I see so much apprehension surrounding spiders. Their many legs can admittedly be unnerving to some. At least where I’ve lived, I haven’t come across any aggressive ones. Even when they’re in the house or at my work, I let them be, because they aren’t bothering anyone. I get as scared of wasps and hornets as most people get of spiders because they are mean and can fly way faster than a spider can jump, and I’ve never seen those types in person. Growing up, my sister was terrified of spiders, but not wasps and hornets and for me it was the other way around. I find spiders to be very fascinating biological specimens and I’m not afraid to pick one up even if it’s big. Does anyone else feel like spiders get a worse reputation than they deserve?
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I agree and people get so weirded out by my comfort with them being around! Obviously I don’t want them on me or my food but they usually keep to the nooks and crannies and they provide great pest control for all the insects that do annoy me like flies mosquitos & ants
I give Phidippus spiders free run in the sun room. They keep bugs off my succulents.
I once moved into a house full of enormous cellar spiders and it completely freaked me out. I also understood that killing them all was going be a completely lost cause, so I decided to learn everything I could about them instead.
Doing this not only ended my fear, but made me pull a full 180 on spiders, I love them now! I essentially treat them like roommates, I’ll greet them when I see them, and if one surprises me by running across me, I generally react with exasperation, saying things like “ah, come on, man!” As I try to relocate it somewhere safer within my house.
The upshot of all this is that I now basically never have issues with any other kinds of bugs in my house, my spiderbros got me.
I’m not sure if it’s “misunderstanding” that causes most ppl to freak out and want them away from them. They cause a very pure kind of terror in me, and many ppl I know. We’re not scared because we think they’re evil or plotting our demise, it’s much more guttural than that.
Just kinda depends on what kind of spiders you grew up with. I was kinda mixed on it. The little guys just hanging out in the corner minding their business and killing mosquitoes for me were pretty chill, but the little venomous fuckers with no regard for personal space who would routinely do the midnight rappelling from the ceiling onto my face were KOS.
So are snakes
I totally agree. Spiders are actually lovely creatures.
When my daughter is old enough to understand, I plan on making it a “family superstition” that finding a spider gives you good luck.
(Growing up, my mom made a fake superstition that greeting cows/horses was good luck. It was just a funny game that I eventually realized is all pretend, but I still greet cows and horses whenever I see them.)
They are very misunderstood. I love spiders. They’re cool little creatures.
I think the thing most people miss about other peoples’ fears is that fear is frequently irrational. When I say I’m freaked out by spiders or I don’t want them near me, I’m not saying I’m concerned they’re going to hurt me—I literally just mean I find the way they look and move unnerving and I prefer not to see it. Trying to “logic” somebody out of an illogical thing like a fear or a preference will never work because logic has nothing to do with it. I bet if you think about your own fears and preferences logically, many of them don’t make any sense either.
I’m all for telling people to leave spiders alone, though!
I love spiders, I have two tarantulas and they’re lovely. they’re names are Greg and Jamie. Jamie’s a spicy butthole but Greg is very sweet.
Spiders are literally the best
Agreed. Most are harmless to people and kill bad things like mosquitoes. I won’t act like big ones don’t kinda freak me out a bit but I think most of them are kinda cute and interesting. Look at jumping spiders, they are one of the cutest things ever lol
Not a misunderstanding. Everyone is a giant wuss. -a Giant wuss.
Hopefully not a really unpopular opinion. At least i know a lot of people who love arachnids and inverts in general.
I can’t stand their legs, body, the way they move, the webs they make. Makes me sick even thinking about them.
Here in Texas we’re taught about black widow and brown recluse spiders. My former coworker got bit in his arm putting his uniform on and he was out for two months. When he came back to work he still had a golf ball sized hole in his arm. Spiders that hide in shoes or clothes are scary.
I don’t mind them when I’m out and about or at work but they bother me if I see them in my house. Also bees and hornets usually won’t mess with you unless you try to swat them. I usually just let bees fly around me without disturbing them and I haven’t been stung in like a decade.
I think it’s pretty universally understood that people who hate spiders are morons.
As long as they stay in the corner and eat the flys that come through my window I’m fine. As soon as you start crawling around the rest of the house, flyswatter
My yard is crawling with tarantulas and I think they are amazing.
Let it bite, you’II change your mind.
If they pay rent (eating pest bugs) then they can live in my house (venomous spiders need not apply for position of tenent. They will be evicted from the property.)
