posted
As the thread title might suggest, I'm engaged in a struggle against an invading army.
A few hours ago I saw what I thought was some dust float by my face. I grabbed it...and then it started cralwing up my hand. I killed it, not thinking anything of it. Then another one came by. A few minutes later I found one on my hand again. I killed those, having flashbacks to the end of Charlotte's Web when all the little spiderlings are flying away, and then went back to what I was doing.
About 20 minutes after that, I looked over at my lamp, for no particular reason, and saw four of them building a series of webs in my lamp! I killed three but the fourth got away. I removed the webs, and then removed myself from the room. Unfortunately for me, that room is my bedroom. So here I am in the living room, everyone else in my house soundly asleep, whilst those damnable hooligan spiders take up residence in my room. I'm going to go take yet another shower, as despite the fact that I'm pretty sure I got them all, I still feel like they're crawling all over me, but I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions to get rid of them, or some sort of mental assurance that'll actually get me to sleep in my room again in the near future.
I'm not afraid of spiders, I'll mow the little suckers down. I just HATE things crawling on me.
If I had to guess I'd say an egg sac hatched somewhere in my room, and without anywhere to go, they decided my room was a lovely place to take up residence. I know my room has always had spiders before, as I get the occasional spider bite and I see them from time to time. Generally I either kill or ignore them, as I realize they perform a vital function in keeping away the OTHER pests that annoy me so. But my room as a nursery for the spider brood is a bridge too far. I'd have to imagine they'd move on from my room, as there's no food up there, and few bugs of any other kind for them to feast on, most of those are either outside or downstairs. But I don't much feel like waiting for them to leave via starvation.
posted
"Spider bites" almost never are. They are usually unfairly blamed for insect bites.
Usually, I leave the spiders in peace -- after all, they eat the insects. But an invasion (especially into your personal space) is another story, I agree.
How close is where you were sitting to your bed? Or were you actually in your bed?
Posts: 32919 | Registered: Mar 2003
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posted
I was in my bed. The lamp they were setting up their outpost on is on the nightstand next to my bed.
I almost wish I had chosen to go to bed early tonight so I'd have been asleep when they cropped up. Then they'd likely have been out of sight by morning and I'd be none the wiser.
And I've heard that about spider and bug bites before, but I've never seen any other bug in my bedroom except spiders. Either the spiders are unusual culprits, or are being framed by one sly little insect.
Posts: 21898 | Registered: Nov 2004
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posted
I think "bug" has entered the common language as a catchall term for any creepy crawly, rather than specifically referring to one subset of the insect family. Taxonomically? You're right. Colloquially? I think it's fair game.
As for the moat, I'm wondering if the outpost itself isn't a distraction while they mount a larger offensive elsewhere. God only knows what they're doing up there right now. Probably digging trenches and building fortifications.
At some point I'm going to have to go back up there, if for no other reason than to get dressed and get my wallet and my cell phone. I'm wondering if the best short term answer is just to go on a cleaning spree and wipe every surface clean, and kill anything that moves in the process.
Posts: 21898 | Registered: Nov 2004
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quote:Originally posted by Lyrhawn: I'm wondering if the outpost itself isn't a distraction while they mount a larger offensive elsewhere. God only knows what they're doing up there right now. Probably digging trenches and building fortifications.
Not unless they're really army ants.
Posts: 32919 | Registered: Mar 2003
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posted
Either an egg sac hatched like you believe, or it's mating season (drawing all the spiders in your home out of hiding.) In either case, you should see less of the spiders soon enough.
Posts: 3826 | Registered: May 2005
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posted
I'd leave them alone. I'd rather have spiders than juicy, nasty, greeny black flies who hang out in the garbage and on dog feces and have the NERVE to try to have babies in MY APARTMENT when fly babies make me itch and scream....
This is why I hate summer.
Posts: 9942 | Registered: Mar 2003
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posted
I had this problem when I was about twelve years old. An egg sack hatched in my room and within a day, they were crawling all over my ceiling and always getting in my face.
Luckily for me, that same week we had made terrariums in Boy Scouts, and my dad caught a praying mantis for me to keep in there.
I named him Bob.
Every time I saw a spider dangling from the ceiling, I'd just grab it and feed it to Bob. By the end of the summer, he had grown fat on the little invaders.
So that's my solution, go catch a praying mantis and let it prowl around in your room for a while.
