No ... the black widow is a "kill on sight" for me, but there is nothing that actually repels or kills spiders that won't take out the rest of the insects.

I'm sorry you feel that way about spiders. Black widows usually like dry undisturbed areas. Like wood piles or stacks of pots. I've killed over 60 of them in the last 10 years and I quite counting. They are very shy spiders. You would almost have to stick you finger in their mouth to be bit.

As a reformed arachnophobe, I sympathize with anyone suffering from any kind of phobia. You are one step ahead of the game by knowing that your fear is irrational....a fear that is not supported by reality.

Any good therapist will say that as horrible as phobias are, they are also one of the easiest of all disorders to overcome....with the right kind of help. I can attest to that, personally.

While still going to college, I decided to take advantage of my university's big student counseling department to see if someone could help me with my absolutely debilitating acrophobia. I was a disaster.

It took two meetings a week for a single month....one month....plus some 'homework' on my part and I was running up and down stairs just like every other normal person! I quickly adapted the tools that I learned from those sessions in order to overcome my irrational fear of spiders.

You can do it, too; it's an awesome relief to be rid of the fear of spiders, a very common part of our everyday life.

I live in an area where black and brown widows are extremely common, like zzacky. No big deal to me, at all. And as an active horticulturist and home gardener, I have been bitten by many spiders, even a brown recluse, with very little effect.

I wish you luck, goseutah. As was said, you can't annihilate all of the spiders so you might as well overcome your fear. Heck, I've got a resident jumping spider living in my car! He seems to like hanging out with me when I'm driving, lol.

Rhizo, I'm not sure whether to be proud of you or concerned (probably both). I think I'd die of shock if a brown recluse ever bit me, before their venom even took hold. Probably because I grew up watching those horrifying videos about limb/tissue death from spider bites...eeek

My point was that, for the most part....the enormous part.....spiders and their bites are harmless. You need to stop watching the scary videos and concentrate on learning more about the behaviors of the spiders common to your area. Information will set you free, sweetie!

I suggest that you purchase a good field guide book. Videos are remarkable but they always make the critter look more terrifying than they really are. Right? A field guide is friendly, informative, and the spiders won't jump out at you from the pages. Then you can graduate to the fabulous websites.

So! If you have health insurance, you can get a little systemic desensitization therapy. It would be a nice little Halloween present for yourself.