"Zipadee Doodar" wrote in message
...
I know they do no harm, and are almost mans' best friend but I hate them.
And in this house where we have lived for 2 years, they are enormous and
scare the compost out of me. Is there anything available to persuade them
to
go away, or at least not to appear in the bathroom etc? I was thinking
something on the lines of those sonic cat scarers etc.

BTW I can handle them ok in the garden, just not in the house.

TIA

ZD

get a cat, my next-door neighbour has 3 cats and 2 eat the spiders

So, what is that other alleged method (wincingly)

Scott L. Hadley

On Sat, 18 Oct 2003 00:09:25 +0100, "Earnest Trawler"
I noticed you did not mention the other alleged method spiders have for
getting a drink at night, perhaps best not to. :-)

Earnest Trawler





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"Zipadee Doodar" wrote in message
...
I know they do no harm, and are almost mans' best friend but I hate them.
And in this house where we have lived for 2 years, they are enormous and
scare the compost out of me. Is there anything available to persuade them
to
go away, or at least not to appear in the bathroom etc? I was thinking
something on the lines of those sonic cat scarers etc.

BTW I can handle them ok in the garden, just not in the house.

I have arachnophobia to the point that even reading a couple of posts on
this subject will have me sweating and vomiting. shudder My cats will all
chase, catch and eat spiders except the big harvest ones which bite. My son
was recently bitten by one and it made him ill. He did though, offer to come
and paint my cottage if he developed wall climbing abilities :-)

"oldmolly" wrote in message
...


I have arachnophobia to the point that even reading a couple of posts on
this subject will have me sweating and vomiting. shudder My cats will
all
chase, catch and eat spiders except the big harvest ones which bite. My
son
was recently bitten by one and it made him ill. He did though, offer to
come
and paint my cottage if he developed wall climbing abilities :-)


Why don't you contact Spider (post above) directly? I can vouch for the
fact that she used to be at least as bad as you, and she now *loves* the
things. I'm sure she could help you.

- Arthur

On Sun, 19 Oct 2003 16:18:37 +0100, "oldmolly"
wrote:


"Zipadee Doodar" wrote in message
...
I know they do no harm, and are almost mans' best friend but I hate them.
And in this house where we have lived for 2 years, they are enormous and
scare the compost out of me. Is there anything available to persuade them
to
go away, or at least not to appear in the bathroom etc? I was thinking
something on the lines of those sonic cat scarers etc.

BTW I can handle them ok in the garden, just not in the house.

I have arachnophobia to the point that even reading a couple of posts on
this subject will have me sweating and vomiting. shudder My cats will all
chase, catch and eat spiders except the big harvest ones which bite. My son
was recently bitten by one and it made him ill. He did though, offer to come
and paint my cottage if he developed wall climbing abilities :-)


http://www2.sjsu.edu/depts/english/2002.htm

"It had started off as a prank, but when Major Elyse Livesay
discovered (during her solo space walk, no less!) the tarantula that
the boys in the crew had slipped into her spacesuit, she knew that
while in space no one could hear you scream, it was damn sure not for
lack of trying."
--
Martin

Xref: kermit uk.rec.gardening:171614

On Sat, 18 Oct 2003 19:36:17 -0400, Scott L. Hadley
wrote:

So, what is that other alleged method (wincingly)

Scott L. Hadley

On Sat, 18 Oct 2003 00:09:25 +0100, "Earnest Trawler"
I noticed you did not mention the other alleged method spiders have for
getting a drink at night, perhaps best not to. :-)

Earnest Trawler
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Last year I had a lot of trouble with a burglar alarm unacountably
switching itself on. The engineer came to fix it. and after
examination assured me that the trouble was - in a word - *spiders*
He recommended spraying the sensors with "Raid" which is
an anti wasp and ant preparation. It worked and the spiders
have not returned.

A word of warning though. Don't inhale it, or your little
bits and pieces will drop off!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Arthur" wrote in message
...
"oldmolly" wrote in message
...


I have arachnophobia to the point that even reading a couple of posts
on
this subject will have me sweating and vomiting. shudder My cats will
all
chase, catch and eat spiders except the big harvest ones which bite. My
son
was recently bitten by one and it made him ill. He did though, offer to
come
and paint my cottage if he developed wall climbing abilities :-)


Why don't you contact Spider (post above) directly? I can vouch for the
fact that she used to be at least as bad as you, and she now *loves* the
things. I'm sure she could help you.

I have not reached a stage whereby my phobia causes a problem for me. If I
had to deal with them daily, I would have treatment. Now I simply shut a cat
in the room and go away for half an hour.

On Sat, 18 Oct 2003 00:09:25 +0100, "Earnest Trawler"
I noticed you did not mention the other alleged method spiders have for
getting a drink at night, perhaps best not to. :-)

"Scott L. Hadley" wrote in message
...
So, what is that other alleged method (wincingly)

Supposedly they crawl across your face while you are asleep and drink saliva
from the corner of your mouth - you did ask!

Earnest Trawler

I have not reached a stage whereby my phobia causes a problem for me. If I
had to deal with them daily, I would have treatment. Now I simply shut a cat
in the room and go away for half an hour.

This is the crux of it I think (of all the postings I've read over the
last year and this one causes me to first post as a newbie!), that is
- whether it causes a problem for you.

I'm also quite happy with all the spiders in the garden. The big ones
live in and around the compost bin, and I can deal with that - sort
of. But when they starting coming in the house - usually about this
time of year I hate it.

