6 Reasons to Overcome Your Fear Of Spiders On The Homestead • Insteading

I flipped open the new issue of my local conservation department’s magazine. Filled with gorgeous photography and information about nature in my state, I often learned things I had never known about the forests and fields around my homestead. But as I glanced at the letters to the editor, I put down my tea mug with a jolt.

“I hope there wasn’t something that I really wanted to read in your latest issue. I saw the spider on the cover and quickly put it in the recycling bin. Please don’t put spiders or tarantulas on the cover. I have a fear of them and don’t like to see them on my reading table.”

I reread the complaint and sighed. Though I wasn’t necessarily mad at the letter-writer, I was incredibly frustrated with the sentiment. She may very well be truly terrified of 8-legged arthropods, but that fear was keeping her ignorant.The article that made her waste the magazinehad been a fascinating write-up on wolf spiders that may have helped her overcome the fear.

Big Cypress National Preserve / Flickr (Creative Commons)

Here’s the thing. If you’re willing to see them in a new light, spiders are just as beautiful and useful as the gorgeous butterfly that paints the air above your flowerbed. Their bad rap has many a homesteader smashing them — rather than benefiting from their contributions — and honestly, your garden is suffering for it!

So even though you may harbor personal loathing of spiders, you’ve read this far, so stay with me. Please don’t turn off your computer at the sight of the spiders in this article. Don’t shudder and click the “X” at the top right. I challenge you: Give me this chance to offer you reasons to not be afraid of spiders. Indeed, without these creatures, life would be a whole lot worse.

Let’s talk about why. I hazard a guess that if you understand what these wonderful creatures are doing when they scuttle across your path (spoiler alert! It’s not to chase you down and bite you unprovoked), you’ll be less inclined to give them a terrified smush. If you try hard enough, you may be able to find them as beautiful as I do. And when even spiders are beautiful in your eyes, the world becomes full of wonder, not terror.

1. The Fear Of Spiders Is A Modern, Learned Fear

I think it’s safe to assume there has never been a creature more feared and less understood in our modern age than the spider. Look at anyTop 10 listof what people fear most, and you’ll find arachnophobia every time.

然而，这在历史上并不是一贯的。无论是历史还是神话，蜘蛛的故事都充满了压倒性的正面。

In West Africa and the Caribbean, the spider-tricksterAnansiis a storytelling character who imparts wit and wisdom to his listeners.
In Greek myth, Arachne (the source of the scientific designationArachnid)有一个很有才华的织布匠，他在一次织布比赛中打败了女神，变成了一只蜘蛛。
Those familiar with Scottish history well know the legend ofRobert Bruce, and how his admiration for a spider’s dogged persistence in weaving a web despite repeated frustrations, inspired him to re-enter the battle fray.
在犹太传统中，当未来的大卫王躲避凶残的扫罗王时，一只蜘蛛被认为帮助保护了他。According to the Midrash,a spider spun a web across the cave where he was hiding just after he’d entered, making it seem as if no one had entered for a while and directing Saul elsewhere.

I could go on, but you get the point. Most people throughout time have seen spiders as good. It is only relatively recently that we’ve had the luxury of chemically blasting spiders from our living spaces and scaring each other with nightmare movies. I think it has robbed many of an opportunity to see the same industriousness, patience, and beauty that history was well-acquainted with.

2. Spiders Are Incredibly Helpful

You may have known this section was coming. Environmentalists and naturalists the world over have ladled statistics and interesting factoids to try to spread the gospel that spiders aren’t evil, but it’s often a rather fruitless sermon. However true the statement may be, reality often can’t overcome strong, learned feelings.

But you’re a homesteader, or at least someone who cares a little more than average about gardens, flowers, and the general well being of your natural surroundings. You’re probably a little more willing to listen and think for yourself.

所以如果你真的真的不喜欢蛛形纲动物，考虑一下这个事实。蜘蛛吃很多昆虫。Estimates fall somewhere around880 million tons of insects a year．现在，在你迷失在8亿8千万吨昆虫可怕地扭动的噩梦画面中之前，找到一只蜘蛛并感谢它。

Then go to your garden, look at all the crop plants that those spiders are helping you defend from an insect onslaught, and maybe think twice about bringing out the spider-killing spray.

