Poison works. Use a surface spray. Lasts for months.

I remember Kim and Aggie (tv) said that spiders hate citronella?, havent tried it but worth a go,

Cedar panelling

Martin

Got a big spider called Marice I am trying to train to search the Black Hole

JES

I would far rather have spiders than flies or even (especially) Kim and Aggie- I always think they are doing a good job and do my best to help them whenever possible EVEN WHEN the pesky things build their webs across the garden path. Call me soft if you want but I gently encourage them to safety before breakig my way through. That leads to a question which someone may be able to answer – If the web is broken with a spider in it can the spider escape OK or does he / she get caught in their own sticky web?

Bob

I can live with spiders, and not many seem to creep into my workshop, which is effectively an insulated shed built inside the garage.

But what's happened to all the daddy long legs (crane flies) in recent years? They were once a nuisance, though the previous cat used to enjoy them as a change from tinned food.

Andy

Hate the things,When i go into my garage /workshop i have a 4 foot lengh of round wood with a old 2" paint brush on the end,I also have a spray can of Brake cleaner.I open the door switch the lights on and befor i do anything i look at roof walls equip then if i see a spider spray with brake cleaner they dont like it and they tend to stay put,I can then smash there heads in with my spider stick/painbrush.

I am genuinely arachnophobic – I am quite happy picking up beetles, crabs, worms, leeches, snakes etc. although I'm not keen on centipedes.. I don't like killing spiders, but I have to catch and eject any I find.

I was once less kindly to them. I used to share a house with a chap who is now a recognised seed expert and succesful novelist. We found a HUGE spider that was so big we attacked it with various nasty sprays we found under the sink. This experience was so stressful we had to go to the pub for a pint or six. When we returned, rather than fading away Shelob (for it was she, spawn of Ungoliant) was more active than ever. Fortunately our dutch courage allowed us to capture the beast and release it on the far side of a canal.

Strangely I am less affected since being bitten by a tiny spider several years ago. I was closing som curtains and felt a sharp prick in my palm. I looked for a hidden needle and discovered a tiny spider. I was so impressed that it managed to wreak its vengeance on someone about a million times bigger, I ejected it gently from the window. Since then most small or round spiders seem to be easier for me to cope with – shock therapy? The wolf spiders still scare the crap out of me.

I notice last year the 'daddy longlegs spiders' were unusually abundant, but as observed craneflies (the classic daddy longlegs) seem to have suffered from the damp ground (they spend alot of their lives as grubs in the soil- leatherjackets which are eaten by rooks – which is why many farmers tolerate rookeries.

The year before orb spiders were abundant and lasted very late in the year.

Interstingly we have some nasty spiders in the UK. there is a tiny woodland spider in the south west that is on record of causing temporary limb paralysis. One UK species of wolf spider, which we rarely worry about, is known as the inrtroduced 'hobo spider' in the USA where many people consider it to be a deadly biter. This may be because of allergic reactions rather than outright poison effects.

The 'false black widow' which has a nasty bite appears to be spreading into the southern UK as a consequence of climate change.

As for the workshop, habits that minimise insects, minimise spiders.

I'm thinking of moving to Svalbard…

Neil

I have to say that spiders don't exactly thrill me too much. We don't have any deadly ones here ( Spain ) but there are some small ones with a nasty bite and some large ones which can scare you to death.

The centipedes are horrible. Megarian Banded Centipede – check it out via the search engine of your choice and prepare to shudder…

We have Geckos and other lizards living around the property. We regard them as being friendly pest control experts and try to make their lives as easy as possible. There are snakes too, but under the new EU ( Control Of Dangerous Snake Weapons Act ) they aren't allowed to bite you anymore – just pull funny faces and hiss.

In our Olive grove there are sometimes wild boar rooting around , but they don't sneak into the workshop ( makes a change from the junkies in the UK ). I'll probably shoot one at some point ( a boar not a UK junkie ) because they make good eating. Or maybe I'll train it to use a file and a hacksaw instead ?

We have Iberian Lynx in our area, but haven't seen one yet. They are going to be the subject of my next hunting trip ( done with a camera, not a rifle )

PS – My workshop in the UK was full of wolf spiders at one time. A good friend of mine came to help me clear it out prior to installing some new machines and as soon as we got underway the spiders were crawling out from everywhere. Now bear in mind that I'm a biker with a lot of tattoos and more than a few scars, I'm like an extra from that silly TV show 'Sons Of Anarchy' – my mate helping me is a really tough kickboxer and one of the hardest people I know. But he hates spiders too
Imagine this pair of " bad-asses " scared out of their wits, almost hugging each other and begging my wife to come to down the path and sort the spiders out for us

Edited By Siddley on 09/01/2013 00:24:02

I too am an arachnophobe but I do like to give them a sporting chance when getting rid of them. If they are in the middle of the floor I propose that we have a game of taking turns to jump on each other. They tend to be a bit slow on the uptake so I usually have to demonstrate by having first go. They seem to lose interest after that.

If they are on a wall then the game is that we take it in turn to wallop each other with a weapon of our choice.

If in a position where neither of the first two games is possible then they get treated to an exciting ride up the vacuum cleaner tube.

B

I know an old lady who swallowed a fly, I don't know why she swallowed a fly

Perhaps she'l dye.

She swallowed a spider to catch the fly ………………

She swallowed a bird to catch the spider

So perhaps you need a sparrow colony in the workshop !!