Spiders

[dilligaf]

Having just moved from the suburbs of north London to (almost) countryside of Norfolk we have been greeted with many forms of wildlife we previously only saw in books.

Unfortunately there are many LARGE flies around and wasps and ants which I will happily exterminate without a second thought.

The problem is that I would not harm a bee or spider (soft spot). Over the past few days I have noticed a spider spinning a web on the garden shed and "she" is producing what I believe are sacs of eggs containing baby spiders.
To save the problem of being invaded by spiders when they hatch I should destroy them which would be quite simple but the thought of it makes me feel quite guilty when I see the female taking so much time and trouble to produce these eggs.

Should I leave them alone or destroy them?

As I mentioned earlier I have no hesitation killing wasps or flies or even rats.

I would welcome your opinions.

[Shadow Man]

If its in the shed leave them in peace. I admit to killing house spiders as they are like mice in my home, but have millions in my out buildings.

[cruella]

Hi dilligaf
I am absolutely terrified of spiders.
I have had the biggest ones I have ever seen in my house the past few weeks and had to havemy Husband to remove them. They were enormous.
Having said that, my Husband refuses to kill anything, including spiders. He puts them outside to my dismay.
I know what you mean though. You describe the film "Charlottes Web" by your feelings. lol
Wish I had the courage to ignore them but unfortunately I can't. You are so brave.

[Shadow Man]

Cruella you have to tell your husband to take them further than 30 yards away otherwise they will come back.

[cruella]

My thought too Shadowman. I am convinced the same one keeps reappearing lol

[dilligaf]

Thanks for your prompt replies. The web is on the shed not the outside. An invasion of home seems inevitable.

Cruella. Thanks for the confidence. I am not brave. I would not handle a rat, kill one quite happily but not handle one.

I have never had a fear of spiders but a very sympathetic approach to them, hence my question.

We have two sons, the younger is terrified of them but I don't know why.

My wife is not too happy with them but having seen me pick them up and put them out she is coming around.

She could never stand hedgehogs but last week I found a baby (obviously lost) by our front door and brought it into the house.
She would not go near it until unrolled then when she saw its large eyes and realised how frightened it was she approached it quite happily before it was put into the back garden and went running off and met one of its family and they both disappeared.
They are more frightened of us than we are of them no matter how bad you feel.
But I am still at a quandry about my unborm spiders?

[lankeela]

Please leave them alone - you will very probably never see them anyway, as they tend to stay away from people and in any case they will eat a lot of the flies that are bothering you!

As long as you haven't moved to anywhere near Redgrave and Lopham Fen, which is one of the few remaining habitats that support the Raft Spider, which needs a damp environment to survive.

[bimbo123456]

dilligaf, like you I am loathe to kill spiders. If it is outside in the shed where's the harm? As long as it's not a black widow I would leave well alone. You will find that the birds will eat spiders so more will come to your garden. Lucky you living in the country.

[gemmabarnes]

Hi dilligaf!

You're a much nicer person than me to even think about leaving them there. They'll just keep reproducing and no doubt they'll invade your house sooner or later. Just kill 'em.

Oh, I'm so nice.

[stokemaveric]

i would rather have a spider in my house than flies any day of the week............................

[prideysgal]

hi diligaf,like cruella i too am shamelessley afraid of spiders, but i think as long as your shed is not right next to your house id leave them alone, its only when they invade your house its a diffrent story! what are those HUGE spiders called that seem to run at you at with an avarage speed of 1000 mph?? are they house or wolf spiders? or are they the same thing? do they bite?

[horsestache1]

Just leave them be, most will go away to make new webs!!! to reproduce their own young. They are most likly garden (outdoor) spiders and will not invade your house. I have loads outside but not in.

Good luck in your new home

[briar-rose]

Leave them you narna! All those beautiful spiders'll help to kill all those vile flies!

[Rabelais]

If you see spiders in your house the larger they are the happier you should be. The house spider and giant house spider eat other less pleasant species and you should be encouraged when you see them. It's at this time of the year that the males wander in search of a mate hence the increased chance of seeing them. As for killing outdoor varieties for fear of invasion that's a bit silly and pointless. Garden spiders prefer, unsuprisingly, the garden environment and will prefer to stay outside.

[bigmamma]

Hello dilligaf, I am scared of spiders and , if they are in my house , it's me against them , or them against my dog.
However , outside in the garden there are lots of big spiders spreading their webs across pathways, doors , washing line , and walls , but as they are outside I just leave them to live their life out there in peace. :-)

[Kleiber]

Hi, dilligaf - leave them be. Even if they do come in to the house, which is unlikely if they're garden spiders, they won't do any harm. I've also got loads, with egg sacs, on the outside of my window frames and I won't clean the windows till the babies have hatched & moved on! Daft or what? I really like spiders.
Good luck in your new home. Kxx

[someonesgirl]

You know what you must do. Do it. Do it now before its too late. The guilt wont last forever. They have more legs than us.

SPIDERS ARE THE SPAWN OF SATAN.

[dilligaf]

Thanks for all of your replies. I will leave them alone which, deep down, I wanted to in the first place. We have a family of blackbirds nesting in the garden and this morning they seem to be taking interest under the eaves of the shed where the spiders are. Nature taking it's own course to solve my problem?