catch it, and kill it, maybe you will begin to feel more powerful than the spider. OR capture it, and keep it as a pet. remember the big ones are the females. if all else fails, put seven dust in the soil around your plants, and give them time to die. Dont forget your Gloves!
:D Good luck!

Thanks so much for the advice. What is seven dust?

iedesign, I'd like to discourage your use of Sevin (correct spelling) dust. It's a highly toxic, broad spectrum pesticide never recommended for the control of spiders.

I sympathize strongly with your problem, as I can 'confess' to being an arachnophobe myself. Not much fun for a professional horticulturist! The 'treatment' for this fear is much the same as for any phobia: education and exposure.

The more I learned about spiders, the more in control I felt. Soon, I was able to identify nearly any spider I might come across, know its predictable behavior and habits, the pros and cons of leaving it alone, etc.

It's amazing how much power you can get from information. Not only about spider identification and behavior, but about how to prevent bites in the first place.

Regarding Black Widows. We have large numbers of them around the outside of our home and in the garage. I always look carefully for their tell-tale webs, which they seem to hang out like a warning flag. Gloves are a must when cleaning the garage....if we did it more often we could eliminate the spiders altogether!

I don't keep my pots stacked up near the house any more, and when I get ready to pull out my seedling flats and cell packs for early spring sowing, I'm prepared to kill a few widows.

By the way, I fear chemicals more that I do spiders these days! You can face your fear and conquer it. Trust me, if I can, so can you.

Thanks so much rhizo! You've made me feel much better about my issue. I will definitely take all of your advice. It's time to get back to gardening.