Apparently they don't like oil of cloves - but how true this is I
don't know. I don't mind the smell myself so have used it in the
en-suite bathroon, but if some people have another phobia of dentists
they may not want to use oil of cloves :-)

So I am trying the desensitisation process gradually myself, but it's
slow progress. I thought I was getting much better (being able to go
into the garage on my own etc. until one night when one of the huge
ones decided to descend from the roof inside the car and walk onto the
dashboard whilst I was driving. I had to slam on and jump out of car
and walk home in tears (only round the corner thankfully). I was in
tears for hours both from the shock and being upset with myself that I
could have easily killed either me or someone else.

I have been dreading this time of year, but so far - nothing.

G.

Yeah, I did indeed ask. (Thanks) (Wincingly) But even with my
acknowledged arachniphobia, at least for the large ones in dark
places, and years camping in the dampest Maine woods, this
possibility seems small to me. I hope I'm right!

I always let alone the ones in the gardens, no matter the size. They
do in a lot of earwigs, flies, and worse.

It is the ones which seem to live under the cabin, under our
farmhouse, in drains, and surprisingly on the boulders around our
northern lakes, that bother me. Or at least I think they do (!)

And I have seen some fearsome creatures in our mercifully distant
southwestern states. But thankfully that does not involve Maine!

Scott Hadley


On Mon, 20 Oct 2003 07:17:27 +0100, "Earnest Trawler"
wrote:



Supposedly they crawl across your face while you are asleep and drink saliva
from the corner of your mouth - you did ask!

Earnest Trawler








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The message
from Scott L. Hadley contains these words:

I always let alone the ones in the gardens, no matter the size. They
do in a lot of earwigs, flies, and worse.

Tell them to leave the earwigs alone. Interesting little creatures, and
remarkably domestic.

--
Rusty Hinge
horrid·squeak&zetnet·co·uk
http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/tqt.htm

Yes, I think it is a very small possibility. :-)

I do remember waking up one morning a couple of years ago to find a house
spider on the pillow right in front of my face, it's only ever happened
once.

We don't get the fearsome ones here in England, only in the zoo.

Earnest Trawler

"Scott L. Hadley" wrote in message
...
Yeah, I did indeed ask. (Thanks) (Wincingly) But even with my
acknowledged arachniphobia, at least for the large ones in dark
places, and years camping in the dampest Maine woods, this
possibility seems small to me. I hope I'm right!

I always let alone the ones in the gardens, no matter the size. They
do in a lot of earwigs, flies, and worse.

It is the ones which seem to live under the cabin, under our
farmhouse, in drains, and surprisingly on the boulders around our
northern lakes, that bother me. Or at least I think they do (!)

And I have seen some fearsome creatures in our mercifully distant
southwestern states. But thankfully that does not involve Maine!

Scott Hadley


On Mon, 20 Oct 2003 07:17:27 +0100, "Earnest Trawler"
wrote:



Supposedly they crawl across your face while you are asleep and drink
saliva
from the corner of your mouth - you did ask!

Earnest Trawler

"Zipadee Doodar" wrote in message
...
I know they do no harm, and are almost mans' best friend but I hate them.
And in this house where we have lived for 2 years, they are enormous and
scare the compost out of me. Is there anything available to persuade them
to
go away, or at least not to appear in the bathroom etc? I was thinking
something on the lines of those sonic cat scarers etc.

BTW I can handle them ok in the garden, just not in the house.

Going off topic from the off topic......

The last couple of months have been 'spider time' where all this year's crop
grow up and build webs everywhere.

We had one in the back bedroom (where I am now) and it never seemed to move
during the day - just sat in the web.

However it kept growing.

So - what do the little darlings feed on? This one just seemed to be drawing
in sustenance from the air.

No 'larder' of small insects in evidence at all.

I can see the ones outside (which look to be the same species) catching
insects in their webs but the ones inside just seem to grow!

Not a huge hairy one - just the common ones found on all the plants.
Brownish with yellow markings.

One of life's little mysteries.

Dave R

Tell them to leave the earwigs alone. Interesting little creatures, and
remarkably domestic.


I perhaps have much to learn about both spiders and earwigs, both of
which are bothersome to me in both different and similar ways. I could
learn to enjoy or at least appreciate earwigs, as I think I finally
know they are harmless to me, except for the sheer numbers of them in
Dahlia blooms, for example, and in their day time hiding places. Once
disturbed, they boil out like a truly biblical infestation. In such
numbers there is an offensive smell, too.

But I remain willing to listen to any reasonable arguments in their
favor, as I have with spiders.

Where I live, Maine, US, after an especially deep penetration of frost
into the ground, several feet, sometimes, the following summer yields
fewer earwigs, since they brood in the soil. After a milder winter, or
with persistent deep snows, which can prevent the ground from
freezing, the following summer yields heavy broods.


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The message
from Scott L. Hadley contains these words:

But I remain willing to listen to any reasonable arguments in their
favor, as I have with spiders.

IIRC earwigs give birth viviporously, and certainly the young are tended
by the mother.

Multifortnights ago on the Isle of Lewis I found a large male earwig
with pincers as long as its abdomen. Since I was going to London not too
long afterwards I kept it and took it to the British Museum of Natural
History.

Finding my way to the entrails of the Dept of Entomology, I delighted
the Curator with the specimen: not so much the earwig itself, but by its
arrival alive. Most of their specimens arrive, she said, assassinated,
and often mounted.

To tell you the truth, I'd never thought of mounting my earwig as the
stirrups may have grounded from time to time. Besides, we'd developed
something of a relationship.

He was kept in vivo for breeding experiments, which I'm sure would have
pleased him no end. You could almost see the smile on his face....

It seems that it is not uncommon on islands to find these overendowed
earwigs, though all of their records so far were from much smaller
islands, such as Brownsea Island, a mere blop in (I think) Poole
Harbour. (Not Pearl Harbor.)

--
Rusty Hinge
horrid·squeak&zetnet·co·uk
http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/tqt.htm