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Are you afraid of spiders?

I am and at the same time I'm fascinated by them... kind of silly

Posted - October 2, 2016

Responses


  • 10052
    No, but there aren't many spiders with potent venom where I live. If that were the case, I probably would have some fear. They're definitely fascinating creatures.
      October 2, 2016 10:42 PM MDT
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  • I am, but I'm not afraid of them because of bites. I just find them terrifying to look at. 
      October 2, 2016 10:58 PM MDT
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  • I find their appearance and behaviours fascinating.
    Dislike the feel of one crawling on me and will brush it away quickly so as not to hurt it.
    I avoid the types with toxic or lethal venom.

    The time I came closest to arachnophobia was this --
    Ari and I were staying as guests with a friend who put us up in his caravan.
    He warned us about the resident spider and said we must not hurt it under nay circumstances.

    Ian told us that he was a direct descendant of Bruce, The Scott.
    It was the mass of undisturbed cobwebs that saved Bruce's life from the English soldiers' swords poking into his hiding place in a dark rock crevice.
    When Bruce got home that night, he told his family and they agreed that thenceforth no descendant could harm a spider, to express their gratitude.

    That night, asleep int the caravan, I was woken by a Huntsman tickling across my face.
    Remembering Ian's request, I stayed perfectly still and waited for the spider to crawl off me.
    It felt huge and it took every ounce of self-control I had.

    After it had passed, which seemed to take ages, I fumbled around for a torch and switched on the light.
    There it was up on the wall, a female, leg span 4 inches across.
    I could not get back to sleep even after it wandered away to a dark place.

    In Australia, the Huntsman is a common, large, hairy spider that likes to seek shelter in dry places, often houses.
    It has a bite, but its mandibles are too small to penetrate the skin of a human.
    Mostly they are tolerated as friends because they eat mosquitos, flies and other pests.
    But they look a lot like pale brown Tarantulas, and so there is a kind of instinctive unease one feels at the sight of them.
      October 2, 2016 11:25 PM MDT
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  • 16
    They're kinda cute.
      October 2, 2016 11:27 PM MDT
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  • 411
    Unless they are black widow spiders I don't see them as threatening.
      October 2, 2016 11:36 PM MDT
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  • 322
    Nup, not at all, but we do have some deadly spiders here so one must be cautious, not silly at all to be fascinated in the them as their fascinating creatures, I like snakes more though.
      October 2, 2016 11:59 PM MDT
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  • Fascinating behind glass .. I'm just going to sum up my feelings with the tag line of that movie ... Eight legs, two fangs and an attitude problem!
      October 3, 2016 12:24 AM MDT
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  • 17261
    Noop. Not scared but having respect for them. I'll bring them outdoors when I catch them inside the house. :-)
      October 3, 2016 12:49 AM MDT
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  • Wary.  I'm frightened of wasps, which I freely admit is more than a bit silly.  Spiders do not cause me any issues though.
      October 3, 2016 5:35 AM MDT
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  • I thinks they are pretty awesome to look at but I freak if they get on me.  
      October 3, 2016 7:06 AM MDT
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  • I by no means freak out if I see a spider...but put me in a tight spot with them crawling all over me and it'd likely be a different story. But the more I think about it I could say that about anything. 
      October 3, 2016 7:43 AM MDT
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  • I'm terrified of them. Can't even look at a photo. Ironically, I spend a lot of time outdoors and have gotten used to them outside, altho brown recluse spiders can have a nasty bite. Thank goodness for winter.
      October 3, 2016 12:18 PM MDT
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  • 1523
    Yes I am....definitely!
      October 3, 2016 12:39 PM MDT
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  • 1713
    They don't bother me unless they're crawling on me, even then I try not to kill it unless it's venomous..
      October 3, 2016 8:02 PM MDT
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  • 2465
    I don't like them at all. If I see one crawling on me or near me, I freak out.  I owned a tarantula and held it without a problem. It's the same with snakes. If it's in my yard, I freak. If it's a pet, I have no problem wrapping it around my neck. 
      October 5, 2016 10:44 PM MDT
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  • 18
    I have a very bad phobia of spiders and I am not fascinated at all with them~ I cant even look at spiders the only time i have was to look at the spider that does handsprings in morocco! I will freak out on you in a heartbeat if there is a spider around me!  
      October 17, 2016 11:03 PM MDT
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  • 46117
    No.  I don't fear animals of any kind.   I  had a pet tarantula once.    I don't get that kind of stuff, being scared of spiders like they are going to come after you or something.   I sure don't want biting insects on me or anything like that but I don't go around dreading the idea of a spider.  
      October 18, 2016 12:09 AM MDT
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  • 3719
    No. I'd be wary of a spider that could give me a harmful or dangerous bite, but otherwise I rather like them and find them fascinating, and find invertebrates just as fascinating.

    Some spiders are quite attractive little animals, and it's impressive to watch an orb spider building her web (the males tend to roam rather than make webs), using her legs to space the spiral evenly. Where do they find all that material and energy on top of that necessary to keep the creature alive? Obviously from her food, but considering the spider will rebuild a web broken by wind or an animal, she needs to accumulate sizeable reserves from just a few insects.

    Watching a spider spin a web outside my window one day, I wondered if similar might help some people overcome a fear of spiders. You and it are safely isolated from each other by the glass, and anyway it's not bothered about you, so you can watch it go about its marvellous task, all by instinct, but literally at arm's length. And when she's finished she'll rest, either having trotted back into the centre of the web, or retreated to some cosy little nook in the corner of the window-frame.   

    Sometimes I wonder if an antipathy towards very small animals like spiders comes from a phobia of anything crawling. Yes, snakes are vertebrates but legless so have to crawl; but spiders and many other invertebrates including mites, woodlice, centipedes and insects do not crawl. They have legs. They walk.
      October 18, 2016 3:08 AM MDT
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  • 7280
    Approach / avoidance conflict---not at all unusual and definitely NOT silly.
      December 4, 2016 1:20 PM MST
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  • Some spiders are exquisitely beautiful.
    The range of shapes, colours, and habits is awesome.

    Australian tropical spider, Araneus talipedatus, photo by Farhan Bokhari

      December 4, 2016 3:34 PM MST
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  • 46117
    I like them as long as they are not after me or in my house.
      December 4, 2016 3:35 PM MST
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  • 3934
    I'll bring a Hawaiian Cane Spider with me when I visit..;-D...

      December 4, 2016 3:49 PM MST
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  • Ha, ha! :D
    The artist almost got it right but forgot about the direction of the light and how to apply the shadows.
      December 4, 2016 3:58 PM MST
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  • 46117
    Hart, but are they that big?   I love the big of him.  I could take him on a leash and walk him.  What a trip.


    Awwwwwww HE LIED.  They can't be walked on a leash.  Bummer.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heteropoda_venatoria This post was edited by WM BARR . =ABSOLUTE TRASH at July 9, 2017 5:37 PM MDT
      December 4, 2016 4:02 PM MST
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