蜘蛛也是其他动物的食物来源。2022欧洲杯葡萄牙vs德国即使是看起来很脆弱的蜂鸟也经常把小蜘蛛从网里拽出来当食物，然后用它的猎物结实、可伸缩的网来做它不可思议的小巢。这使得蜂鸟的巢具有独特的弹性。它们随着里面的婴儿的成长而伸展。

3. Spiders DON’T Want To Bite You

The prevailing notion seems to be that if you discover a spider, you are discovering a threat. It’s lurking around the house or forest, waiting to jump on your face and bite you with unprovoked malice. They hang in their webs, plotting our demise at their venom-dripping fangs. They purposely seek out our pillows, relishing the moment when we, unawares, come close enough for the kill.

Has there ever been a less-understood creature?

The fact is, all spiders want is to be left alone. Humans are huge to a spider. Though spiders don’t really feel “fear” like we do, they are far more afraid of humans than we are of them. We are a legitimate threat — as any giant living thing that might harm them — and so they are naturally designed to get away from us and run to safety.

A spider only wants to bite its food which is something that helps it live. A human is not a food source to a spider. We’re big and scary. Therefore, a spider has no desire to bite you. They only bite in self-defense if they feel they have no other option (as in being accidentally pressed against your skin).

如果这仍然不能让您相信蜘蛛不是真正的威胁，那么让我向您展示一下这个比较。比如狗狗——人类最好的朋友，一个毛茸茸的婴儿，一个4条腿的家庭成员，一个外孙狗，你有一个保险杠贴纸来表达你的爱。有无数的书籍和电影致力于狗的忠诚和勇敢。

People willingly let dogs into their home, into their laps, and into their beds, and live with them side-by-side. The first reaction many people have when they see a dog is the desire to pet it.

But the fact is, dogs hurt a lot of people, and kill a lot of livestock when left to run loose. Every year in the United States alone, an average of30 to 50 people die from dog attacks, and up to 13,000 people are hospitalized. How many people in the U.S. have died from a spider bite every year?Under seven.The dreaded brown recluse spider has only caused1984年以来有5人死亡

Am I trying to turn you against dogs? Of course not. I have dogs of my own. I’m just trying to illustrate a point: If people can choose to see dogs as good — though many of them have hurt or killed people and livestock every year — perhaps people can choose to lessen some of their extreme prejudice against spiders.

4. Most Spiders Can’t Actually Hurt You

即使是每年相对较少的蜘蛛住院记录也伴随着警告，它们经常被误诊。就像我在最后一点提到的，蜘蛛不会主动爬来爬去，咬人。Not every spidercan bite through human skin．

There are fewer spiders who can bite through the skin that have venom with any sort of effect. And even then, the instances of them biting people are rare. The instances of those bites being more than just a temporary annoyance are rare.

Take the example of wolf spiders — one of the more common spiders that may run across your path. Though they may look big, bites from these spiders are extremely unlikely. And if you were to mess with one long enough to induce it to bite you, theeffects of the insignificant venom would dissipate within a few minutes．这就是它们本质上无害的程度。

And (again) the brown recluse, one of the most feared American spiders, is hardly the threat that sensational online articles claim it to be. First off, many people outside the spider’s natural range fear it mistakenly — and many harmless wolf spiders are misidentified in fear, and stomped.

其次，它们的下颚很弱，不能咬穿布料。当被压在皮肤上时，它们可能会咬人(比如当它们藏在放在地板上的衣服里时)。第三，皮肤融化性坏死(该物种害怕的原因)非常罕见，而且经常被误诊。

Of all the reported bites fromLoxoscelese reclusa, even taking into account incorrect identification and misdiagnoses,only 10% of bites are medically significant.Yes. You could get bitten by a brown recluse spider, and all you’d have to write home about was a mild, itchy, red bump.

5. Spiders Are Beautiful

好了，我说了。蜘蛛真的非常非常漂亮。你看过织球者腹部复杂的图案吗?你曾经看到过一只跳蛛用它不成比例的大眼睛看着你，感觉它在回头看你吗?你是否曾观察过一只带刺的micrathena在它那不可思议的巨大蛛网中间编织出一个明亮的圆盘，然后惊奇地发现太阳从它身上反射回来，把它变成了一个漂浮的光环?

