Well... not usually.

Mostly, I'm happy to be respectful of things - if they are in their natural habitat... or even just outside.  If they come inside, I generally try to get them back outside without doing them harm.

Caterpillers are usually the only bug that bothers me and this is due to a few childhood run-ins with them, in particular with their sometimes neat little green capsule like insides under my bare foot or squished on my back - shudder. 

Lately, however, bugs and things - in particular spiders - have been crossing boundaries. 

Last week I had three - THREE - spiders land on my person - once at home, once in a cafe while waiting for a friend to turn up at the cafe and once at my previous place of work (I was visiting).

And then this week, I notice a huge bit Huntsman hanging out in my spare room - I told it as long as it stayed up high and out of my way, I'd leave it be... then, of course it moved out of sight - leaving me to worry about where the hell it might be hiding  - but has resurfaced in my lounge room.  It's up way too high to catch and put outside so I'm just leaving it for a bit.  Though, I am getting an unnatural urge to spray it - the thing that stops me is that huntsman spiders jump... and it's huge and I really don't want it jumping on me.  They didn't so much worry me until I was told by someone who I'm willing to blindly believe that a spider that looks almost identical to the Huntsman but that is quite poisonous was found in Elliston, South Australia.  Thanks.  Now i have to worry about whether the Huntsman that might jump out at me if I spray is some deadly nastly alien spider disguised in sheeps clothing (well, so to speak - but in a spider kind of way).  Oh... and my source didn't tell me the spider was alien, that's just me exaggerating - because it's fun.

The other day after noticing the huntsman, I notice another spider handing from the roof and blowing, thanks to the fan, in my general direction.  It scurried up it's web toward the roof so I happily ignored it.... but then I saw it again on the pillow I was leaning on.  I couldn't quie work out how the spider got from A to B until I looked up and noticed not one other spider... but TEN (that were in obvious sight) crawling around on the ceiling and this excludes the Huntsman.  I am not exaggerating - I was on the phone to my sister at the time and was counting spiders rather than listening to whatever it was she had to say.  We talk often, so this kind of behaviour is normal and acceptable - and works both ways.

I sprayed those little buggers.  The ten spiders that is.  Possibly a few extras that were out of sight too.  They scrambled around on the ceiling for a while and after that, I'm not sure what happened as I can't stand to be around bug spray so I excited the room.

The odd spider I don't mind, but TEN spiders that regularly drop down on webs and bounce around on my monitor and my desk is a little too much. It's not normal.

And now, because there were so many of them, I've gone a little mental in the head and  keep thinking there are spiders on me (after last week this isn't such a stretch of the imagination).  I go to bed and wonder about spiders dropping from the ceiling - it's way to hot to be covered from head to toe in protective clothing.

I'm going to go psycho again with the spray - any minute - but I don't think it works as I've seen almost as many spiders today as yesterday ('cept at intervals - they seem to have gone into hiding now... which I'm not sure is a good thing - I like it when you can see them).

I don't generally go nuts with the spray - it spiflicates me and I don't like using it round my pets. I have two tortoises, a rabbit and cat that could possibly suffer health dramas as a result of inhaling or having the spray residue land in the aquarium water - so I just avoid the stuff.  

This week however, I'm getting the urge to walk around the house armed with it.  I clear away any webs on a regular basis... but doesn't seem to help. 

It's a bit like the ants when we get any amout of hot weather.  Perhaps if it'd just rain on a regular basis and we could get out of drought mode all of the bugs might go back to the wild.

In addition to bugs, I had an owl (a mini-version one) fly into my house when I had the back door open a few weeks ago.  So soft and beautiful (I had to catch it up to get it back out the door) but I don't generally get owls hanging out around my house either (actually, I've never seen nor heard them around here before).

The owl was welcome but the spiders and ants are not.

If anyone has some useful tips - other than poisons (I have pets that I do not wish to harm) I'd be happy to hear. 

I do know that ants won't cross over a talc powder line (hours of fun for kids re-routing them) but I don't think spiders have any such concerns.

That's it... I really just wanted to whine about my spiders.  I whine but I find myself chatting to them (mostly telling them to move on - or at least out of my sight because they are beginning to creep me out and I'll have to get the spray).  I might.  Get the spray that is.

If I go missing... check for abnormally large webs in the shed or back yard... anything is possible.

I guess I should be grateful that it's only spiders and not a duck infestation.

PS:  An hour later after the original post and after two more spiders (they could be the same ones again, but it feels like the spiders are multiplying) have dropped down on to my desk... I sprayed... and... let me tell you, I stood back a good distance and sprayed and those little buggers jump a good three metres at least.  I was just out of their reach.  Creepy.  Which settles it  - there's no way in hell I'm aiming the bug spay can at the huge mother in my lounge... not even from right across the room.  The wee spiders are maybe a 16th of the size of that thing... they are probably its children.  Tomorrow I'll get a nice big LONG container and try catching the thing so I can put it outside - and in doing so, perhaps end this infestation. 

My house is shiny clean too... which makes it all the more distressing - if there was stuff to attract other bugs that might be considered tasty by a spider, I'd get why they were here... but no - I can, therefore, only assume that they're here solely to mess with my mind.

Bye again - though I may be back to edit again if I end up spraying or catching the big mother.