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POLL: What happens when you find a spider in your house?

8 years ago



This is almost never the best part of someone's day, but people do react differently. What happens when YOU find a spider in your house? How do you react?


VOTE and tell us about it in the comments!

Freak out. Run. Hide.
Squish it.
Carefully put it outside.
Other - tell us below!

Comments (79)

  • 8 years ago

    Uh, turn into a gibbering sobbing mess? We went thru spurt of them in the tub, three times inside and once on the edge-that was fabulous to wing the shower curtain back to get ready for work lemme tell ya. After the one on the ledge and first two in the tub (also a couple on the shower curtain), all those big furry ones that we call corn spiders, I started flipping the shower curtain up over the rod at night before I go to bed. That way, when I get up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night I can see if there's a blob in there. One time there was and I was able to leave the light off and smash it w/my flip flop. There hasn't been any for two years now but there is NO WAY that shower curtain is down at night. Ever.

    I called my husband once (he's a cop) to come home b/c there was a HUGE one on the floor in the basement and he wouldn't come home. I threatened to call 911 and tell them he refused to help me. I called my aunt and she came and killed it. The second time it happened, just a couple nights later in the SAME spot, I didn't even call him, I used half a can of wasp spray on it, still didn't die so I dropped a huge board on it. Boy was my husband ticked. "that spray will ruin the floor blahhhhh" I totally did not care.

  • 8 years ago

    Missi Rogge, I used to be the same! I promise the above works and you don’t have to watch it for ages having to keep spraying it. haha. Or squish it. Yuk! This thing grabs them and you don’t even have to see it!

  • 8 years ago

    omg I don't know if I could do it. People tag me in the video or post it on my wall on FB once a week I bet.


  • 8 years ago

    I am totally petrified of spiders. I was bit by a brown spider that had the yellow fiddle on it and I still have the purple damaged area from that bite. I had an exterminator come in every 3 months and that was the end of my spiders.

  • 8 years ago

    I'm now living in the UK where the house spiders are ginormous. Large cockroaches in my house in South Florida never bothered me, even though I didn't like them, but these monstrous spiders (think Shelob in Lord of the Rings!) totally freak me out.

  • 8 years ago

    Kill it. Kill it. Kill it.

  • 8 years ago

    Save for the Recluse or Widow...they all run free. Even rescue them from the tub. Tricky to do. Just dampen some tissue and run it along the spider....attaches and voila. Catch and release.

  • 8 years ago

    Spiders are not my issue. I have little jumping spiders that jump out occasionally. Huge flying cockroaches make me lose it completely. (I'm in south MIssissippi)

  • 8 years ago

    I despise spiders. I don't care what they eat, I don't want them in my house. I found one in my dang bed a few weeks back. He didn't live long.

  • 8 years ago

    Reasons I squish spiders:

    Some of them bite

    All are creepy

    Some find a home in my smoke/CO detectors. Who wouldn't blame them. Detectors are hardwired, warm, always a light on which attracts gnats. Downside is the spider always manages to touch the sensor say at 2:00 am, setting the alarms off that screech throughout the whole house. I've had many a fun night. Now I have a mosquito netting cover over each detector and so far so good. :-)

  • 8 years ago

    I don't like any kind of bug in my house! They all get vacuumed up or if they're bigger I sweep them outside. If hubby is home he will catch them and put them out.

  • 8 years ago

    I was, thankfully, a tomboy growing up and I think because of that, bugs don't scare me. We live in a mountain community in Northern New Mexico and even get occasional tarantulas inside the house. They're actually gentle giants. I like them and so I just slowly scoop them up in my hands and carry them outside to a safe place. Wolf spiders, on the other hand, jump at you and can get quite big. I take off a shoe and smack them. In all our years here, I've never (thankfully) had a Black Widow in here. Those I'd have to kill. The rest, I capture in a jar or whatever and carry out them outside when I can. Now, centipedes get in the house much too frequently here. Some up to 6-inches in length, but most are 3-4". Those I very much dislike and kill them immediately (also with my shoe), as they're too quick and nasty to try and capture alive.

