Kate hates spider webs. She freaks out over the tiniest little webs, and is constantly asking me to get rid of them - everywhere (but most especially in the backyard - kind of annoying). If she sees one, she will not get closer than 2 feet to it. She will sometimes use a broom to get rid of them, but mostly she just asks me to. And heaven forbid one should touch her. So we are sitting in her bedroom and suddenly a spider about the size of a quarter (including its legs, but still, the body was pretty large also) darts across the floor, straight for Kate! Kate calmly points at it and says, "look mom, a spider!" and starts to laugh when it goes right under her! I am freaking out a little and say, "Kate, get up!" but try to tone it down when I realize she is not upset. She stands up and the spider darts away, but I quickly kill it. Kate just looks at it and says, "Oh, I love that spider." ?!?!? So apparently, spiders are fine, it is the web that is unacceptable.
Which leads me to the next part of my post - what are your "spider" rules? Here are mine:
If it is in the house:
1. Larger than a dime - it dies
2. Smaller than a dime - it gets escorted outside
3. No matter what size, if it is hairy it dies
If it is outside:
1. All spiders outside live - unless they are...black widows. Then they die. But I have allowed pretty large spiders to live touching my house - we had one named Shelob two summers ago, and I am sad she never came back.
Shelob - seriously, larger than a half dollar - she hung out in our front window (outside).
A black widow found outside our house - yes, dead.
15 comments:
I was ok- until the pictures! I say if it is crawling...it must die. Especially if it is inside ( size does NOT matter!) oohhhhh!(shudder)
My Spider rules:
If it has eight legs--it dies. Unfortunately someone else must do the killing. This really presents a problem if I am home alone or discover it after all the guys have gone to sleep. If that is the case and I have to kill it--it has to be killed with someone else's shoe. It is nice to have little Jerry back home. His shoes are all over the house and are so large (size 12 or 13), it is hard to miss the spider.
Oh my gosh, this is discusting!!Ichhhh, spiders are my #1 phobia, pictures ichhhh, I'm with Wendy, MUST DIE!!!Will I be held accountable in heaven for the killing of spiders???
Mom, you better not have used one of MY shoes to kill a spider!
My rule: Touching ANY part of my house... it dies. But of coarse, I am with mom that I will not be doing the killing even if I am home alone. I will "trap" it in a mason jar with weights on top (b/c spiders are strong and might knock it over) and wait for Brett to come home. If it really freaks me out, after I trap it, we leave the house till said spider is gone.
Alyssa, never allow a spider that big to live NEAR your house again, please.
Oh, and I have a hard time using the toilet Brett flushes dead spiders down for a couple of days. Wow, I really need therapy. Gardening is helping... a little bit.
Sorry to leave so many comments, but this touches a hot spot with me. I just wanted to remind you what happens when I find a spider in my car...
I kill all spiders in the house, Thomas likes to step on any creepy crawly thing outside or in. I tell him that they live outside and not to kill them, but he can't help himself. And I have never seen a Black Widow in person, I think I might just run screaming!!! (they are poisonous, right?)
Ok, I knew this post would make me laugh...since spiders are such a phobia for so many people...and for those of you wondering, here is what happens when Jenae finds a spider in a car: if your older sister ran into a store to grab one thing and left you in the car (in their DAD's car, no less), and the next thing you knew younger sister has come into the store CRYING and the part of the door that has the power lock mechanism has been BROKEN OFF - it is because said younger sister lowered the visor and a spider fell down and younger sister FREAKED OUT to the point where she could not remember how to open a car door...
So, my rules are that I escort all bugs outside if possible--not because I am bug tolerant but because I hate the sound (is there a sound or is it just the sound I have in my head from "Men in Black"?) of squishing a bug. Plus, then you usually have to clean up the guts. If I do have to squish, I make every attempt to use Matt's shoe unless obtaining one of his shoes would result in the disappearance of the bug.
You make me laugh, I have only one spider rule if it is inside my house it most definitely dies but not by me I am too chicken I call for Eric!
Thank you Alyssa for the writing of the "SpiderHouse Rules." My rules are very similar to yours, with two exceptions. One, if it is in the house and not paying rent, it dies, no matter size. Two, if it is a Daddy-longlegs it can live. (I don't know why, but I don't think of Daddy-longlegs as bad spiders). I forgot about the car story with Jenae - that was Hilarious! And Jenae, I have that same fear with the toilet. I also think that the bugs will somehow resurrect in the trash can, so maybe I should take up gardening too.
oh, yeah, I forgot that Daddy long legs are excluded, i feel the same as Camie. I haven't seen one in so long i forgot about them. And also, I am not afraid to kill my own bugs and spiders! great post, by the way!
So that's what happened to our door. (Come to think of it, Jenae was fairly destructive as a child). And by the way I would never use one of your shoes to kill a spider Jenae. I have another story. My cousin Holly was driving her van down I15 with her 12 year-old son in the passenger seat,(they lived in Sandy, Utah at the time). A spider comes down from the drivers side visor. Holly leaves her seat and heads to the back of the van. Her son quickly gets into the drivers seat, slows down the van, steers it off the road, and stops, avoiding an accident. Maybe arachnophobia runs in families.
I must say, this is better than the best TV. I am always excited to get a new episode. And I love Jenae's sidebar stories. You are all you Mother's girls. And I guess I better save some old big shoes. Maybe that can be your birthday present.
Well, Jeff is terrified of spiders. They are like Christians and Jews in Iran: Kill on sight. No matter the size, amount of hair or coloring. Kill them. Now.
Post a Comment