Who don't like spiders in their house??

They don't bother me in the least. I used to raise and breed over 400 different kinds of tarantulas for the pet trade (captive bred means taking less from the wild). Everything from incredibly colored tree spiders (Avicularia versicolor) to dinner plate sized ones that conjure up many fears (Theraphosa blondi). At any given time I would have had well over 1000 tarantulas sharing my home with me.

I would rather see a spider in my home than a fly.

Avicularia versicolor


Theraphosa blondi



Unless these are the types of spiders running around your home I can't begin to understand peoples fear of them. (Unless, of course, you happen to be allergic...that's a bit different). Though to be fair, those who don't like them in the least can't begin to understand how at ease I am with them.

I think spiders are fine outside, but I do not want them in my house, don't want flies either. I think spiders are very interesting creatures and your photos of the tarantulas are great!!

As long as the spiders are the small garden type, I let them be in the house. As long as they don't bother/bite hubby, me or our 2 bunny rabbits, then they can stay inside alive.

Now if I found spiders (inside or outside) like the ones in Rob's pics, then eeeeek!, they die!

I only own one 'token' pet tarantula now. Life moved me in a different direction some time ago, but I'll always love them. It is a very common reaction by most people to be put off by them however. I think most peoples fears of them is very deep rooted...like fear of the dark, but by and large it is mostly unfounded. No doubt, there are some spiders that fall into the straight out 'nasty' category (the Sydney Funnel Web Spider comes to mind...very poisonous, very aggressive) that even experienced 'spider folk' take extreme caution in working with but most spiders are fairly harmless. An average bee sting is far more painful for far longer than 90% of all spider bites.

Here in the US, the spiders that can be a REAL problem (ie., life threatening) are...

Latrodectus mactans (Black Widow)

and

Loxosceles reclusa (Brown Recluse)

It was thought that the Hobo spider (Tegenaria agrestis) also caused Recluse-like bites, but recent evidence suggests that this is not the case.

oh...and one thing to consider if one ever finds themselves confronted by a tarantula in their home that they want to kill...


they make one helluva mess.

Let's hope I never find any in my yard and/or house!

I've never been bothered by small spiders, and as I've aged, I don't mind the big ones either. When we lived in Tucson, we had anew house out near the Rincons. We had lots of critters visiting. The tarantulas would come every night around the windows to eat bugs that were drawn to the lights. It was always a good show for out of towners to see them up close!

I'll take spiders any day over scorpions.

scorpions

I don't mind the small spiders and whenever possible I catch them and put them outside. But we get a lot of those large long legged spiders and I am not going to tolerate them in my house!!!

I believe the very large one on the right is a wolf spider, enlarge to see all of it!

I would never have a pet like Rob's, but I don't mind spiders in the house. Having lived in swampland for many years, anything that eats mosquitoes is fine by me!

The only spiders I don't want around are the ones that can harm me or my pets. Thankfully, I have never lived in the range of the brown recluse, and black widows have always stayed outside the house.

Bit, I guess to each his own when it comes to pets!

Rob - I don't mind spiders that much, but I must admit when I saw the photo of your hand by the Theraphosa blondi ... it was enough to make the hair on the back of my neck stand up a little!

I hate cockroaches. They are at the top of my "kill on sight" list!

Margaret, I keep rats... I certainly am not one to criticize anyone else's pet choice

I have a lot of respect for spiders and the role they play in the ecosystem (whether that is a natural place, my garden, or even in the house). I just like my pets to be warm and fuzzy and pettable, so I stick with mammals. I put spiders in the same category as fish and reptiles when it comes to pets... just fine, but not for me.

Bit, like I said before, to each his own, I sure don't want any pet rats, not that I fear them, just don't want them!

I have a lot lot respect for spiders too and the role they play in the ecosystem, I just want them to stay outside and do their thing.

Makes me love my cats more and more............LOLOL