Why are we scared of spiders?

Ever since I was a kid I freaked when seeing spiders. To this day I get goosebumps and chills when I see a nasty looking spider. Have no clue why but its funny that i also dont mind everything else thats "creepy-crawly". For some reason a tarantula doesnt freak me as much as say something that looks like a black widow.

I'll handle rats, mice, lizard, frogs, no problems! Spiders? EEEK!

Its genetics her is a interesting read hubpages.com... I also remember reading something awhile back that pertained to the fear of snakes, it explained how it might be possible that it is do to generational memory that has passed down from the earliest mammals this could also apply to spiders I imagine. Wish I could find that article it was a interesting read .

By the way I cant stand spiders either, I wouldn't say I fear them, but I sure in the hell wont touch one, they die on sight in my presence no exceptions. However I have no problems with Snakes what so ever. Have a ball python as a pet. I fail to understand how anyhow could ever have pet spider though. Crazy people!

I don't know, but about a week ago there was a this black widow in my garage, that was huge. I killed it with a rake, wished that I had a shotgun. It was HUGE!! As in it's abdomen was the diameter of a nickel. It's front legs were well over 3" long.

I have never been as scared of a bug, and I have kill some big nasty bugs.

It looked much like this one.

www.schmoker.org...

I seriously would have felt better killing it with a rifle or shotgun.

reply to post by JayinAR


Thanks for the kind words, I appreciate them!

Like you, I have never seen a black widow inside a house or in a basement but I have seen them outside around garages, propane tanks, utility boxes, etc. When I was a kid, I was so scared of spiders that even looking at a picture of a black widow in the World Book Encyclopedia scared the bejesus out of me lol!

reply to post by 27jd


I'll be the first to admit that my memories of my Mom's "great spider hunt" may have been altered with the passage of time, I do know she had collected a whole bunch of 'em and my Dad was fit to be tied because he was thinking she could have been bitten by them, whatever they were.

I do remember the following sci fi movie and it scared me to death:

www.youtube.com...

Originally posted by GenRadek
Ever since I was a kid I freaked when seeing spiders. To this day I get goosebumps and chills when I see a nasty looking spider. Have no clue why but its funny that i also dont mind everything else thats "creepy-crawly". For some reason a tarantula doesnt freak me as much as say something that looks like a black widow.

I'll handle rats, mice, lizard, frogs, no problems! Spiders? EEEK!

I live down in souther New Mexico, and we have a lot of black widows. At one of my carwashes, I killed 31 black widows in 15 minutes. Using a can of WD-40 and a bic lighter as a flame thrower.

I hate them real bad. I have never been bitten by a black widow, but I have been bitten by a brown recluse. It bit my foot. I was stupidly wearing flip flops. I saw it happen, caught the spider, and took it to the doctor with me. He gave me a steroid shot, and it was within 20 min. of being bit. When I got the shot the bite location was like a mosquito bite the size of a golf ball. After the shot, 10 min, later I was all good.

reply to post by downtown436


Yeah, we get those big ones over here too. They are nasty looking, i've never been really scared of them, but i remember walking through their webs as a kid since they spread them down to the ground, and they're so strong they nearly trap you. I would do the possible black widow on me dance, and every little hair that moved i would swat at. They really aren't aggressive though, it's hard to get them to bite believe it or not. Usually it's when they're in your shoe or something, and you pin them with your foot or similar situations where they bite.



[edit on 23-8-2009 by 27jd]

I think has to do with Instinct.

What i mean is, many years ago, when we didnt live in nice cosy houses. Our ancestors, would be among many Deadly poisioness spiders. and the ones who didnt run from them ended up well,, dead.

So most of us still have this fear of them built in. Simple

Originally posted by MR BOB
I think has to do with Instinct.

Well, i think it depends on where you grew up, and how your parents dealt with such creatures. I grew up here in the desert, and can remember spiders, scorpions, and snakes being around for as long as i can remember anything. You learn to respect them, but not fear them. I think if you grow up in a strictly urban environment, those things are more rare and would seem alien and scary when a person is finally confronted by them.

Some pretty spider stuff:

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/12e6e370f55b.jpg[/atsimg]
Orb Spider Web
www.pestproducts.com...

Jewelled Spiders
[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/fd2351c49d26.jpg[/atsimg]
[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/5949e1e1c874.jpg[/atsimg]
[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/72c318150ed7.jpg[/atsimg]
www.spiderzrule.com...

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/daa12828584d.jpg[/atsimg]
Pink Toed Tarantula
www-tc.pbs.org...

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/4fc1ae59987b.jpg[/atsimg]
Poecilotheria metallica
richarddawkins.net...

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/0d708201f410.jpg[/atsimg]
Triangular Spider
www.geocities.com...

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/19512557b54a.jpg[/atsimg]
Arrow Shaped Spider
www.blockpublishing.com...

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/b47af30034d6.jpg[/atsimg]
Orchid Spider
www.pbase.com...

Yes this post took me all day because I'm wearing an arm brace.

I hereby disagree with all the posts claiming spiders are friendly and cute.

I´d say we dont like them because we somehow sense that they are not benign. If they`d have the capability to harm, they would.

If you look at how deceptive and rapidly ruthless poisonous spiders are in attacking humans, you get a sense of their ill intent. Of course this is all natural and in their self-defense, but from our perspective they are still meaner than so many other more friendly creatures...such as cats, cows and beetles.

reply to post by Skyfloating


Cats? (abcnews.go.com...)
Cows? (www.youtube.com...)
and
Beetles? (www.coleoptera.org...) (www.buildingconservation.com...)

[edit on 8/23/2009 by ravenshadow13]

reply to post by Yossarian


To be honest with you i think i am scared of them because of the way they look i mean small, 8 little hairy legs & also the way they run at you or away from you it just creeps you out

reply to post by ravenshadow13


Cat, not Tiger.

Cow, not Bull.

reply to post by Skyfloating


My bad.

Cat- www.redorbit.com...

Cow- lawactually.blogspot.com...

Of course my point is that any animal can be dangerous and the chances of being harmed by a spider are probably smaller than that of being electrocuted, way smaller than being in a car crash.

Of the few bites that do manage to happen, the majority of them are harmless. In fact, it's estimated that less than 4 deaths per year occur due to spider bites. Your chances of being killed by a lightning strike are about ten times greater than your chances of being killed by a spider bite.

www.consumersavvytips.org...

Like that.

reply to post by Skyfloating


Cats ATTACK!



Of course, you always increase your odds when you act like an idiot around ANY animal.

[edit on 23-8-2009 by JayinAR]

[edit on 23-8-2009 by JayinAR]

Alright, alright. Put differently: If spiders were the size of cats, humanity would be no more...

I insist that these are mean critters

I can tell you exactly why I am scared of spiders. Have one chase you through the garage and you jump in the recycle bin in the only hope to get away from it and it is still trying to get at you.
BTW it was a hugh a** wolf spider that we found later had a sack of babies she was protecting. I grew up in FL where those bad boys grow to the size of your hand. Much much fear to be had.

reply to post by Skyfloating


I agree. Spiders are mean.
Good thing they are tiny, I suppose.

Even the venomous spiders refrain from attacking if they can help it because they have no hope of eating you.

I Am Not Afraid Of Spiders Usually, But I Mean.... I Did Pretty Much Spazz Out When I Woke Up And A Giant Spider Was Crawling On My Hand Next To My Face O_e I Went To My Friends House To Sleep Because I Was So Shaken Up And Ive Had Many Strange Dreams Of Spiders Taking Over O_e But Usually They Dont Bother Me Except For That Incident ^_^