Brown Recluse Spider vs. Me: who would win?

<p>Did I ever post this here? Anyway, this is something I wrote up a few nights ago.</p>

<p>
[quote]
So I had a gala experience tonight. It's 1 AM and I ain't going to sleep anytime soon.</p>

<p>It all starts when my eyes spot a spider - a brown one. I immediately recognize it as a brown recluse or a variant. Of course, I know what a brown recluse can do, and it is not pretty. I hate killing anything, even spiders, nor would I want to use bare hands to kill this particular one. I've nothing but paper downstairs, which I don't want to deal with since everyone's asleep, and toilet paper... gotta love how it tears at the slightest tension. So I turn to another idea, which is how I delt with a brown recluse a few years ago - trap it.</p>

<p>In my infinite wisdom, not wanting to use a container which I have a slightest chance of actually drinking from, I find a little baggie and a stick. Easy enough, right? Sorta like scooping ice cream. Well, nope. Living up to its name, the Recluse runs away, frantically, at a rapid pace. I try it a couple of times, and then I realize that it isn't going to work. Again in my infinite wisdom, I poke it, and of course, again, the Recluse scurries out. I did not want it near my desk, so I made it go up. Bad choice.</p>

<p>The next thing I know, the spider is on the ceiling. And I realize that I'm in trouble. There's this something called gravity, and the spider was right above me. Obviously, it would not be excessively pleasant for a spider to land on my face - especially given my pseudo-arachnophobia. So I finally use a container, and I place it directly under the spider, holding it to the top to the ceiling. But the spider's legs are strong. More importantly, however, the spider has some brains. Perhaps amounting to more than what I have. I move the container away from the ceiling, sure that everything would be fine and the spider would be caught in the container. Wrong. It was still up there, and of course, seeing that the threat was over, it started scurrying again.</p>

<p>At this time I was completely concentrated on the spider, and I had totally forgotten my surroundings. Note to self and others: that's not good! Trying to catch the spider again, I bumped on the rod that held the curtains, and it came down with a crash. I was sure the spider was laughing, and my grandparents next door were stirring - I had to stop. But with the spider just above, I dared not put the rod back on. It was in shambles anyway, so I did the natural thing and reassembled it. Meanwhile, I regained my stubbornness, or maybe should I say my excessive fear, and I went back to trying to catch the spider, thinking there was a chance it could somehow wander to my bed.</p>

<p>Same old routine with the container. Place it on the ceiling, hold it, see what the spider does. Same result. Spider's pretty smart. Except, oh no! OH NO!!! It fell. In utter shock, I scramed back, and for a couple of minutes was dumbfolded enough to stare at the original location of the spider. Where did it go? Was it dead (yeah, right)? For 15 minutes I jumped back and forth, wanting to get the spider - I was definitely going to kill it this time - but then realizing that I could just as easily accidently find it, either stepped on or on my hand. I did not want to get bitten, so like a snake-handler dealing with the deadliest snake in the world, I used the fallen rod to chew through whatever stuff that was near where the spider could've fallen. While doing that, it seemed that every time, I felt there was a spider on me. Perhaps I screamed like a girl a couple of times, I don't know. I kept feeling that stuff was tingling inside my shirt.</p>

<p>Eventually, I did find it. Of course, subsequently I lost it again. But knowing the vicinity of the spider at least, the HAZMAT team of myself deemed it safe to go on my computer again. I was going to end this long, drawn-out story with a "so it's still scurrying around, in the darkness", which of course is not entirely false, but I just spotted it on my window while I was typing this! No doubt moving about, going where it wants to go. For me, I'm giving up. Just too tired and have to clean up from my stupidity. Still got some work that I vowed to do the hour before I sleep.</p>

<p>Kudos to the spider. Shame on me.</p>

<p>What a night.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>So, my purpose for this thread is... please share your spider experiences with us.</p>

<p>Um...why not shoe + spider = win?</p>

<p>what a great essay....you've got skills!</p>

<p>now you have me all nervous about spiders in my room...</p>

<p>damn...TheVeganActress you made me all nervous about spiders in my room...</p>

