, what if they like whiskey and tell all their friends about the free scorpion whiskey bar at my house?

reply to post by ravenshadow13


For some reason that picture looked kinda fake to me but who knows, i found this site though...

Myth: You can always tell a spider bite because a spider leaves 2 punctures.

Fact: There is a germ of truth in this idea, but only a very tiny germ. Spiders do have two venom-injecting fangs and typically bite with both at the same time. However, in any spider smaller than a tarantula, the entry points of the two fangs will be so close together that there is little if any visible separation. Also, the fangs are so slender and sharp that the actual entry points are all but invisible.

When you have a "bite" with two separated marks, it is either caused by a bloodsucking insect that has bitten twice (a common occurrence), or is a double skin eruption arising from one disease condition or arthropod bite, also a common occurrence.
www.washington.edu...

While i'm sure black widows can leave two puncture marks, the ones in that pic look kinda doctored, and frankly too big and far apart to be from a widow...their heads are very small, but again i'm not entirely sure how far they can spread their fangs.

edit: well, here is how far apart they can spread them...



I guess the pic could be real, from a very large widow i guess, never can tell what's real or fake anymore, damned internet.

[edit on 24-8-2009 by 27jd]