Scared of spiders

[bluecanary]

Why are so many people frightened of spiders?

[pluto]

Because they are scary!

[Boris B]

I think maybe the way spiders move is just too alien. Insects tend to crawl (or fly), but if you have more than six legs you start to walk funny. I'm sure if people really saw how centipedes move it might freak them out (of course, the experts probably think it looks really beautiful...). Spiders have their knees (well, their knee analogs) above the rest of their bodies; they move their legs in weird swinging, lurching motions that don't really remind us of anything cuddly, or familiar, or even from earth.

Having eight eyes on your thorax is kind of intimidating as well. Oh yes, and the fangs are scary. And the fact that the entire class of spider is carnviorous - not a single vegetarian among them. On the whole, they worry me.

But I'm just as squeamish about insects, so I kind of like spiders for political reasons.

[poohpah chalupa]

I dunno, but put me in a sealed room with an open jar of spider and enjoy the show.

[Geek Mecha]

Wake up with one on your face, and I'm sure you'll be scared of them too.

[The Asbestos Mango]

Spiders! EEEWWWWW!

Spiders give me the creeps, have for as long as I can remember.

Anything with more than six legs give me the creeps.

Earwigs give me the creeps, too. Anything with pincers on its ass gives me the creeps.

[timmar68]

They scare me because I can't help but imagine them bigger, like the size of a small car or something. Imagine a spider that size attacking you and wrapping you up in it's web...yikes!

One night I was playing "Capture the Flag" and we were out in the country. I fell and when I looked up I was about 2 inches from the biggest honking spider in the biggest web I ever saw. You never heard such a scream in you life.

[Gundhilde]

My boyfriend is scared to death of spiders. He's scared of them because when he was little, he was playing in his sandbox when he uncovered enough of a buried spider to see just two hairy legs poke out and flail around. Why this particular incident happened to make a lasting impression on him, I shall never know. But on the basis of that, I would probably agree that it's the weird way they move.

[The Raven]

For me, it was that stupid, friggin SCARY movie that made me afraid of spiders. Not the actual spiders themselves, but afraid of the thought that GIANT HAIRY SPIDERS ARE GOING TO COME DOWN FROM THE CEILINGS AND POISION YOU MOST HORRIFICALLY! At least, thats what my younger brain thought, resulting in fear (generally) of spiders.

[Spider Woman]

we're more scared of you than you are of us.

[aesop]

I heard a theory once somewhere (sorry to be so vague) that the further away a creature is from us on the evolutionary scale, the more likely we are to find it "creepy." OK, so the theory is probably a lot better articulated than that (and it presupposes the validity of evolution), but the point is, we don't instinctively feel repulsed by a dog or a horse because its morphology is, in general, readily analogous to a human's (4 limbs, 1 head, etc.) As you get further away from homo sapiens on the evolutionary scale, the morphological analogs become harder and harder to find. So by the time you get to your slugs and crickets and spiders, your instinctive reaction is "ewwww."

[Wood Thrush]

Originally posted by aesop
I heard a theory once somewhere (sorry to be so vague) that the further away a creature is from us on the evolutionary scale, the more likely we are to find it "creepy." OK, so the theory is probably a lot better articulated than that (and it presupposes the validity of evolution), but the point is, we don't instinctively feel repulsed by a dog or a horse because its morphology is, in general, readily analogous to a human's (4 limbs, 1 head, etc.) As you get further away from homo sapiens on the evolutionary scale, the morphological analogs become harder and harder to find. So by the time you get to your slugs and crickets and spiders, your instinctive reaction is "ewwww."

NOOOOOOO!!!!! PROKARYOTES!!!!! HEEELLLLP!!!!!!!

[Wood Thrush]

Seiously, though, why are rats more disgusting than butterflies?

[aesop]

Originally posted by Wood Thrush
Seiously, though, why are rats more disgusting than butterflies?

Are they, objectively speaking? Or is that a personal preference?

The wings of a butterfly can be quite beautiful. Once you get past the bright colors though, there are all those intricate mouth parts, fuzzy little legs and that squishy, segmented thorax...ewwww.

[Spider Woman]

Q:

[quote]. . .why are rats more disgusting than butterflies?[quote]A: Butterflies look more like flowers than insects, and rats look like . . . well . . . rats.

(We had a white rat named Algernon, a refugee from a behaviorism lab, who was quite a nice pet.)

[Wood Thrush]

Originally posted by Spider Woman
Q:

A: Butterflies look more like flowers than insects, and rats look like . . . well . . . rats.

