Big black house spiders.

ClubMan said:
Our 2 year old would have had great fun playing with a "ba-ba" (spider) of that size. Unfortunately the spiders always come out of such playtime worse off!
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Relevant comment Clubman - you obviously don't actively discourage insect/spider contact with your 2 year old?

Can't help thinking that most of the above negative attitudes stem completely from the "EeewwOhmyGoddon'ttouchthatit'sdirtybadbadwashyourhandsdiseases"

...type of parenting
 
Spiders are okay because they aren't dirty like other insects and they do control the more minging ones. they can be a bit freaky tho in plague-like numbers.

Have used an electronic pest repellent device that plugs into the socket and emits both electromagnetic pulses and a sound pitched so high that we can't hear it - it's said to be effective against all sorts of vermin and insects so it might work for spiders - I can't tell you if it made a difference or not.

My place has huge amounts of spiders that have little tiny bodies and massive long legs - they look like they're related to daddy-longlegs mayflies. I don't know how many generations have been sucked into the vacuum cleaner but they come back with a vengeance every time!

Someone told me once that spiders were a sign of a clean house with a nice environment, but then someone else pointed out that they were a sign you weren't keeping up with your dusting.

I was bitten by a spider once - not the type described above. I put my hand into a rubber glove that had not been worn for some weeks and this big slivery-black spider bit one of my fingers as I did so. I was quite surprised cos I didn't think spiders here would do that - kept it in a jar for a bit in case global warming had led to spiders here becoming venomous, but there were no ill-effects at all.
 
Hi

www.spidercatcher.com

They are based in Fermoy and post to anywhere in the world.

Totally humane too and even have smaller more 'portable' ones for your suitcase!!

Support local and free the spiders!!
 
You often spot spiders when you catch them unawares out in the open and they run for cover. This gives the impression that they are forever dashing around your house. Actually, after watching where some big ones went (instead of instantly hoovering them up, as I used to) I realised that they spend most of their time in a favourite location, usually some handy crevice like a gap between a book case and a wall. They like to have somewhere to retreat too, and if you creep up on them you'll regularly find them sitting out in the open but within 6-12 inches of their hideaway. I've had some stay in the same spot for several weeks -- the only way you know they're not dead is that they will run for cover if you approach too close. I still hoover them if they unnerve me by hanging above a door frame or something like that, but in general I let them be ... the worst they do is leave the leftovers from their meals (presumably the undigestible bits) on the floor ... which is far preferable to having their meals running around intact.
 
Caveat said:
Relevant comment Clubman - you obviously don't actively discourage insect/spider contact with your 2 year old?
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No - quite the opposite. I used to have a bit of an irrational fear of spiders myself but have gradually overcome it by exposing myself to them. My other half still lives in fear of them though. Myself and the nipper had great fun playing with the earth worms, wood lice and ants in the garden the other weekend.

Paulone said:
Spiders are okay because they aren't dirty like other insects
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Dirty like what insects? I doubt that there are many in Ireland that are that dangerous to health?
When/where did this happen? In Ireland or abroad? I didn't think that any indigenous species could hurt a human with a bite?
 
ClubMan said:
Dirty like what insects? I doubt that there are many in Ireland that are that dangerous to health?
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...well the bad news is, and some of the the above posters are not going to like this one bit, I heard the other day that the biggest increase in business over the past year or so for Rentokil etc is in the extermination of...


waitforit...




Cockroaches!!

Yep - afraid so. Whilst I find insects (even cockroaches) fascinating there is little doubt that these supernaturally resilient critters do pose some health risks...
 
Yeah - I don't think I'd have the nipper playing with them but I can't think of many other insects that would pose much of a problem. Obviously stinging insects would need to be treated with caution but you mentioned "dirty like other insects" and I can't think of many in Ireland that would fit the bill.
 
spiders are not insects
Characteristics
Arachnids may be easily distinguished from insects by the fact that arachnids have eight legs whereas insects have six. The chelicerae serve to macerate food particles. The first post-oral pair of appendages — pedipalps (leg-like mouthparts) — of some species have been adapted for sensory, prey capture or reproductive functions. In Solifugae, the palpi are quite leg-like and make Solifugae appear to have ten legs. The larvae of mites have only six legs; the fourth pair appears when they moult into nymphs. Arachnids are further distinguished by the fact they have no antennae and no wings. They have a two-segmented body, made up of a cephalothorax and an abdomen, the cephalothorax being derived from the fusion of the cephalon (head) and the thorax.
Arachnids are mostly carnivorous, feeding on the pre-digested bodies of insects and other small animals.[citation needed] Many are venomous - they secrete poison from specialized glands to kill prey or enemies.[citation needed] Others are parasites, some of which are carriers of disease. Arachnids usually lay eggs, which hatch into immature adults.
 
Sorry - meant to use the more general term "creepy crawlies" - but then that might exclude bees/wasps - oh dear...
 
Lemon rubbed into the corners or around the alcoves supposedly keeps them away as they don't like it stckimg to their feet. Havent tried it myself though but I got a huge one the other night in the bedroom while watching TV, I could see something out of my peripheral vision and it was about 5 ft away!!!! Monster thing it was, out the window with the iold pint glass and bit of cardboard trick always works. Not my, husband by the way, Im scared of them, like to know where they are or where theyve gone and not near me. Funny dont mind mice or rats though....

Irrational or what??
 
Don't they come back in when you just put them in garden though, I thought they were suspected of usually returning to the place they were found?
 
We were plauged with those spiders last year and I lived in fear of the same thing again this summer but so far nothing..... wonder why that is ?? I hope i'm not talking too soon
 
Can someone please tell me are we talking about beetle type things? We are plagued with them in the house for the past month, only see them at night time, after 9/10pm, then i usually find at least 2 or sometimes 4 or 5 of them a night. They are what i would describe as a beetle, black hard shell back, sort of long oval shape? they are driving me demented, especially as i opened the fridge the other night and found one dead between the doors of fridge & fridge freezer. Afraid of my life they were cockroaches but husband says they're not big enough, more like garden beetles. Anyone got the same probs?
 
Bcol1, Is it one of these?

http://www.habitas.org.uk/groundbeetles/species.asp?item=7285

If so, very common particularly near outside doors under fridges etc.
They like damp so addressing any possible damp problems might help.

Cockroaches come in all sizes and colours but not, I don't think, black.
Cockroaches, although increasing in numbers, are still relatively rare in Ireland anyway
 
Can you identify the beetle using this site? Most if not all Irish beetles are harmless. Cockroaches would be a different matter and most likely indicate a problem with hygiene, food storage etc. but even cockroaches don't seem to be as dangerous as people might assume.
 
Thanks Caveat and Clubman, looking at that site of beetles i can now rest assured what we have in our house are beetles, not cockroaches. I believe the front door is the main problem, there are 3 little holes drilled through the draft excluder on the bottom of the door, and i find them in the front hall mostly. Just need to figure out now how to get rid of them, stop them coming in.
 
So if spiders are arachnids and not insects. And insects are a different classification.

Then whats the super class ? What scientic term is used to describe both classes of creature ? Whats the name used to describe the common class of creature ?
 
Good question:

Phylum Arthropoda maybe?

Although it also refers to crustaceans, worms & others as well as insects/arachnids.

I'll check my Alien Empire book tonight!
 
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