或者你曾见过狼蛛把它们的孩子背在背上，在它们在田野里漫游时保护它们的样子吗?你是否曾漫步在清晨，当太阳冲破地平线，露珠晶莹的清晨，看到黎明照亮了一万个水滴，它们像水晶珠一样挂在一张完美的网上?

I have seen all these things and more, because I’ve looked. If you can overcome the knee-jerk reaction of spiders being “gross,” you may very well see something that amazes you.

我知道单凭这篇文章不能让你改变主意。但至少你已经知道，外面的所有生物都有美丽的一面——包括8条腿的动物。

6. There Are Simple, Natural Ways To Keep Spiders Out Of A Given Space

我刚写完最后一点，虽然我很喜欢蜘蛛，但我不希望它们在我家里的每一个表面上爬行(尽管我不介意它们在窗户或门廊的角落里)。I’d expect that you, like most people, would rather have them outside than in your living spaces.

网上有很多关于如何把蜘蛛赶出你的房子和院子的文章。Everything from diatomaceous earth to sticky traps and toxic chemicals are employed to expatriate the 8-legged from our human dwellings.

But I’d like to offer a different approach. Rather than waging a chemical war against arachnids, why not use their habits against them instead? Spiders like undisturbed, private places. They like being hidden among leaves on the forest floor. They like dark corners. One of the best ways to keep spiders out of a given area, is to make it the opposite of what they like. Keep piles of clothes off the floor. Don’t let messes stay messy. Make the bed, sweep the floor, and dust the corners.

当然，你不需要每天都做“公司即将到来的大扫除”，但简单的日常清扫地板、掸去角落里的灰尘、远离杂物，这对任何家庭都是一种健康的做法。你的空间越干净，越坚持清洁，这个空间对蜘蛛的吸引力就越小。

那阁楼和壁橱呢?一个老式的技巧是用巨大的，像外星人一样的奥色治橙球作为传统的蜘蛛驱虫剂。这些柑橘味的果实在秋天成熟，正好是蜘蛛开始在室内迁徙，寻找安静的地方，等待寒冷的季节。

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Place a few of these in a closet, garage, or attic during the fall to encourage the spiders to go elsewhere. Once the freezing weather hits, you can remove them. Most spiders will have been killed by frost or found their hiding places by then.

During the winter, many spiders come into the house through firewood. If you have a wood stove, anticipate that you’ll be giving some hibernating spiders a rude awakening when you bring the wood into the warm. You can either appreciate their brief presence or remove them as you find them.

Finally, there’s a certain level of acceptance that I think every homesteader needs to acquire when it comes to the spiders in their world. They’re going to be there. They need to be there. We just need to learn to live with them.

To end this article, I’ll give you a story that doesn’t fall in line with the modern zeitgeist of spider paranoia. In preparation for writing, I purposely found a brown recluse for you all, and (gasp!) I have lived to tell the tale. I wanted the photo for the article, but I also wanted to illustrate the point that a brown recluse, like all spiders, aren’t out to get you.

Knowing that recluses like to find quiet, out-of-the-way places to hide, I went to our garage storage to hunt. When I brought out our Sun Oven to ready it for summer service, I knew I had a good chance. To be smart, I wore gardening gloves on my hands as I reached in to bring out the oven — always a good practice when pulling something out of storage. Having stood undisturbed, a recluse had predictably hidden itself under the layers of the reflective shield.

And you know what it did when I found it? Stood still for the picture, and then ran away. I was in no more danger than if I had found a butterfly. Since I knew the recluse’s habit, I knew where it could be. Since I knew it had weak fangs, I simply armed myself with gloves when I had to reach into a dark space and knew I would be all right. And since I wasn’t afraid of it — and wasn’t intending to handle it — there was a neat moment with the camera.

I hope that story helps dilute some of the fear-driven hype that other online articles use to stir up spider paranoia. Instead of living in fear of these tiny creatures, equip yourself with a bit of knowledge about their interesting lives to help you live with them, enjoy their benefits, and maybe see some beauty in an unfairly-maligned slice of creation.