  • 8 years ago

    I quite like spiders- they just get moved out of the house. Jumping spiders are especially fun, smart little bug stalking mini-panthers. What I really hate is ants. If they would stay out of my house, fine but no, never get that message. Sadly, the spiders don't seem to like them either so it's squish, windex spray (works great!) or ant baits. A yearly battle as I won't use anything that kills other insects indiscriminately. If there was a spider species in my area that relished ants, I'd keep 'watch spiders' in every corner, heh.

  • 8 years ago

    Spiders are my bros. I leave the wolf spiders alone to hunt in the house and they always behave. Other spiders I will usually move outside. Good ol spider-bros. :)

  • 8 years ago

    I can handle spiders. Once I had kids who were screaming I had to step in. NOW there is a new insect. I mean an infestation not just one or two. They have no fear of people, dive bomb you from great heights, and they may think the same of me; but they are really really ugly. What are these little beasts that have taken over my home? STINK BUGS!!!! I scream so loudly one would think I was being attacked by an alligator. I really cannot seem to control my reaction. I do landscaping (I mean down and dirty) around my house and have come into contact with insects all of the time including centipedes and spiders without a problem. This is literally out of control. We took down the curtains in the bedroom and there were dozens and dozens hidden in the folds. One even flew out at the dry cleaner. It seems that because we are doing an addition and they come into the walls in the Fall, when they took off the brick cladding, the poor dears had their life disrupted and headed for the upper floor which we have made into our temporary bedroom. I think if I do blow up the house they will be the only ones to survive.

  • 8 years ago
    Spiders don't bother me much... though one time I took a shoe to smash a "strange looking spider" and it turned out to be a momma spider. That kind of horrified me as what seemed like millions of eensey baby spiders scattered and I was now frantically trying to smash as many as possible with my shoe. It's rodents that freak me out. They're all rats in my mind. Sometimes I look at squirrels and get the shivers because they're nothing more than rats with fluffy tails. Blech!!! My daughter's boyfriend had a disturbing spider incident when he was camping... he felt something on his face. It was dark. He smacked his face. It was a pregnant spider. Those babies scattered into his eyes, nose, ears, and mouth. Apparently he ran like a madman out of the tent and plunged himself into the lake dousing his head over and over. His dad thought he'd gone insane until he was able to communicate the horror of what had happened to him. LOL! He still looks pale when he tells the story. LOL!
  • 8 years ago

    Wolf spiders are great at eliminating other spider and insects. Have one or two around and you'll rarely find anything else in the house.

    We spray for bug inside and out twice a year. Occasionally we get a small spider that either gets squished or shooed outside. We get mostly hobo spiders and recluses and I don't play around with those. I never kill bugs outside, but if they're in my house, it's fair game.

  • 8 years ago

    Country living brings about a wide range of wildlife to deal with. Spiders are the least of my worries! Other than having to clean the cob webs they leave behind I appreciate them taking care of the flying insects that get in when people leave the door open too long! Spiders would rather live outside where the feeding is better but they will migrate inside as the weather cools....along with the rest of those pesky bugs (flys, Asian beetles and others). By January the spiders have usually overpopulated and the other bugs are gone so we take a vacation (to someplace warm) and bug bomb the house to bring them back under control. I don't want to eliminate them completely because some of those other bugs hibrinate in the attic and wake up when weather gets warmer again.

  • 8 years ago
    I call Woody Allen over and have him kill it with a tennis racket (at least for spiders the size of a Buick ;-)

    (Seriously I’m in the “gently take them outside” camp.)
  • 8 years ago

    skmom, I laughed (and I needed it) when I envisioned all of these tiny spiders running around. It reminds me of the time I read "It" then saw the original movie. I felt a little creeped out.

  • 8 years ago

    This is fun. Better than worrying what credenza/sink base, sconces, mirrors and tile I have been over thinking since breaking my foot :/

  • 8 years ago

    If they have flies in their web, they stay. Earning their keep. Jumping spiders are straight up adorable--they stay. Daddy long legs (which are different in Canada than America btw) stay until I'm getting planned company then they get vacuumed. If they have fur, they get eliminated with extreme prejudice--looking at you wolf spiders. Sorry, I know they are killing machines. I've heard they hunt in pairs and mate for life. I do not give one single care. They are horrifying. I swear I have heard them hiss.