<p>wow...good writing.</p>

<p>i always have shoes in my room to kill spiders... they realllllly freak me out</p>

<p>Don't kill the spider. </p>

<p>Just cause it's little and cannot shriek in pain.....</p>

<p>There are tons of hobo spiders in my house, which have a bite quite similar to a brown recluse spider. I always use a shoe to kill them. Unfortunately, they are very fast as well and it's easy to miss them.</p>

<p>Here's a picture:</p>

<p>

<a href="http://www.nps.gov/public_health/inter/graphics/hobo_male.jpg%5B/img%5D"&gt;http://www.nps.gov/public_health/inter/graphics/hobo_male.jpg

</a></p>

<p>A link to a picture of a hobo spider bite (Warning: Somewhat graphic): <a href="http://z.about.com/d/urbanlegends/1/0/4/B/day_10_sm.jpg%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://z.about.com/d/urbanlegends/1/0/4/B/day_10_sm.jpg&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>AHH! Neutrino, I would be so paranoid if I lived in your house. You mean... those things show up... a lot? I think that I would cry. Those are the creepiest looking spiders that I have ever seen... those legs!!! Eurgghghhhhdsfkjsdk.</p>

<p>I used to refuse to get within five feet of a spider if I found one... I made the closest person kill it for me. I'm proud to announce that I can now kill spiders myself! ...err, as long as they're below a certain size. I would make someone else kill one of those hobo spiders if I ever found one... =)</p>

<p>those are in your house????
I would never sleep!!!</p>

<p>Man...stop scaring me death...</p>

<p>last year i found a rather fat spider (don't really care what kind, it wasn't very large) just sitting there on the floor. of course, i absolutely hate spiders so i wanted to kill it. i was going to go outside to help my dad fix something so i had a hammer in hand, and decided to smash it to bits. it was probably dying or something because although it tried to escape it wasn't successful! </p>

<p>i really hate spiders.</p>

<p>one time there was this GIANT spider on the floor, that looked exactly like one of those fake halloween ones. My sister was about to throw it on me because she didn't know it was real, and then it moved!!!! So we started shrieking and my dad caught it in a jar. It wouldn't move and when you shook the jar it would flop around and you could hear its legs squeaking against the sides. ugh i hate that noise!! </p>

<p>I don't know what kind of spider it was, it had velvety looking brown skin on the back and the front was shiny like black patent leather. It had red bulbs under these big fangs that I guess was filled with poison? We put some other spider in the jar to make them fight but it just ran away from the other littler spider. Anyway it died and now its all dried up in the jar. but i lost the jar.</p>

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<p>Strangely enough, I have never seen one in my room. They like to hide under cracks and dart out with speed when you're least expecting it. However, there isn't really anywhere to hide in my room, so it is somewhat safe. There is however a black spider in the corner of my room (in a web), but there is no reason to kill it because it is not harmful. Black widows do live in this area, but this is not one of them, nor have I ever seen one in my house. These are the second most common spiders in my house (second to the hobo spider).</p>

<p>About a week ago, I decided to never kill these spiders when I saw one of them with a hobo spider in its web. If there is competition, there is hope. ;)</p>

<p>erk! those pictures were disgusting! You're making me paranoid...
a week ago, we left the door slightly open when we went to the beach, and when we came back, there were like 40 flies in our house! eew! They smelled the crab i guess...
We have a bunch of spiders in our basement. all harmless though...</p>

<p>
[quote]
About a week ago, I decided to never kill these spiders when I saw one of them with a hobo spider in its web. If there is competition, there is hope.

[/quote]

Now that is smart. Let them destroy each other... oh, you are a scheming one indeed. I like it. I'm glad I don't have giant spiders roaming around my house. I would have to import other spiders to compete with them if I did.</p>

<p>if I had giant spiders roaming the house I wouldn't be bringing in more spiders... I'd be moving out.</p>

<p>we just have tiny little spiders here.</p>

<p>Unfortunately, that black spider is now dead. My dog ate it.</p>

<p>thanks guys. i heard a funny noise and it freaked me out like no other because i thought it was a spider. it was just my laptop but still.</p>