Spiders in the house

[smilingcrow]

Generally if I find a spider in the house I leave it there as they always tend to stay in the same place and only come out during the day. I feal this helps against other pests such as silver fish and woodlice etc. Is there any harm in having too many spiders in your house? I have named a couple of them that have been here since they were 'born'. They are now quite big. But there is no health problems or dangers from these spiders are there?

[islasmum]

I'm happy to share a house with them so long as I don't see them or know they are there - if any get too close my OH will pick them up and pop them into the garden - we would not kill them, unless they are the False Widow spider.

[FredPuli43]

The false widow spider hasn't got a fatal bite. The effect of its bite is akin to that of a wasp sting; this according to the expert from the Natural History Museum, on the BBC.. Some people are unlucky enough to react badly to wasp stings, and the same is true of spider bites here, but that still doesn't make our false widow 'deadly'. It's not like its relative the widow spider, which is not found living in Britain, but which is fully capable of killing a human.

Spiders living in our houses like being in our houses; putting them outside is definitely not to their liking. If they survive, they'll just come back in again. None of them are a danger to health and none are dangerous.Too many? Depends what you mean by that. The population is self controlling; if there's enough food to sustain a population, that's the greatest population you'll get. You probably have the maximum that circumstances allow: 'house spiders' do tend to attack other spiders in their territory , making some difference.

[smilingcrow]

Do they kill silver fish? What about centipedes and wood lice?

[mandy22]

spiders are welcome to roam anywhere in our house, except the bedroom, I cannot sleep if I know there is a spider crawling around the bedroom ceiling, knowing that he may not stay on the ceiling all nite !

[maggiebee]

My grandchildren think that the spider who lives at the top of my stairs is called Sammy and they always ask where he is when they visit. Sure it's a different spider every time, but they're happy with my answers such as he's on his holidays, he's gone for a walk, he's hiding from you etc. They love it when they spot him.

[lilacben]

Sorry but I am terrified of them and will not let them get away for another day. If I see one I shout to my husband and make sure he gets it...............he puts a glass over them and puts them out......not far enough to my likings.! If it was up to me I would make sure everyone was killed. Once , when my girls where young, my husband worked shifts and there was a very large spider on my carpet.! I stood outside in the street until a neighbour came by and got them to go in and get rid of it.!

[andy-hughes]

maggiebee - that reminds me of how my youngest daughter - at six - believed me that the spider she saw was was called Boris (I'm a rock fan, what can I say!) - and she gleefully advised the telephone engineer when he came to fix the phone! He just gave me an odd look!