    Interestingly I have held tarantulas and quite enjoyed the experience, although they are not native to anywhere I've ever lived.

  • 8 years ago
    last modified: 8 years ago

    Well, this has been educational. Realized I didn't know what I stinkbug was, but recognized them when I googled. Here are some jumping spiders.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4u6M12cneyM

  • 8 years ago
    If they don’t get in my face, I ignore them and let them get on with eating all the other bugs my very porous house is prone to host. But when the super-jumbo one (still arguing over whether it was a REALLY big wolf spider or a tarantula) crawled out of the tunnel the D rings in my binder made while I was studying in bed it became a flying spider as the entire setup was thrown across the room. (It was a hospital manual from nursing school, and I had to explain to my instructor the next day why the spine was cracked...she was very understanding)
  • 8 years ago
    Unfortunately, I am a freak out Squisher! However for those of you Take them outside types,there is an actual Spider Vacuum you can use to take them out gently. It is a small handheld that safely picks up Spiders for outside disposal! Seriously, there's no way I could use that.
  • 8 years ago

    As a city girl, born and raised, I was a squeal-and-run-way type all my life. Now I live where I've seen a mountain lion casually walking down the street, a baby rattlesnake on my neighbor's doorstep, a poisonous bark scorpion in my garage, and several coyotes and bobcats strolling across my patio. Having come face to face with things that can actually kill me, the occasional house spider is no longer a big deal. I squish 'em, with regret, because I don't want them breeding or encouraging larger species who prey on them to enter the house. Oh, I forgot to mention, I saw a tarantula on my driveway (not poisonous) and a black widow in my mailbox (very poisonous indeed). In spite of all that, I LOVE being in nature and have no desire to go back to skyscrapers. Cohabiting with truly wild life is an amazing experience. Caution and a bit of mutual respect makes it possible.

  • 8 years ago
    Oh, another scary spider story... way back when my kids were still little I was "researching" stuff on my computer (uh, zoning out) and my five young kids were playing in the house. I heard my middle child yell "hey mom! Come look at this cool spider!!" Did I get up? Nooooo... I was all "uh huh," and didn't get up. Not my finest mom moment. He didn't pester me so I forgot about it. Maybe five minutes later he brought me a glass jar covered in paper with tiny air holes poked in the paper and a rubber band securing it. He shoves it into my view like any impatient five year old would do in order to show me this cool spider that I didn't get up to see. Then I about had a cow... it was a black widow! Ugh. Total mom fail! Then we had an extensive emergency homeschool lesson about identifying poisonous spiders.
    And I didn't ignore his "hey mom, check this out," comments ever again. LOL!
  • 8 years ago

    Speaking of black widows, a gal I work with bought a home a couple of years ago, an older home, with a shed. A few weeks after she was all moved in, she opened the drawer of a cabinet and found a black widow inside. She killed it, and then started finding more all over the house, in the next week. She was freaking out - ended up calling an exterminator that found a huge nest of them out in the shed. Apparently she had stored a few items out there while moving in, and they came into the house when she moved everything in. She about had a nervous breakdown until they were finally gone.

  • 8 years ago

    Well, I live in a relatively small town in South Georgia. I grew up with brothers that got kick a out of terrifying me with the granddaddy long legs. As an adult my fear of spiders hasn't lessen. One day I was visiting my mom and while sitting on an ottoman I was watching as my older brother hang pictures for her. He had just smashed a huge spider which I was still trying to recoup from( I swear I can feel their presence before I see them). Anyway, while sitting and watching him work practically over my head, I felt something "fall" on the top of my head and immediately jumped up. All I can remember is feeling the room swirl as it started to get dark and hearing my mom calling my name from which seem to be far off. After what seemed like an eternity I finally was able to come back to my senses, while my brother had a good laugh ( he dropped one of the picture hanging nails on my head, smh). Anyway, I don't do spiders at all.

  • 8 years ago
    Spiders eat the other bugs, so I leave them alone. If they are big I take them outside. I’ve never had really big ones though. Biggest was probably 1 1/2” across.
  • 8 years ago

    I spray it or suck it up with the vacuum.

