There aren’t any venomous spiders in Western Europe. Quit worrying.
There are scorpions. 
You wouldn’t think my husband’s a wimp by looking at him. Sturdy guy, bearded, tattooed, ex-trucker, ex-cop, Viet Nam vet, rides a Harley, etc. But when there’s a bird (or “something”) skittering in the woodstove or a bat circling the ceiling fan or a big spider in the bathtub, where is he? In the next room, waiting for me to deal with it. Good thing he likes to cook.
I always thought the reptilian brain would make us want to eat spiders instead of panicking 
Aww, no anti-Arachne Lysistrata?
Back to the old drawing board.
nit-pick. Post coital, you aren’t bone tired, you are boned tired.
I read through this entire thread expecting that someone would hypothesize the obvious: the cats took care of your spider problem for you while you were sleeping. This is their way of showing love.
Well if the spider got that big, just imagine all of things he’s “cleaned up” for you. Let him stay, he’s paying his rent in pest control.
…I say this partially in jest, as a recovering arachnophobe I can also understand the desire to want to break out the hairspray and a lighter on the little eight legged beast, but I still say let him stay.
snerk
I kind of wished I lived there. I *hate * the stereotype that sex is only something women give out as a reward for good behaviour or withold in the case of bad behaviour. First of all it infantilises men, which is kinda creepy - either that or it makes women look like golddiggers. (“Diamonds. She’ll pretty much have to.”-Family Guy) Second of all it perpetuates the stereotype that for women sex is just something they passively endure-god forbid they like it.
Anyway. Point. Phobias aren’t rational. I also hate it when people cannot grasp this. I really am disgusted by pigeons, and yes I do know they’re harmless.
To be fair, I think that even in the USA it’s just that - a stereotype, something to joke about. But I do think that the whole masculine-feminine culture thing is real, but that it shows itselves in averages.
In our house, my large 6’2", 260 lbs former outside linebacker hubby is scared of spiders.
I take care of them. No biggie.
I do however hate moths. They are just so fluttery and can get caught in my hair.
shudder
My husband says he’s a friend of the arachnid; however, I think he just finds my spider-freakout to be amusing. Rather than getting into the KILL IT! argument, I just spray it with hairspray and watch it slowly harden. Yeah…it’s good. Real good.
Heh, you people would absolutely love my family’s cottage. Ever heard of “Dock Spiders”? 
I’ve seen those little rat bastids. They love docks and boats and all things nautical. Oh shit…they’re just fuckin’ evil.
They love hiding in cracks between wood boards and logs.
Which is what our cottage’s outhouse is made of.
The result is that it is a nest of the things. Going to the toilet is more … interesting when it is in the middle of dozens of your favourite friends - particularly at night, when it is impossible to see what is lurking down the hole.
I get that phobias aren’t rational, but I really don’t understand why you can’t just vacuum it yourself. What difference does it make whether you vacuum it (from a nice safe distance) or your husband stomps on it? Either way it was “killed on your account” and will haunt your dreams. And it certainly must be preferable to leaving it roaming the house, once it becomes clear that the husband’s not gonna be helping.
But do they actually die? Or do they recover in the dust and find their way out of the vacuum with killin’ on their mind?
If you vacuum up a spider, it lurks awhile in the vacuum bag and then crawls back out the tube, intent on finding YOU. If you try to stomp a spider, it will run towards you when you lift your foot, causing you to hop and fall so it can jump on your face.
I haven’t actually seen these things happen, but it just stands to reason.
Exactly. Now see, here’s someone who understands.
Besides, how angry would YOU be if you were flushed, hairsprayed or otherwise put to a gruesome death? More then a little miffed, I guess. And an angry spider is a spider with a mission, so, twice as scary.
No, it doesn’t seem that you do.