I decided to shave tonight instead of doing it in the morning. Just as I was finishing washing the shaving cream off of my face, I felt something light on my bare foot. Could’ve been a drop of water, but I wasn’t dripping. I figured it must have been a spider. I finished washing and drying my face, and what do you know? There was a spider by the sink. Not only that, it was the largest one I’ve ever seen in the house; about two inches with huge palps. I guess it didn’t get the word that I don’t like spiders in the house. And certainly not on my feet.
So I got my spider jar and caught it. I’d caught a couple of small spiders over the last couple of days and took them outside today. The smaller of the two did not move when I shook and tapped the jar, so I figured it was dead and caught in a web. Nope. When I caught the latest one it scurried out. I’ll get him again if I see him again.
As for the two-incher, I don’t feel like going outside tonight, so he’ll have to wait in the ‘penalty box’ until I get round to releasing him.
I have a spider living in the toe-kick area underneath my vanity as well. We understand the rules–I let her live there as long as she doesn’t run over my feets.
I am not so kind to spiders here. I think part of the reason for my harsh rules is that, until recently, I always took off my glasses to take a shower. Without them, I couldn’t see a spider sneaking up on me until we were eye to eye. Cataracts forced me to get my OEM lenses replaced with bifocal implants, so now I can see clearly in the shower.
I have changed some of my habits and biases now that I don’t wear glasses. For example, I don’t mind going out in a light rain these days. I never enjoyed swimming, because I could barely see without my specs. I haven’t tried that yet. I may yet change my attitude toward spiders, but I wouldn’t count on it. My first reacton to spiders is a swat. I’m even meaner to mosquitoes. I’ll dash across a room to smish a skeeter.
I have an understanding with the spiders who inhabit my dwelling. I won’t bother them if they don’t bother me. They have not signed such a treaty with my dachshund.
I’ve been told, and from presonal experience, find that this is a bad spider year in the PNW. The year we moved into our house was too.
The kitties like them, I don’t.
You are far too kind Johnny L.A. I would have reached for something to smash it with.
The insects and I have an understanding. They do not come into the house and I do not kill them. Unfortunately the insects keep forgetting about the deal all the time.
By 2-inches you mean “toes to toes” right? I would never have had the opportunity to smash this beast with a rock as my head would have been firmly lodged in the ceiling.
The brand in singular1’s post is directly responsible for my arachnophbia. It’s those big goddam house spiders that used to snuggle up in my warm blankets when I was a kid. Nothing like waking up in the middle of the night with one of those demons crawling around your thighs looking for who-knows-what kind of mischief to get into. brrr…
same here in the mid of west, however i am of the live and let live policy, since the little beasties do tend to keep the in-house winged critters at bay. central indiana can sometimes resemble a bad version of ‘arachnaphobia’ during a wet summer.
like your household however, mistress speck and master turk have an entirely different opinion about them.
Spiders are allowed downstairs so long as they catch all the other creepy crawlies, and stay out of the way enough that I can pretend they aren’t there.
Anything spanning larger than a quarter in plain sight gets evicted.