(We had a white rat named Algernon, a refugee from a behaviorism lab, who was quite a nice pet.)

Okay, then why are flowers considered more beautiful than rats when they are farther on the "evolutionary scale"? Flowers definitely don't have one head and four limbs.

[Lance Turbo]

I would appreaciate it if someone could post a link to the "evolutionary scale".

[Jorge]

I'd go with both the "evolutionary distance", and also something along the lines of invasion of privacy:

Some creatures are dangerous, but we have some control over it: avoiding bears in the woods, etc... But certain creatures that (at least until the 20thCentury) pose risk of disease or trauma, like snakes, spiders, scorpions, rats, et al... that are "not avoidable" are creepy, and sometimes imply fault on the person (unsanitary living conditions).

You never found a leopard in your shoe as you put it on; in a way, heck, they "respect" our space and generally keep their distance unless we're seeking them out, presumably accepting the risk of encounter. Plague-ridden rats, biting arthropods, or just plain old roaches don't. Ick.

[nick]

I think this is just an irrational fear. But telling myself that sure doesn't make it any better. The most disgusting of bugs are these odd looking centipeed like things we have around here. They have tons of legs, are really fast, and VERY disgusting. I once caught one, just to look at. ick.

I once heard the average human eats 4 spiders a year.

Another thing, I think most people have eaten a crab, which resemble insects too much for me. I mean, exoskeleton, jointed appendages...yuck!

[CandyMan]

IMHO I think the fear of rats and spiders goes back to the early days of humans. Spiders tend to like dirty and dark areas, just the same kind of spots humans would have wanted to hide in from the big bad <insert killer of choice here>. Get bit in the dark from this tiny thing you can hardly see and you die anyway. Pretty scary.

Rats and maggots and the like cause the fear of death. Rats carry a lot of diseases and, to be honest, that is what I think of when I see one.

CandyMan

[Ad Noctum]

I wouldn't say I'm arachnaphobic, but the sight of spiders makes me bring out a lighter or a blowtortch and burn them,
or catch them in a kleenex and burn them... ever saince I was a wee-little kayaker, and a BIG-ASS water-spider (slightly poisonous) decided to hop a ride in the kayak!!
That did it for me, I jumped up and started yellin' (and you are NEVER 'sposed to STAND UP in a kayak) smashed the thing to LITTLE pieces with the oar.... then I realized I smashed the BABY pouch, so there were little BABY WATER-SPIDERS IN THE KAYAK!!! I had to take it out in the middle of the lake, and do about 10 eskimo rolls until I was satisfied........
now you know why I would not mind commiting genocide against the spider....
Arachnid family.....

[Poysyn]

I do not like spiders. Not an outright fear, unless it gets caught in my hair,(OMIGOD!). I did see a dock (nursery web) spider once that was so big, it make my heart skip. (it was about five inches from my foot and larger than the span of my hand.

[Spider Woman]

and as I got older, I started to watch them. Some of them are really quite beautiful, and there are so many varieties of spiders and different kinds of webs they spin. Two that are interesting here in central Minnesota are the tiny crab spider, which can be either white or yellow with little red markings, and the nursery web spider, that can grow to proportions reminiscent of baby tarantulas.

There is also another kind, I can't remember the exact name but it is some sort of garden spider, that has an orange and yellow body with black markings and legs, and it spins a beautiful symmetrical octagonal web.

[Milossarian]

I tried to trace my arachnophobia back to my childhood. Not sure if this is the cause, but I do remember some giant, full-page photo in a Time-Life nature book, showing a close-up of the face of a big hairy spider.

That mouth, and those numerous black, seemingly lifeless eyes, and that hairy body .... creeped me for years.

And, as was mentioned earlier, just the way they move makes me queasy. I particularly dislike wolf spiders. They're big, hairy and move so fast.

Went and saw the movie "Arachnophobia" in the theater. My friends wanted me to go, just so they could be entertained by my reaction. Ah, what friends I have. I watched the whole thing, albeit from the fetal position in my theater seat.

My overall WAG to the OP is that they look so much different than most anything else we regularly encounter in nature, and different in ways that don't appeal to our sense of aesthetic beauty.

Oddly, though, I don't have nearly as much problem with crabs, which look and move very similarly.

[aesop]

Okay, then why are flowers considered more beautiful than rats when they are farther on the "evolutionary scale"? Flowers definitely don't have one head and four limbs.

