# I'm done being afraid of spiders. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 12, 2014, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-done-being-afraid-of-spiders/685912 "2014-04-12T02:39:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2014, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-done-being-afraid-of-spiders/685912/41 "2014-04-15T14:35:05Z")
> [@vontsira](#): > > The pair I mentioned began their holiday in Thailand, where “Mr. Adventurous Eater” started off gently, with a cricket. He’s looking forward to witchetty grubs in Australia. When New Zealand is reached – I’m sure that country must have something equally revolting… Orcs. ---
**Author:** ![Nonsuch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nonsuch/32/2922_2.png) [@Nonsuch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nonsuch)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2014, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-done-being-afraid-of-spiders/685912/42 "2014-04-15T14:47:11Z")
I am enough of an arachnophobe that I actually have occasional nightmares about spiders that are frightening enough to wake me up. It was not always thus. When I was a kid, my friends and I would go out at recess with our sandwich bags and catch [these suckers](http://www.fcps.edu/islandcreekes/ecology/Arthropods/Black%20and%20Yellow%20Garden%20Spider/byargiope8m1.jpg). [Warning: big spider pic. Which actually gave me the heebies when I found it.] I don’t know what happened or when, but that innocent fascination became a morbid fear. I too would like to be free of it, except I shy away from the kind of therapy I know it would take. There was a TV show that Robin “Hoarders” Zasio hosted a while back in which she used exposure therapy to cure people of animal phobias. One poor arachnophobe had to take a bunch of spiders out of Tupperware boxes and carry them, by hand, across a space and put them into new boxes. She was shaking and semi-hysterical but she did it. The thought of doing that … yeah, no. If you’re on iOS, there’s an app called Phobia Free designed to help people overcome arachnophobia. I downloaded it and played around with it, but it’s a huge app and I ended up taking it off my phone because I needed the space. One of the developers is an arachnophobe himself, so that’s something. Here’s the [iTunes Store link](https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/phobia-free/id627935349?ls=1&mt=8). > [@vontsira](#): > > My niece is currently backpacking around south-east Asia / Oceania with her boyfriend. Boyfriend has a fancy for trying strange things to eat: I was a little taken aback to discover that when they get to Cambodia, he’s looking forward to sampling a snack which is in favour there – fried tarantula. > > I’m given to understand that this is a fairly recent development in those parts. Eating of these creatures began in Cambodia in the period when the Khmer Rouge was in power, with a consequent famine situation. Subsequently, the Cambodians found that they rather liked tarantulas-as-food. I can only say that they, and niece’s boyfriend, are more than welcome to my share… Andrew Zimmern did a segment on tarantula-eating in Cambodia for Bizarre Foods. He also described their flavor as “nutty.” ---
**Author:** ![Maastricht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2014, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-done-being-afraid-of-spiders/685912/43 "2014-04-15T15:23:54Z")
> [@blondebear](#): > > **Lynne-42** , who hasn’t been around lately, went from arachnophobe to a spider enthusiast/expert. There’s probably an old thread about her story, but I can’t find it. [This is her book](http://www.amazon.com/Spiders-Learning-Love-Lynne-Kelly/dp/1741751799/ref=sr_1_25?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1397575206&sr=1-25&keywords=spiders). I bought it and read it, and it’s lovely. She makes you root for the spiders so much, it gets harder and harder to be scared of them. Also,[a bit on](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=206680) [spider therapy.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=14220300&postcount=12) ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2014, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-done-being-afraid-of-spiders/685912/44 "2014-04-15T16:05:44Z")
> [@Ranger\_Jeff](#): > > Advise for the guys here: if a woman offers to make love with you preying mantis or black widow style, thank her for the offer and RUN AWAY! Alternatively, [present her a gift](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexual_cannibalism#Courtship_displays) the same size & shape as your head. ---
**Author:** ![Renee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/renee/32/287_2.png) [@Renee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Renee)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2014, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-done-being-afraid-of-spiders/685912/45 "2014-04-15T17:11:32Z")
> [@Maastricht](#): > > [This is her book](http://www.amazon.com/Spiders-Learning-Love-Lynne-Kelly/dp/1741751799/ref=sr_1_25?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1397575206&sr=1-25&keywords=spiders). I bought it and read it, and it’s lovely. She makes you root for the spiders so much, it gets harder and harder to be scared of them. > > Also,[a bit on](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=206680) [spider therapy.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=14220300&postcount=12) Thank you for digging those up! I’ve ordered the book, and am reading the threads. ---
**Author:** ![Inna\_Minnit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Inna\_Minnit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inna_Minnit)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2014, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-done-being-afraid-of-spiders/685912/46 "2014-04-15T17:13:15Z")
Are you truly afraid? Or just grossed out? ---
**Author:** ![vontsira](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/51bf81/32.png) [@vontsira](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vontsira)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2014, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-done-being-afraid-of-spiders/685912/47 "2014-04-15T17:22:31Z")
> [@Nonsuch](#): > > Andrew Zimmern did a segment on tarantula-eating in Cambodia for Bizarre Foods. He also described their flavor as “nutty.” As far as I’m concerned, “nutty” is an excellent description of anyone who eats spiders – any kind, anywhere. But I admit to being past-praying-for unconvertable, on this issue. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-done-being-afraid-of-spiders/685912.md?page=2)