How long can a spider survive under a cup?

[Fraz]

I think the thing that bothers me about spiders so much is that they are just so (seemingly) unafraid of humans. For instance, I'll see a giant one on the wall, and I'll watch it for a while to see if it's going anywhere before I run and get something to kill/catch it. But even if I move close and wave my hands around near it, it will just totally ignore me. It's just unnerving!

Then.... Off I run to go get something to catch it, and sure enough it's disappeared by the time I get back. Evil evil evil evil evil EVIL things.

[pollaxe]

^Defence mechanism - it's hoping the big thing (you) that it can see hasn't seen it. Sometimes they'll play dead too - the big clue is by the time you come back it's cleared off! Trust me, they are afraid of you!

[Elmo]

See if they're so scared of us, why do they so BLATANTLY risk their lives by running out into the middle of the floor, stop right in front of you and stare as if to say "c'mon then! try me!" If i was a spider, and i was scared of humans, i certainly wouldn't be making myself OBVIOUS to them!

[pollaxe]

^Because they don't spot you until the last minute???

[Stewart]

actually, apparently house spiders are the most venomous native to britain (think i saw it on the really wild show or something!) - usually they're really too small to break the skin, so the small ones are relatively harmless, however, the worrying thing is that they're getting bloody huge, and the bigger they get the easier it becomes for them to break the skin and bite you.... THEREFORE, spiders are bloody evil, and killing them is human survival instinct!

We had one on our livingroom wall that we had to use a SAUCEPAN and a MAGAZINE to move as it was too BIG to fit in a PINT GLASS!

I hate, HATE, HATE spiders.

Although the Really Wild Show is ftw I still have to say - house spiders are harmless. Not relatively harmless. And not just the small ones.

They can not hurt you. Even a mahoosive house spider, slowly walking through your hair while you are asleep... can't do you in!

[UltraMagnus]

actually, IIRC daddy long legs (or whatever their real name is) have the most venomous poison in existence, and has been used by the CIA and FBI, its just their fangs are so short they cant penetrate human skin... doesn't nature have a sadistic sense of humour....

[Lanky123]

Im fairly sure that is just a rumour - wiki daddy long legs or whatever the scientific name is. Any spiders or similar creatures in the UK arent dangerous and tend to get us laughed at by Australians and alike.

[Stewart]

actually, IIRC daddy long legs (or whatever their real name is) have the most venomous poison in existence, and has been used by the CIA and FBI, its just their fangs are so short they cant penetrate human skin... doesn't nature have a sadistic sense of humour....

Thats true apart from the following details - its all not true.

[magneticman]

actually, IIRC daddy long legs (or whatever their real name is) have the most venomous poison in existence, and has been used by the CIA and FBI, its just their fangs are so short they cant penetrate human skin... doesn't nature have a sadistic sense of humour....

someone's been watching ricky gervais..

[Brucelles]

The only thing about house spiders is that they crawl into your mouth and up your nose while you are asleep, but they aren't venomous so there's no problem. Even the ones that sit in your eye sockets and lay eggs in the corners of your eyes aren't really dangerous; unless you wake up and rub your eyes and smear the spider into them, then the toxins will make you blind unless you wash your eyes out with alcohol.

But it is weird how there are so many and they are so big this year. The good thing is that the mosquitoes, which were more numerous this year, got nowhere against the arachnid armies in our homes. That's why I never kill spiders, because they are our friends, eating mosquitoes and flies.

Confession though, once, while living in Bahrain, I killed a nest of Black Widows living in a crack in our front steps, but my wife was pregnant and liked to sit there and watch the sunset.

[MadduckUK]

but my wife was pregnant

otherwise you would have got her to do it?

[Lee H]

I just pick them up with my hands not glasses, paper or anything and then proceed at a slow speed to the nearest door to the outside to chuck them out into the garden.

All your fears are thanks to Hollywood and that lovely arachnaphobia movie

[magneticman]

I just pick them up with my hands not glasses, paper or anything and then proceed at a slow speed to the nearest door to the outside to chuck them out into the garden.

All your fears are thanks to Hollywood and that lovely arachnaphobia movie

yeah i admit, I watched that when i was like 4, i realy do think my phobia stems from that film...

[med2003]

OK. I haven't read the whole post so apologies if I'm repeating this.

On our local radio station last week they were talking about spiders and people's fear of them, and someone phoned to say that spiders don't like conkers! They apparently keep some conkers in the corner of their room and don't have spider's in the room. Other people phoned in to say that they also keep conkers in rooms to keep spiders away, and they seem to work.

Sounds pretty odd to me, but who knows?