Perhaps because flowers lack even the most basic attributes of animals, so there is little chance of seeing any analogues between yourself and the flower? They are off the evolutionary scale, so to speak. On the other hand, a spider may not look much like you or me, but it does move, and sometimes it moves fast! And if it moves too fast in my direction, I am likely to feel a bit uncomfortable, because I know that fast movemment is often a sign of aggression. So even if the little 1-inch spider is just randomly jumping in my direction, I am apt to attribute a more sinister motive to his action, e.g., "He's coming after me!" At which point my fight-or-flight instinct kicks in, but that's another discussion

Maybe, from an evolutionary standpoint, being afraid of weird-looking things correlates to a higher degree of species survival than does welcoming those same critters with open arms, so to speak.

As for those few plants that do have vaguely animal attributes, well, did you ever watch a Venus's-fly trap in action? ewwww

Originally posted by Lance Turbo
I would appreaciate it if someone could post a link to the "evolutionary scale".

Lance, "scale" is just another word for a graduated scheme of rank or order, but if you are truly curious:

http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/origin.html

will take you to an online version of "On The Origin of Species..."

As for fear of spiders, or of anything, once you get over your instinctive (not based in reason) reaction you can apply rational thinking and arrive at whatever conclusion you like. Even an irrational one!

[pldennison]

Jorge:

You never found a leopard in your shoe as you put it on;

Yeah, but imagine if you did?! Yikes!!!

aesop:

Perhaps because flowers lack even the most basic attributes of animals, so there is little chance of seeing any analogues between yourself and the flower?

OTOH, pitcher plants and flytraps are pretty creepy.

I am terrified of spiders. Terrified, terrified, terrified. I recoil in horror from they very sight of them. Once in a while I will spot one in the shower while I am in there; rest assured, that shower is now over. And I make my wife get rid of them for me. I have no idea where this fear comes from.

[Crusoe]

Another possible explanation I've heard is also related to evolution. The idea goes that, generally speaking, creatures like snakes and spiders were mostly venomous all those eons ago. Primitive man learned to avoid snakes and spiders as a result; the ones that didn't learned a fatal lesson or a painful one that gave them even more reason to steer clear.

[lucie]

I've always rather liked spiders, since I find that if I leave a few in the house, I am no bothered by bugs I really hate. If I have to remove one, I'll take it outside and put it safely in the bushes.

Speaking of the pest-prevention attributes of spiders, I found that I was rarely visited by sales and religious types when I left a couple enormous, brightly-colored garden spiders in their orb webs on the front porch. I'd see people holding tracts start to walk up the steps, catch sight of Fred & Ethel, then turn right back around.

[Una Persson]

I'm not afraid of spiders per se, but I am afraid of one spider that is endemic to the Kansas City area - the brown recluse. I worry a bit about waking up to a bite on my face (as one local woman did recently) and having an ice-cream scoop-sized piece of flesh necrot away...

[Phobos]

http://www.thais.it/entomologia/ragn...c_00005_uk.htm

Need I say more?

[Neil]

I don't like any spider or bug or anything crawling on me, but spiders are cool. Several days ago, I noticed that a spider had made an awesome web on the passenger side mirror on my car. The spider itself was fairly large. I had places to go, so I thought the spider fell off. A day later, I gave one of my friends a ride home and she started shrieking about something- my spider was still there. When I drove, he crawled off his web and took shelter on the mirror. He was there several days despite my probably fast driving and a storm. Unfortunately, he eventually vanished. My friend wasn't sad to see him go.

-Neil

[Chronos]

I don't buy any of these evolutionary reasons... The only fears that humans are born with are, if I recall correctly, loud noises and isolation. Everything else is learned. If your afraid of spiders, it's probably because your parents were afraid of them, and they taught you to be afraid. On the other hand, my mom loves spiders, and encourages them to live in and around the house (mostly for their bug-catching abilities), and as a result, I happen to find them rather beautiful. I'd still rather they not crawl on me, but even then, I'll just gently brush them off.

Of course, brown recluses are an entirely different matter, but even then, I imagine that it's not so much a fear of spiders, but a fear of death, and a particularly gristly death, at that.

[Sea Sloth]

This is interesting. I'm starting a gross bug story thread in MPISMS - Ad Noctum and others, please come post!

[Stylus]

My arachnophobia stems from....