  • 8 years ago

    smaller/unseen ones I ignore. Some I have my husband relocate outside. Occasionally I order "a hit" on one though (wolf spider). I always feel bad about it and will utter a "I'm sorry spider" as the hubs is doing the deed.

  • 8 years ago

    Freak out. Call husband to take care of the beast.

  • 8 years ago

    Smash 'em with relish! HEEHEEHEEE. Now I don't mind critters, I've lived in the country most of my life. But they are NOT supposed to be in the house! If it's a huge spider parked too far away to smash, and I'm afraid it will creep over to me and jump on me, I will get out the super hold hairspray and freeze him.

  • 8 years ago

    they don't eat much.......

    I've been known to take snakes, birds, crickets, frogs, lizzies, spiders, ladybugs, moths, flies and anything else I see in the house and relocate them outside. Otherwise, one of my 5 rescue doggies is bound to kill and eat it.

  • 8 years ago

    Usually spray them... have spraycans strategically placed in the house... ;-) but I'm not freaking out anymore as I used to... living in Australia helps... lol.

  • PRO
    8 years ago

    I tell my pet mosquitoes to stay away from them.

  • 8 years ago

    Always kill them. Swiftly.

  • 8 years ago

    Depends on its size. Large ones or particularly scary ones are carefully transported outside. The rest stays inside, they are incredibly useful, eat tons of ants if nothing else. I go out of mine way to keep them safe when vacuuming and only take down their nets when very visible.

  • 8 years ago

    Regardless of size, I say, "thank you for taking care of the bugs in my house." The only ones I escort out are the black widows. I think it's a sign of a healthy house to have spiders living in it.

  • 8 years ago
    last modified: 8 years ago

    I usually leave them alone, look at them, talk to them (they do pay attention), and stuff like that. I usually only put them outside if they're in danger or if I think they'd be better off there. We mostly have bold jumping spiders, which are very friendly. They usually stay on the ceiling.

  • 8 years ago
    last modified: 8 years ago

    I grab my jug of big spray and get to murdering! LOL

    I SWEAR a Spider Lord must have a hit out on me or something - I’m always the only person that’s crawled on or bit!!

  • 8 years ago
    If it scares me.. like dropping from the ceiling... or being mischievous... it’s dead. If it’s just crawling around, it goes outside. I know they are good but I live in the country and the 1 I kill a month won’t matter.
  • 7 years ago
    last modified: 7 years ago

    We have lots of black widows around the exterior of house every year, but few get inside. Tarantulas and giant desert centipides are now more infrequent than they used to be here in southern Arizona, but we still get scorpions and their eight-legged relatives. We get an assortment of spiders inside every year, and occasionally one will even set off our smoke alarms. At least we don't have any more of the large flying oriental roaches that we had in Houston.

  • 7 years ago

    They eat any bugs that get in, so we leave them to their business as long as they keep webs out of the way.

  • 7 years ago

    "few get inside"


    Seriously??? If I had ANY black widows around the exterior of my house, you can bet your last dollar they would be all dead the day after I found that out.

  • 7 years ago

    The small ones I deal with and they die. The bigger ones I call my husband and he usually puts them outside. I don't care how good they are, they can't live in my house.

  • 6 years ago
    last modified: 6 years ago

    We tend to have the poisonous type, and though I love spiders, I do kill them if in the house just as a precaution. Had a heavy black widow infestation in the garage some years ago and worked very hard to rid them. Now I've one black widow who's made a home in my paver seating wall, and I leave her alone as she never bothers me. I really don't want to kill her as she kills other pests but visiting friends are hesitant to go near the seating wall, so she may have to go.

    ETA: I painted trompe l'oeil bricks on my office walls, with branches, and some blue tailed skinks as well as a couple spiders. No one sees the spiders them but me : )

  • 5 years ago

    Leave it alone

  • 5 years ago

    I helped a granddaddy long-legs out of the bathroom sink this morning 'cause I nearly washed him/her down the drain. They catch all the other baddies, so I tend to leave them alone unless they are bad themselves. I only kill brown recluse and black widows.