I agree. The thing about my arachnophobia is that while rationally I know it’s silly to be afraid of them, my body still goes into a panic when I see them. Even pictures. It happens immediately and I can’t help it at all.
My little brother also got bit by a brown recluse when we were kids, which I’m sure didn’t help alleviate any of my fears.
I’m biased because I used to keep tarantulas but yes, I don’t think they deserve the bad rep.
They are fascinating creatures – just the science behind spider silk and web making is amazing.
Basically, you’re saying that you’ve been stung by a wasp or bee that you’ve learned to be wary of them, but you’ve never had a negative experience with a spider. But others can have different experiences and they are no less valid.
You may also want to look into the concept of genetic memory. Some studies have shown that experiences can rewrite portions of your dna, so a learned fear of spiders could be passed down from your ancestors.
99% of time spider is friend
My bug policy:
Mosquitos: Kill on sight
Houseflies: Kill on sight
Spiders: Friendly (Relocate if annoying)
Moths: My homies
Bees: Mutual respect
Beetles: Damn things just fly around lights and die on their own
Wasps and hornets: Run, hide, prepare last will and testament
Edit:
Centi/millipedes: Kick out (without hurting them)
Your typing seems…odd. Like it was typed with 8 legs.
My only issue with spiders, like snakes, are the venomous. Sorry I didn’t even see you, any maybe didn’t even only accidentally got close. Now I might die, lose a limb, get some crazy scarring but definitely going to not feel good after this and will likely need a trip to hospital.
You hunt insects and rodents mostly. Why you gotta have that much killing power? Just make it hurt like a bee sting and we’ll get idea lol
I think they’re really cute, I want one as a pet 🕷
I upvoted this because true!
Then I remembered thatcthis is unpopular opinions, so I downvoted, because I agree!
I have a low tolerance of spiders (not really arachnophobia cuz I’m chill as long as they’re small and don’t crawl on me) but currently tryna convince my parents to let me own a jumping spider to help me get over it 🙂
I grew up having a bad phobia of spiders. But the last 10 or so years, I’ve really tried to be more understanding and understand how important they are. And thankfully, how much they really don’t want anything to do with humans, lol.
Now every year, I try to find different spiders around the outside of my house and give them fun names. And make sure I don’t disturb their web and all the good work they’re doing.
I don’t like wasp or hornets, either. Bumblebees and honeybees are totally chill.. but I think out of everything that flies around like, I hate horseflies the most. Fuck horseflies.
No animal or living thing deserves the hate that humans give them. They aren’t doing any harm to the natural world like we are, in fact they all exist in harmony to balance things and only take what they need while their very existence gives back. If they “attack” us it’s bc they are scared or protecting themselves as they have a right to do. The ONLY animal that in any way sees us as prey is a polar bear which still don’t get the hate spiders do, not that they deserve it either but they definitely deserve the fear they do lol. We are the only ones who have the ability to know what we are doing is wrong and yet still do it. We are also the only ones who hurt our world around us more than we help it. So yes they are misunderstood and in fact vital to the eco system.
That said I completely agree that this is in fact an unpopular opinions bc so many ppl can’t separate their their logical thought from their fear of things they don’t understand and kill them for no reason when they aren’t hurting anyone. Rarely are our lives in danger by a spider enough to justify the fear they get and especially not to justify killing them. Someone is more likely to be seriously injured by a dog than a spider. But I suppose it’s some sort of built in biological defense mechanism to fear insects bc they can either be venomous or carry disease which in the past could have been a death sentence. Hopefully one day we’ll grow past it at least enough to stop killing them needlessly. Btw I also do the same thing where I’ll leave them be if they are just chilling in my house, I call them spider roomies lol. I have cats tho so I don’t find a lot of bugs in my house lmao.
F*ck all spiders. Kill em on SIGHT
I don’t like flies orbiting my ear. Spiders kill those flies. Therefore the spiders offer me a reason to leave them undisturbed. So long as they stay out of my way I will leave them to their work.
Not too unpopular. Many spider lovers out there including myself. I had a pink toed Tarantula once bcuz of my kids and fell in love with him. To know someone is to love someone. Once I got to know him it gave me a soft spot for all spiders. Now I don’t kill them I just release them outside. And daddy long legs get to stay period.
I don’t think they’re doing anything wrong but I do think anything with 8 legs, 6 eyes and fangs inherently shouldn’t exist.
If it’s in my car, I’m prob killing it. If it’s poisonous, I’m killing it. We have a lot of brown recluse spiders and black widows here. Otherwise, I just leave them alone. They are just living their lives.