On Sunday morning Walter had an encounter with a large black spider clinging onto our bedroom ceiling. He very generously removed the spider with a soft broom and let it go free in the garden. I continued to eat my breakfast, as one does, in these circumstances. I had no wish, at that point, to participate in the removal of the spider, except to give him instructions about how not to let the spider fall onto our bed. A coward, I know.
I did wonder how long the spider had resided on our ceiling. Probably all night, watching us as we slept soundly, oblivious to the eyes peering down at us. Best not to think too much about it.
We were not the only people to find a spider in the bedroom during the night. Someone on Facebook wrote about how their dog kept staring at the bedroom wall on Saturday evening, in the dark, and when they turned the light on they saw a very large black spider on the wall. When they tried to remove the spider it ran under the bed. So they slept downstairs in the loungeroom. And I think I would have done the same.
The above two encounters made me think about spiders in general. I am not keen on them, which is an understatement really, as I have been known to scream, stand on chairs, and run out of the room, when a spider has been seen. Once I removed a T shirt, in front of visitors, when I thought there was a spider on it. Totally embarrassing. Another time I threw a cup of tea over our vertical blinds in the bedroom, when I saw a large spider on my shoulder. It turned out to be a tiny spider, magnified by the bottom section of my glasses.
Yet I am fascinated by spiders, in a fearful, shuddering way. I know some people think they are beautiful creatures, and will hold them lovingly. The large tarantulas, that were brought to the school, by wildlife people, were viewed by me from a distance. I understand that the taruntulas were friendly, and felt soft and velvety. But not for me. I never volunteered to hold one. Not ever.
Regardless of the size of any spider I encounter, the spider I see in my mind is huge, with large eyes that watch me intently.
I downloaded the photograph below from Google, and then found some information about it from LiveScience. This is a wolf spider which has plenty of eyes; two medium ones on the side of the head, and two large eyes above a row of small eyes. My imaginary spider, for sure.
In Singapore, in the days before it became a sanatized city, very large spiders came into the houses when rain was due to fall, and as this was often, we encountered plenty of these spiders. They moved very quickly along the wall, and over our mosquito net on our bed. I had to be brave in that house.
The huntsman spiders in Australia, can also be very large. But not fast moving thank goodness. And I have even tolerated one or two living high up on the wall in the house. As long as they stayed there, happily eating the flies that ventured near them. They also loved to hang down, via a gossamer thread, from the trees in the garden. Many a barbeque was spent admiring these creatures, from afar, of course. It is amazing that after a few glasses of wine, spiders are quite fascinating creatures.
Extra large huntsman spiders are prolific on the south west coast of the York Peninsula, South Australia, and always brought a bit of extra excitement to a camping trip. These spiders sat on our tents at night, on posts or in the long drop toilets. I might add, at this point, that there were never too many loo visits during the night. One did not fancy a close encouner with one of these beasts, even though they were harmless.
And of course, there is always a problem with redback spiders in Australia. Although not a large spider, there are plenty around, but due to their retiring nature, they live in places that are well hidden and will only bite when unintentionally provoked by humans. These spiders reside under window sills, fence capping and outdoor chairs, and amongst bricks and wood. And in our various homes we have encountered a number of them, and I will admit I squashed and killed them, when I found them lurking under the outdoor chairs. Thank goodness we never encountered the more dangerous funnel web spiders. Best not to even think about them.
Our caravan in the south of France has plenty of spiders, and each time we set it up, we give it a good spider cleanout. Mostly daddy long leg types of spiders, but I do not fancy them running over my face at night. And I have seen some big black spiders there too, always outside, thank goodness. Aaron unintentionally brought one back in his suitcase. It was quite a surprise for him, to find a big black spider sitting on top of his clothes.
However, the most prolific spider colonies that I have come across have been here, in the UK, and in our house. They seem to reside under our bath, under our chairs and in the cracks between the walls and floor. They often pop out during the evening while we are watching television. They start out as small spiders in early spring and grow into large black spiders during the next few months. It is their unexpected appearances that make me feel uneasy.
Last night a spider appeared on the wall in the loungeroom. What is going on? Normally our spiders run across the floor. Walter said this spider was much smaller than the one he found clinging to our ceiling.
Here is my list:
I check first, before getting anything out of a container. This is due to the large spider that came out with the envelope that I was extracting from a manilla folder. The spider ran across my hand. Ugh.
I always check toilets, in case there may be spiders lurking in the little room. This checking behaviour started as a result of the large number of spiders that resided in the outside toilet, way down at the end of the garden, in my family home. My sister was terrified of them. In Australia huntsman and redback spiders love outdoor toilets. Recently a man was bitten on his penis, by a redback lurking under the seat. I must admit there are not many outside toilets these days, but still its always worth checking ALL toilets, just in case.
I check under my pillow, before I get into bed, just to make sure there is no spider lurking there. When I was a teenager I put my hand under my pillow one morning, and felt something was not right, and when I looked, a big black spider looked back at me.
I look under my bicycle seat to check that a spider has not decided to call it their home. One day when I was riding my bike, I turned around and saw a spider hanging from the seat. Naturally I panicked and promptly fell off my bike, and badly grazed my knees.
Of course, in Australia, it is not wise to put one's fingers under capping or chairs or anything that has a hidden area which is a perfect place for lurking redback spiders. This is sensible behaviour. I have been known to give all outside chairs a surreptitious look, before sitting down. Even in the UK.
And in Australia, I never park my car under trees. A huntsman once ran across the outside of the windscreen, as I was about to drive off. This send me from my seat, onto the passenger's lap. Luckily the car was barely moving, but plenty of people have crashed their car, in huntsman encounters.
And while we are on the subject of trees, I try not to walk under trees at night, in any country.
A beautiful cobweb, glowing in the early morning sunshine. But not good at night. Yes I know, that the spider disappears very fast when a large person walks into its web, but one never knows.
They are everywhere, these spiders.
No comments:
Post a Comment