When I was younger I used to pick on my little bro. His only defense was to throw spiders and/or roaches on me. When he would do that I would scream like I was having a colonoscopy with no lube. He fucked me up for life! In school I remember waking up to catch an early lecture. I head down the hall and catch a glimpse of a big brown house spider run (that thing was quick) across the door jamb. I didn't want my head to break the plane of the open doorway, for fear of the spider dropping down on me from the ceiling. But I had to go to class. So I peek in and see him in the corner where the ceiling meets the walls. This corner was right above the shower...there's no fucking way I'm taking a shower with spidy hanging above me. So I grab the bb gun, take aim, and splatter his ass all over the bathroom. I kid you not, there was alot of debris from that abdomen. I never did clean up the mess in the corner. I didn't want to take the chance of it still getting me. I could have pricked my finger on a fang or something.

Originally posted by Chronos
I don't buy any of these evolutionary reasons... The only fears that humans are born with are, if I recall correctly, loud noises and isolation.

I recall hearing years ago (and I continue to believe it because I've never heard anything to the contrary) that babies have two innate fears: falling and snakes.

The snakes thing is kind of strange; I've heard people correlate it with the whole Garden of Eden thing. That's not to say I believe it.

As far as spiders go, I can remember the source of my own arachnaphobia. I was at a school picnic when I was five or six years old, and I was running along the back side of the school, through a sparsely wooded area. I turned my head for a moment to talk to someone (while still running), and as soon as I faced forward again, I ran into a huge spider sitting in its web. This grotesquerie was as large as my face.

I haven't been able to stomach the creatures since.

[Delta-9]

Buncha wussies.

[Jeep's Phoenix]

I don't have a problem with the web-spinning spiders--their webs are beautiful, especially the ones with the zig-zag patterns. I don't care much for the ones that just crawl on the ground though.

We live near a heavily wooded area, so it's not uncommon for us to find wolf spiders in the house. One time I was walking down the hall and I saw something move...I turned on the light to discover a wolf spider. I tried to back away from it, but it followed me! Needless to say I ran.

Yep. I let a 3/4" spider chase me. (I wound up dropping a dictionary on it though.)

[bluecanary]

I posted this thread knowing it would provoke a lot of discussion.

You see, I'm from the UK, where poisonous spiders are almost unheard of.

BUT... People are still just as scared as spiders.
I happened to be listening to a radio talk show where they were phoning about it.

[Sycorax]

I used to be afraid of spiders -- not sure why except I do recall seeing a big hairy one in the basement when I was a kid; I screamed, and Dad ran down and killed it. I don't like irrational fears and try to overcome them. A Discovery channel show on spiders said there's only one that kills - the banana spider (NOT the tarantula); they showed a reenactment of a man carrying a bunch of bananas, getting bitten by one, and dying within two minutes. So my motto is "live and let live" (and don't carry a bunch of bananas fresh off the tree ). All spiders are venomous to some degree - that's how they kill their prey - and they're helpful because they eat other insects. When s.o. and I stayed in a motel recently, I pulled down the bed covers and a medium sized spider crawled out onto the cover - my immediate reaction was a scream and the s.o. smashed it with a magazine. I told him it startled me, but that I would've preferred trapping it and putting it outside -- I disturbed him, he didn't attack me! As for snakes: I don't believe we're born being afraid of them - I've always liked them - even considered getting one as a pet years ago.

[Blythe Spirit]

I respect anything that is alive and breathing, but spiders can be pretty gross. We have a large yellow and black writing spider in our front flower bed and I leave it alone if it leaves me alone.

On the other hand, we have brown recluse spiders in our house. These are highly poisonous and I kill them if I see them. Your flesh can rot away if you are bitten by one.

I have a paper route and I pray everyday that I don't run into a spider. I am probably one of few that would rather see a snake crawl across my foot than a spider. I find snakes interesting and I have touched them. The thought of touching a spider makes me want to puke. I also find butterflies to be a little creepy, wouldn't want one to land on me.

[aha]

Well hell I am scared of them cause they are icky. And instead of running away like most insects they "dive" for you. And the legs...just toooo many damn legs for my taste. And they are always wraping some other poor insect up in a web and then sticking poison in them while they are still alive. I mean what the hell is there to like about them? huh? I ask you.

[Sycorax]

They get rid of other insects you don't want. Everything has a purpose, a reason for being; get rid of all the spiders and then see what happens! You'll be overrun by some other icky insect, that's what. I've never had spider "dive" for me -- must be something about you they like.

[bluecanary]

I quite like spiders. I usually end up getting rid of them when they're in my house because my Mother and Sister don't like them.

[aha]

Well hell what is there about me not to like.