I'M NOT BEING FUNNY BUT...

WhatThe

🤣

Taking to TikTok, social media content creator Bill Flateau spoke about the 'National Spider Warning' in the UK.

He said: "Now the UK has just released a national spider warning. [...] The UK have just said to keep all your windows and doors shut as often as possible from mid-August, going into October.

Bluebell21

It is when the spider mating season is usually September and October they like dry warm spaces for this.

WhatThe

They know they're not welcome in here (or they should know by now). I've lemoned the floors and left spices in corners. But I definitely won't be keeping my windows shut for two months heck no!

Rosie_Scope

We've already had some rather large specimens make their way into our house over the past couple of weeks. Luckily I'm not too scared of them but my housemates aren't a fan so I single handedly run the Spider Rescue service in this house!

Do you find the lemon and spice helps @WhatThe? Which spices do you use? Maybe I can suggest that to my housemate to prevent some of the screaming 😁

rubin16

I love spiders so much, I don't see why people are so afraid of them. They are so misunderstood and are pretty much more scared of you, and the last thing they want to do is bite or hurt you.

They really don't bother me to be honest, I just pick them up and move them if they are in the way, but would never kill them.

I was debating getting a spider as a pet once. I would love one of those cute jumping spiders or a colourful tarantula.

Pweese don't squishhh me! 🕷️

Rosie_Scope

Those jumping spiders are so adorable @rubin16. I got into a binge session on YouTube once watching people who keep them as pets, they seem like really sweet creatures.

I think for some, the fear of spiders is instinctual like the fear of snakes, but I don't like how some people's first thought is to kill them.

If you've got a proper phobia I can understand why you might want to do that, but if you're just a bit scared there are devices and ways to pick them up that mean you don't have to touch them and can just pop them outside. Although I don't know what it's like to be scared of them so I'm sure it's not quite that simple for some people.

I hope everyone can at least consider taking the time to rehome them somewhere else instead of going in for the squish! Or putting them off before they get the idea to set up camp in your home sounds like a good idea. Shutting your windows for two months might be a bit drastic, though!

WhatThe

😱

Ha ha HUGE little beastie!

I can now gently remove them in a tissue but rubin, they DO bite and I have the scar to prove it! I was tucked up in bed, fast asleep, minding my own business.. Until then, I'd forgotten they actually bite. They move too quickly and have too many legs for my liking and that one has too many eyes 😄

WhatThe

Rosie, throw anything from the spice rack in corners, around window sills etc any essential oils and sprays will smell lovely to you and keep your flatmates calm. Spider Rescue Service agents could wear ear plugs if it gets a bit noisy indoors this Autumn 😉

Rosie_Scope

We'll have to give that a go @WhatThe! I'll have to do some experimenting to see what smells the spiders don't like. Would be awful if I popped something down and we had a bunch of eight-legged friends move in because they loved the smell of cinnamon 😂

Will definitely have to get myself some ear plugs!

rubin16

I love them walking about with their many legs, they make me laugh when they scuttle across the floor. They have kinda a dorky run/move when they walk and I find it hilarious. And yeah they can bite, however wouldn't normally unless provoked or in defence i.e if you were about to squish them when your asleep.

spiders even though have so many eyes have terrible eyesight and abit docile most of the time.

Sorry i'm weird with any type of animals, I'm a massive creature lover and don't have any sense of fear with them. People who know me well call me dr dolittle as animals tend to come up to me all the time and never ever hurt me either. for example, when I was at school on the school farm we had a angry ram, but would only ever let me go near it. It would let me do anything to it and I gave it pets all the time, but wouldn't let anyone else. I have also have instances where I can pick up a whole nest of wasps once and I got them outside with the queen without any of them stinging me. And everytime I go outside and my neighbours cat is there it runs upto me for pets or when my other neighbour takes his dog for a walk and sees me, it runs upto me.

WhatThe

They hate cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, horse chestnuts, all sorts, you can't go wrong!

OverlyAnxious

I've got some spider deterrent spray with peppermint, so presumably they're not a fan of that either.

WhatThe

Correct, peppermint, eucalyptus, lavender, tea tree oil - anything strong-smelling can be diluted and sprayed around windows and gaps on floors.

Luchia

I’ve found Cedar Blocks to work better than any spray etc(you can get them on Amazon) they come with a bit of sand paper to refresh them when they start to loose scent.

Not seen a single spider in our bungalow since using the Cedar Blocks.

I’m absolutely petrified of spiders so my previous method was to run for the cordless Dyson

Jimm_Scope

My partner says the house spiders here seem so much larger than the ones in the USA for some reason.

Our cat loves to hunt them, once she's seen one she will stalk it. If it's up the wall she will sit at the bottom of the wall and meow up at it. I don't think the meowing has ever worked and made the spider come down. 😂

WhatThe

Haha, my cat used to coo to the birds outside but they were never tempted in either. Cats do the funniest things!