Posts: 681 | Registered: Feb 2004
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posted
I've settled into an active engagement policy. Today and tomorrow I'm going to engage in an aggressive cleaning process; Operation Sanitize, and hopefully that'll uncover some of them, and remove the impetus to set up shop for the others.
Other than that, I'm going to go about my day, and whenever I encounter them I'll kill them.
Death Toll so far: 9 spiderlings.
Posts: 21898 | Registered: Nov 2004
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posted
I'm back in my room. Last night I slept downstairs, but between the crick in my neck and the pain in my back, I've decided to brave the annoyance and hopefully not wake up with my hair full of spiders.
Death toll so far: 11 spiderlings.
Edit to add: 3 more dead, with two unconfirmed kills.
posted
I'm the one being invaded! I plan a long insurrection to kill them one by one and break their will until they retreat and head to my brother's room.
In the mean time it's blazing hot in here because I had to turn my fans off. They were using the air gusts as a source of propulsion for aerial incursions. Stealth aerial incursions I might add, since the little sucker are so hard to see and pick out of the air; you have to wait for them to land and them snuff them out.
Edit: We're up to 18 now. 200 to go!
Edit2: 23 now. Hunting them on the ceiling seems to be the easiest method.
posted
I found one of our dear little brown friends in my bedroom last night. He was creeping along the baseboard when I turned on the light. I made sure to get a good look and positive ID before whacking him.
Definitely a brown recluse.
Is it done, Yuri? No, Comrade Premiere, it has only begun...
Posts: 1813 | Registered: Apr 2001
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posted
I haven't spotted any of the enemy for a few days now. I think they've either gone into hiding or they've moved on.
I think we've settled into an uneasy peace. But thankfully I'm going on vacation in about 7 hours, so I don't much care at the moment. Posts: 21898 | Registered: Nov 2004
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posted
I have a similar problem Lyrhawn... I live right by the Detroit River... and where there's water there's life... and where there's life there's spiders.
BIG river spiders with thick webs. And even being on the 10th floor with screens on my windows won't keep them out if they are open.
A combo of the screens not being very good and they get in when they are babies and grow fast.
Posts: 4953 | Registered: Jan 2004
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posted
We left at 8am on Sunday and I just got back a couple hours ago. It took 3 hours to get there (Silver Lake, MI) and almost six to get back due to a wicked thunderstorm that at some points was so bad traffic stopped on the freeway because no one could see the lines, and at another point nearly blew my car off the freeway entirely.
But the trip was a blast. We did almost everything that we normally do, even added a kayaking trip that ended up being a highlight, but didn't get to sandboarding, which is fine. As it is, I'm going to spend the next week trying to get all the sand out of my hair from the dunes. Just before we left we watched a huge thunderstorm roll in across the dunes that looked eerily like the scene from Independence Day when the giant cloud with the mothership behind it was advancing on Washington DC.
It was a very, very interesting couple of days.
Posts: 21898 | Registered: Nov 2004
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Freakishly, one year to the day, almost to the hour from the last time those little eight legged bastards attacked me, they're back for more! Another egg sac must have hatched in my room. Hopefully I'll be past this in a few days, like last time.
I just saw one float in front of me, looked over to see them AGAIN building a fort on my lamp, and then commenced a sweep of the ceiling where my counteroffensive was so successful last year.
The Kill Count already stands at a hefty 10. This time I refuse to let them drive me from my room! I shall defend this tiny piece of land!
Posts: 21898 | Registered: Nov 2004
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posted
Get a cat, or some sort of pet bird. They'll do a better job, and they are more than happy to.
Posts: 14316 | Registered: Jul 2005
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Blayne Bradley
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posted
i get bitten by something every time i sleep.
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quote:Originally posted by Blayne Bradley: i get bitten by something every time i sleep.
Depending on your geographic location it's pretty likely that your mattress is infested with bedbugs.
Posts: 15421 | Registered: Aug 2005
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Blayne Bradley
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posted
its a new mattress though.... and im pretty sure i feel things crawling over me when Im trying to sleep.
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posted
I think, that instead of committing atrocity after atrocity against these poor defenseless arachnids, you should open a dialog and talk to them.
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So here I am in the living room, everyone else in my house soundly asleep, whilst those damnable hooligan spiders take up residence in my room. I'm going to go take yet another shower, as despite the fact that I'm pretty sure I got them all, I still feel like they're crawling all over me, but I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions to get rid of them, or some sort of mental assurance that'll actually get me to sleep in my room again in the near future. 
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