Starship Asterisk*

So you like spiders Huh?

I dislike spiders, fortunately, we have no dangerous one's that can really hurt you, In the UK . However I still do not like them crawly crawly things walking all over me while I sleep, crawling into my mouth, and all over my house. Last year A college of mine told me about this old wives tale of how to get rid. I did not believe him. I could not understand how what he told me could work. The next day, he had a bag full of these objects that he collected on his way to work. I told him you can not be serious. He was. That weekend I went and got me some of these objects, and placed them all around my home. It has been nearly 12 months now and I still have not seen any spiders in my house. where before there was loads of them. So how does this happen? What are these mysterious things i,m talking about? All will be revealed. In one week.

tc

Oh yeah, a link, do other folks suffer with spiders. here it is:
http://www.answerbag.com/q_view/6795

tc

Is this a lead-in for some kind of dumb infomercial product? Acai berry!

The Code wrote:So you like spiders Huh?

I do. I studied the amazing little eyes and brains of jumping spiders back when I was in college, and these days I bring spiders into the house because they mind their own business and eat flies and other things that are much more annoying.

Gah, Chris, now you made me go look at photos of jumping spiders.

Oh, do you happen to know if the spider is really making this noise? (Especially near the end)
I'm guessing it is but the sound is somehow amplified quite a bit. Well it matches up to the spider's movements really well, anyhow. I can't tell if it's fake or not.

geckzilla wrote:Gah, Chris, now you made me go look at photos of jumping spiders.

Can you believe people are afraid of me?

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You have to admit, that's a beauty! Their visual system is amazing. Behind the lens of the primary eyes they have a linear retina, and a set of muscles vibrates this back and forth very fast so they are basically scanning their visual field. In the brain, this builds up a spatially accurate 3D image on their visual cortex. I don't know of any other animal with a similar visual system. Put your finger near a jumping spider (or a pencil if you're a chicken) and watch how quickly and accurately the spider aligns itself, keeping the "target" front and center in its visual field. Even if spiders make you nervous, it's hard not to be impressed.

Oh, do you happen to know if the spider is really making this noise?

I'm not positive, but most of the sounds seem authentic, so I'm guessing they all are. An important sense shared by most spiders involves extremely sensitive vibration sensors in their legs, so it isn't surprising that their mating behavior involves sound. Another common factor in many spiders is that the males might be mistaken for prey, or otherwise find themselves being eaten before, during, or after mating. So a cautious approach as seen in the video is both common and wise.

Yeah, I admit I can't help but play with any jumping spider that happens to wander near me. I actually haven't been afraid of almost any arthropods at all ever since high school when I was holding my arm out for some reason and a giant red wasp landed right in the middle of my forearm for me to gaze upon. I freaked out at first and everyone ran away and left me standing there alone with my realization that I could hold a wasp and not get stung. I'd always picked up random bugs but have managed to handle the more dangerous ones since then. The worst thing I ever picked up was some kind of green jewel beetle which turned out to make my hand smell like poop for a week... lesson learned. My friend's mom still calls me nature girl.

I have fought a Grizzly Bear,
Tracked a Cobra to its lair,
Killed a Crocodile who dared to cross my path,
But the thing I really dread
When I've just got out of bed
Is to find that there's a Spider in the bath. I've no fear of Wasps or Bees,
Mosquitoes only tease,
I rather like a Cricket on the hearth,
But my blood runs cold to meet
In pyjamas and bare feet,
With a great big hairy spider in the bath.

I have faced a charging Bull in Barcelona,
I have dragged a mountain Lioness from her cubs,
I've restored a mad Gorilla to it's owner,
But I don't dare face that tub ...

What a frightful looking beast -
Half an inch across at least -
It would frighten even Superman or Garth!
There's contempt it can't disguise,
In the little beady eyes,
Of the Spider sitting glowering in the bath.

It ignores my every lunge
With the backbrush and the sponge;
I have bombed it with 'A present from Penarth'.
It just rolls into a ball,
Doesn't seem to mind at all,
And simply goes on squatting in the bath.

For hours we have been locked in endless struggle,
I have lured it to the deep end by the drain.
At last I think I've washed it down the plughole,
Here it comes a-crawling up the chain!

