Slow Down! Take a closer look!

Spiders-to help those trying to overcome their fears.

A little information prior to the photos.

Bites.

No UK spiders present any significant threat to people other than to those who may have an adverse reaction to the venom. This is no different to bees, wasps and many other biting insects.

No UK spiders are aggressive. Some are defensive and can bite if they, for example, get trapped in clothing or 'grabbed' in the hand. No spider in the UK will deliberately 'come at you' to bite you.

Many bites (if they occur) go un-noticed, the worst are normally no more painful than a bee or wasp sting.

The most common problem with spider (and other) bites is infection from not cleaning the wound.

Spider bites are very rare and there is no way a doctor or other medical professional can know if a bite is a spider bite, and the vast majority of bites attributed to spiders are from other things (such as horse flies, Blandford flies etc. which have a far worse bite).

The spider that most people think of when talking about bites is the so called 'False Widow'. There is actually no such spider, this is a term coined by the press in their 'sensationalist' stories and present a misleading image of these very shy spiders.

Finally in this section, spiders are one of the most important creatures we are lucky enough to share our planet with. They are one of the most effective pest control agents we have.

Having said all of the above, I grew up with a profound fear of spiders. Photography, study and joining on-line groups have helped me to understand these amazing creatures and to come to terms with my fear. This year, my 65th year on the planet, I finally managed to handle a Giant House Spider, so it can be done. Good luck!

Hints on overcoming your fear.

1. Join a suitable Facebook group. I belong to one called 'British Spider Identification Group'. There are hundreds of people on here who are working to recognise, understand and appreciate spiders as they share experiences that help themselves, and others, start to get over their fears.

2. Start slowly. If you really cannot leave a spider indoors, use the 'Glass and Card' method to carefully relocate it to the garden shed or similar. Maybe even stop to have a closer look while it is safely trapped in the glass.

3. If you have a resident spider that you think you can tolerate, give it a name and talk to it! It really does help! For example, the big Giant House Spider in the second picture below lives in our insect house, She is called 'Vanessa'. She looks mean, but she is a doll! My Grand-childen have named 2 Noble False Widows that live outside our front door and who only appear after dark 'Arachne' and 'Jordon'.

Picking spiders up.

Spiders are sensitive animals (believe it or not) and can be easily hurt. It is better not to pick them (for their sake) but occasional careful handling can be a huge step forward to overcoming your fear (it does take time).

Don't 'grab' them. Lay your hand flat, and coax them to walk onto your hand (I know it is hard the first few times). You will be something warm, soft and pleasant. If you cannot be certain you will not shake them off in a panic, stay close to the ground. A fall can hurt of kill many spiders.

SO! lets see some pictures and get some information on particular spiders.

Here is me holding my first Giant House Spider (more details on this one in next section). I did this in the garden, sat on the lawn with bare arms so she could walk around my hand and lower arm. I have to say that I was surprised at how, non-scary the experience was. I could hardly feel her. As she walked up my arm, I just place my other hand in front and she walked onto it quite calmly and happily. She was really gentle with me.

Just out if interest, the funny 'extra legs' on her head are called 'pedipalps'. With many species, these can help to tell the gender. If they look like they have boxing gloves on the end, they are probably males.

GIANT HOUSE SPIDER (Eratigena Atrica).

Yes, a picture like this looks like it came straight from a nightmare to many, and these are the spiders that are, to many, the definition of spider horror. They can be large and very fast! However, they really are just Gentle Giants. It is their size and speed that makes us jump. When we see them in our home, they are NOT 'coming for us'. The ones you see are generally males who, at the right time of year, go looking for a mate. When they are running quickly, it is to get away from the two legged 'monster' that is shaking their world.

CELLAR SPIDER

These are the ones you often see near the ceiling in the corners of your rooms. Tiny little bodies and long skinny legs. Some people call them 'Daddy Long Legs' for obvious reasons.

These spiders are completely harmless to us. Even if they wanted to bite us, their tiny fangs couldn't even get close to piercing our thick skin.

A real surprise! If you have one of these in your room, you are far less likely to get larger spiders.

Take another look at the picture of the Giant House Spider. Our Cellar Spider can catch, kill and eat it despite their weak appearance. HOW!!!!! It is fascination to watch. They can make a cage around a much larger spider with their legs while they then quickly wrap the prey in sticky silk. They will, of course, like all others spiders also help to keep the number of annoying buzzing pests down.

OK, lets see 'Cute'. YES! CUTE!!!

Jumping Spiders

Most people, even those who are scared of spiders end up admitting these little one can only be described as 'Cute'.

They have fluffy faces and big baby doll eyes. Touch their backsides and they jump forward. They do not use webs to catch their food (even tinier flies etc.) but walk around on the hunt.

The much misunderstood 'FALSE WIDOW' Spider.

Of course, I have to cover the very misunderstood 'False Widows'. Members of the 'Steadota' family of spiders they are not the aggressive, dangerous beasts the press would love us to believe they are. They are shy, live most of their lives hidden away close to their webs and will do everything in their power to avoid us. As mentioned at the start, when they do bite, usually as a result of being grabbed at or squashed between us and clothing or something, for most people it is a very minor inconvenience. It is only rarely that a bite results in anything more and certainly a lot less common than bad reactions to bee or wasp stings.

Ask people you know if they have ever been stung by a bee or wasp or bitten by a spider. Almost everyone will say they have been stung at some time or other and only a tiny number (if any) will say they have been bitten by a spider. Even then, unless the bite was witnessed, most cases would not have been the result of a spider bite.

What does a false widow look like?

This is 'Steadota Nobilis' or 'Noble False Widow'. Nothing special is she? They hide away most of the time. You can find them if you move stuff in your shed or garage, or go out after dark with a torch and look in nooks and crannies in your walls as I do with my Grandchildren to look for Arachne and Jordon.

If disturbed, they will do all they can to hide away from you. It takes a while to get the confidence to handle them (although, apart from helping to overcome your fears, it is better for them to to be left in peace, but if handled as I said earlier, they should be fine).

ORB WEAVER SPIDERS (Or Garden Spiders)

These start appearing in our gardens towards the end of summer. They build those stunning and often huge circular webs that loo amazing when covered in dew or frost. Take a closer look, they will not attack you, although they may run and hide in a corer of their webs. Some of the colours and patterns are stunning! The one in this picture is a 'Cross Orb Weaver'. Identified by the white cross pattern on her back. There are many others in a range of colours and patterns.