What Happened

[John K Jordan]

I avoid killing them because they are generally good citizens......

Same here, house spiders are caught and relocated where my Lovely Bride won't have to interact with them. The only exception was when a huge, exceptionally "hairy" spider came out of a vent and ran across the floor. When I went to catch it hundreds of tiny, tiny spiders on it's body suddenly shot out in an expanding circle, all presumably looking for a place to call home. In this case the spray came out.

The barn appears to be the best breeding area. A young vet was in the middle of castrating a goat in a stall once when she looked up and around at the webs and said, "This is my worst nightmare." Just think of all the insects that fed those spiders!

However, I've met two people who have been bitten by spiders, type unknown. One said he still had a lot of pain and could barely move his elbow four months after the bite, and the other eventually recovered but is missing a pound of flesh. Something to be aware of.

JKJ

[Jim Koepke]

Spiders used to give me the willys before moving to Washington. Now they do not give me the warm fuzzies, but they are respected and have only been killed accidentally. My response used to be to kill them without mercy.

jtk