Poll: Are spiders scary? If so, why?

[TheYellowCellPhone]

I don't think they're scary, I think they're fascinating beasts :3

The women in my family (my mom and my sisters) get mad how every time I'm summoned to kill a spider, I just release it outside, and absolutely flip out if I use my hands to pick them up.

Awww, but they tickle in my hands though...

 

[Nouw]

"Kill 'em all! The only good bug is a dead bag!

 

[RA92]

http://www.wired.com/images_blogs/wiredscience/2009/11/spiders_4a.jpg
http://www.bighairyspiders.com/pix/cobalt1.jpg
http://www.wired.com/images_blogs/wiredscience/2009/11/spiders_9b.jpg

 

[RA92]

You know what I hate ten times more that spiders?
FREAKING WASPS.
Anything with a stinger horrifies me, as while spiders can crawl up walls and what not, they're at least usually confined to one surface. Wasps, Bees and Hornets can fly at you! They serve no purpose other than to ruin life for everyone else!

This, honestly. These fuckers made me shed a tear for bees, for fuck's sake!

<youtube=JDSf3Kshq1M>

 

[LorisBoi]

The only spiders that bother me are daddy long legs - I find all other spiders fascinating. I have a fear of bugs falling from my ceiling onto me while I'm sleeping (While our house was being remodeled I slept in the basement; pretty scary stuff down there), but other than that spiders do not bother me at all. Except for daddy long legs. I think it's their body. That little circle with long spindly legs coming out of it is truly horrifying.

Daddy Long Legs aren't spiders, they're flies.

O.T. I think what I posted in my twitter after viewing page 1 of this thread sums up my opinion on spiders:
Fucking hell I regret going to that Spiders thread. USE FUCKING SPOILER TAGS JESUS CHRIST, AND DON'T HAVE MASSIVE SPIDERS IN 'CUTE' TAGS.
GOD I THINK I HAD A FUCKING HEART ATTACK.
FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK I HATE SPIDERS SO FUCKING MUCH OH GOD IF I COULD WIPE OUT ANY SPECIES IT WOULD SO FUCKING BE SPIDERS.

I'm afraid you're incorrect; You're confusing daddy long legs with the crane fly. Worry not, it is a common mistake.

Crane Fly = http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://www.fcps.k12.va.us/StratfordLandingES/Ecology/Insects/Crane%2520Fly/crane_fly.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php%3Ft%3D149003&h=675&w=900&sz=54&tbnid=HEnHap9sOqN_7M:&tbnh=110&tbnw=146&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dcrane%2Bfly%26tbm%3Disch%26tbo%3Du&zoom=1&q=crane+fly&usg=__MTmRdVADsn9mNSpuDosEjdXiZ-M=&sa=X&ei=N1GvTeu2K46v8QOqhr2QDw&ved=0CEUQ9QEwBQ

Daddy Long Legs = http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://floridabugs.com/images/spiders/daddy_long_legs_lrg.jpg&imgrefurl=http://floridabugs.com/daddy_long_spd.html&h=425&w=736&sz=56&tbnid=NAcLxWj3oF32aM:&tbnh=81&tbnw=141&prev=/search%3Fq%3Ddaddy%2Blong%2Blegs%26tbm%3Disch%26tbo%3Du&zoom=1&q=daddy+long+legs&hl=en&usg=__0L5BiQ-agfDXfY1OIj9jNPejt4U=&sa=X&ei=hVGvTae1Ccew8gPh05SQDw&sqi=2&ved=0CDQQ9QEwBA

Sorry, I don't know how to embed images.

Hm. Could have sworn Daddy Long Legs was a nick name for crane flies. Oh well.
Also, the Daddy Long Legs in that picture is terrifying. God that thing is weird.

Crane flies are colloquially referred to as Daddy Long Legs, probably stemming from their legs proportion to their bodies being quite similar. But a true Daddy Long Legs is a spider, an araneomorph to be exact.

Personally I find them fascinating.

 

[The .50 Caliber Cow]

Apparently my other avatar was horrifying. Most of my PM's are about it.

 

[The .50 Caliber Cow]

"Kill 'em all! The only good bug is a dead bag!

THE MOBILE INFANTRY MADE ME THE MAN I AM TODAY

 

[That_Swedish_Guy]

Sweden don't have any dangerous spiders so I never grew up with the fear of getting poisoned and as a kid i usally captured spiders in jars and looked at them with amazement, I always loved spiders and probably always will.

Spiderbro FTW, btw.

You woud not want to do that in Australia...

OT: I really don't mind them, as long as they aren't trying to kill me. Spiders are generally quite timid (except for the fucking Sydney funnel-wb; goddamnit I hate those) so there's really no reason to be scared of them.

 

[Communist partisan]

Sweden don't have any dangerous spiders so I never grew up with the fear of getting poisoned and as a kid i usally captured spiders in jars and looked at them with amazement, I always loved spiders and probably always will.

Spiderbro FTW, btw.

You woud not want to do that in Australia...