Now it's time for me to shave,
Though my nerves will not behave,
And there's bound to be a fearful aftermath.
So before I cut my throat,
I shall leave this final note;
Driven to it - by the Spider in the bath!

I know its not technically an arachnid but these give me the creeps, I;'m generally ok with spiders though, although I don't know how I'd fair against a big hairy beast of a spider like a tarantula or ANYTHING from Australia.

Proper ugly these things.



Paul.

Ticks are arachnids. Ticks are only scary for their role as a disease vector. They do certainly go through an amazingly ugly transformation when they become engorged, though.

Geckzilla's last post kinda "ticked" me off a bit. Here in the North-East, we have a Black fuzzy jumping spider the we call a "wolf" spider. I don't know if it has a real name or not, but they seem friendly enough and you can kinda play with them. The smaller they are the cuter they look. As for the rest of the spiders around here - outside is ok - inside is "Swats-ville" U.S.A.
So The Code is going to make us hang on to our "swatters" for a whole week before giving us the low-down on how to make the multi-leggers stay outside EH?

Eeeeekkk! I don't like spiders (though will leave them alone outside and when they are inside, regret not having a spouse to dispatch them for me!) nor ticks, regret opening this thread, and won't do so again! Eek! Eewww! Eeeekkk!!!

Hahahah, great reaction. The cure for spiders is basically mothballs according to the link posted by swainy, beyond.

It apparently makes them run for the hills. However, who wants there house to smell like mothballs? Not me...


Paul.

wonderboy wrote:Hahahah, great reaction. The cure for spiders is basically mothballs according to the link posted by swainy, beyond.

It apparently makes them run for the hills. However, who wants there house to smell like mothballs? Not me...


Paul.

Incorrect. Have another look.

tc

Its not a pest bomb is it?


Paul

Its not a pest bomb is it?


Paul




My Apologies.

wonderboy wrote:I know its not technically an arachnid but these give me the creeps...

Ticks are arachnids, but they are not spiders. I like spiders, I don't like ticks. Spiders are remarkable animals, pretty much at the top of the arthropod ladder in terms of predatory skills and intelligence. Ticks are just parasites- they do what they do quite well, but it isn't particularly interesting.

beyond wrote:Geckzilla's last post kinda "ticked" me off a bit. Here in the North-East, we have a Black fuzzy jumping spider the we call a "wolf" spider. I don't know if it has a real name or not, but they seem friendly enough and you can kinda play with them. The smaller they are the cuter they look. As for the rest of the spiders around here - outside is ok - inside is "Swats-ville" U.S.A.
So The Code is going to make us hang on to our "swatters" for a whole week before giving us the low-down on how to make the multi-leggers stay outside EH?

Cute? CUTE!!!!?????


I don't think so!


Paul.

Very entertaining neufer. I prefers a spider with four wheels myself How folks can let them crawl all over them beats me. Makes me shiver, and my skin crawls just looking.

tc

Judging from most humans' reactions to spiders, I do hope the first aliens we meet are upright and bipedal, and look nothing at all like a spider. Otherwise they'll learn much too quickly just how rude (sometimes fatally so) we can be to visitors.

Rob

Spiders are cute. Come on, most people don't even look this good. I have a spider story, actually. I went to the bank and inside I turned to see a baby spider falling onto my shoulder. So I caught it, let it crawl on my fingertip and while I was outside, it stuck its abdomen in the air, threw out an invisible strand of web and flew away. You can't invent a mode of transportation neater than that.

http://www.timmyabell.com/music/lyrics/ol/oldlady.htm

Hey geckzilla, that's a nice looking fuzzy spider you got a picture of. Reminds me of what i call a "wolf" spider, except thats its more colorful.

beyond wrote:Hey geckzilla, that's a nice looking fuzzy spider you got a picture of. Reminds me of what i call a "wolf" spider, except thats its more colorful.

I think it's probably common in many places for people to call big hairy spiders "wolf spiders", but true wolf spiders are all in the Lycosidae family. Like the jumping spiders (Salticidae) wolf spiders are surface hunters who don't spin webs, but otherwise the families are quite different, both in terms of anatomy as well as behavior.

I don't have a "Spider" Book to look them up in to find out their real name, but they sure can jump!! I saw a bigger one catch a fly once. Amazing to say the least!