OT: I really don't mind them, as long as they aren't trying to kill me. Spiders are generally quite timid (except for the fucking Sydney funnel-wb; goddamnit I hate those) so there's really no reason to be scared of them.

Yeah, I get what you mean, I got common scene. If I where in a country where it exist a lot of poisonous spiders I would not hesitate a second before I would crush them under my Doc's, but here in Sweden we don't have dangerous spiders, just 2-3 species can POSSIBLY bite trough the human skin so it's pretty chill with the spiders here. We even got some kind of tarantula spider
That got really big and sharp jaws but it still can't bite trough the human skin. You see where I'm going with this?

 

[Strixvaliano]

Not scary at all once you get to learn more about them.

I was absolutely horrified of spiders but eventually learned to respect them and not fear them by jumping in headfirst, reading about them then getting a pet tarantula, followed by a few more.

 

[ChupathingyX]

No because I can use these

Spoiler

I dare you to come over to Australia and try kill a Hunstman with that stuff.

I once unloaded about half a can onto a small hunstman (about 3-4cm from leg to leg) and it just didn't die. All it did was make it go batshit crazy and run all over my fridge and chairs at my dinner table, until I took my shoe off.

 

[Ganthrinor]

Spiders are awesome. I don't fear them, don't consider them gross or "weird".

That said, I also don't go around picking up and holding every spider I see. I'd much rather have some spiders around than the things they eat.

Now, if we start talking Fantasy-RPG "bigger than a cat" spiders then yes, those must die. Mostly because life is short enough without having to worry about getting ambushed by a predatory arachnid larger than my head.

 

[Astoria]

I am terrified of spiders. Everything from the way they move to how that look creeps me out and if I see any bigger than 50 cent piece (daddy long legs excluded) I can't stand to be within 5 feet of them (it gets bigger as the spider does). I guess it's because I had bad experiences with them as a child.

 

[Gentleman_Reptile]

.....especially if they're venomous.

Fun Fact: All spiders are venomous actually. It's just that not all of them have the right stuff to register an effect on humans.

 

[Merkavar]

i hate the way they move and look.

i hate how they fall from the roof onto me while im in bed. instead of falling from the roof any where else in my room.

one time i was killing a spider and it fell from the roof and actually made a thud when it hit the ground it was so big.

 

[PAGEToap44]

I'm not scared of small spiders. Bigger ones actually might pose a threat and be difficult to kill, and therefore, I dislike them.

Isn't it the little ones you have to watch out for? As far as I know none of the big ones are fatally venomous to humans. Black Widows, for instance, are actually quite small. Although big spiders are disgusting. And hairy.

...

Eugh.

 

[Gentleman_Reptile]

I'm not scared of small spiders. Bigger ones actually might pose a threat and be difficult to kill, and therefore, I dislike them.

well aaaaactualy the smaller the more poisenous they get. The tarantualas poison for instance wouldn't be worse than say that of a bee. Which means its bite is neglectable unless you get a whole swarm of them covering you and biting everywhere (try imagening that without breeding a nightmare or two). The black widow however is but a fraction of its size but in one bit could easily drop a fullgrown human.

Black Widows are pretty potent yes....but Sydney Funnel Web spiders are not much smaller than a large tarantula and they have probably the worst venom of all knows spiders. It's got stronger venom than many dangerous snakes, and bigger fangs.

I used to keep a large bird eating spider for a pet. It was a pretty foul tempered, aggressive thing. Cleaning it's cage out was a nightmare. I remember once trying to move it out of its water tub with a plastic ruler. It bit the ruler and carved track marks in it with it's fangs, as well as ripping off my favorite sticker.

 

[Tomo Stryker]

Apparently this is the new creepy thread. I dislike Spiders and all of its cousins that have an excessive amount of legs. The small ones I laugh at, mostly because there harmless were I live. But the large ones... don't get me started. I once witnessed a mother wolf spider lay a clutch of eggs in out kitchen. All I could describe, was that it was like watching floor turn black.

 

[Oliman43]

I used to live in a house with heater vents underneath the floor. One was in the bathroom and my towel was dropped onto the grate then picked back up by my sister. I was drying myself after a shower when BAM, solid black spider crawling on my shoulder.
The neighbours heard me cursing.

I am just batshit scared of spiders in general, all sizes.

 

[Gentleman_Reptile]

Isn't it the little ones you have to watch out for? As far as I know none of the big ones are fatally venomous to humans. Black Widows, for instance, are actually quite small. Although big spiders are disgusting. And hairy.

...

Eugh.

If I'm getting my propaganda right, nobody has died from a Black Widow bite for at least thirty years. They are poisonous as all fuck yes, buts it's for that exact reason the anti-venom is so readily available. Theres a fun fact for you.

Another fun fact, Sydney Funnel webs are about the size of a tarantula and they are probably one of the most dangerous creatures on Earth. Their venom is so toxic to primates that they are worse than many snakes.

Isn't learning fun? *shudder*