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This is easy, and doesn't even require a website. Rule of thumb: All spiders are Black Widows, and those that aren't are Brown Recluses. All spiders are dead

This is easy, and doesn't even require a website. Rule of thumb: All spiders are Black Widows, and those that aren't are Brown Recluses. All spiders are deadly poisonous, and those that aren't are deadly poisonous. All spiders hunt and eat humans. Obviously, this is a joke, but I have an irrational fear of spiders that I inherited from my father, and have passed to my now-adult son. We live in southwestern Virginia (Virginia Tech), and have a nice variety of creepy spiders that all manage to look deadly. My fear has gotten worse as I have gotten older. This is actually useful to me. Thank you to the OP.

chasil 4y ago
Don't tell me, Shelob lives in your back yard, and Ungoliant lives down the street. You've likely lost several children to them.
- waltwalther 4y ago
  WOW...I just had to Google these...
kabdib 4y ago
I moved to the Seattle area about 20 years ago, and my first encounter with a Giant House Spider was pretty unsettling. Those things are big and fast. I mostly leave them alone now (though often they become cat toys).
- waltwalther 4y ago
  I have a quick story. I was working from home during covid, sitting on my couch in front of my laptop. I was alone...when out of my peripheral I picked up the biggest wolf spider I have ever seen comically wobble-running, his body unusually high, and legs seemingly drawn in, running from the kitchen to...UNDER THE LIVING ROOM COUCH. And there he stayed for three days, under the couch and in my mind. I did not sit on the couch for two days. Instead I worked from my bedroom. Occasionally I would sneak downstairs to watch the couch. I could not force myself to sit on the couch. I was petrified, and I hated it. Just before lunch on the third day I soaked cotton balls in a smelly oil and tossed them under the couch. I read online that spiders did not like this, and that he would certainly vacate the area. As I waited, my son came home for lunch. He was upstairs in his room, and I was downstairs in the kitchen when it happened. Around the corner came the same comically wobbling monster...running frantically...and I was shoeless and frozen! I heard myself yelling for my son, "Tyler! Tyler! Tyler! I NEED YOUR HELP!" He came barreling down the stairs not knowing what to expect, and came face to face to the beast. I could tell by his expression that he was also creeped out, but at least he was wearing shoes. "KILL IT KILL IT KILL IT WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?!" I yelled (realizing what a baby I was being, but unable to be an adult). He grabbed a magazine and smacked it, immediately killing it, and ending my nightmare....mostly. I still get chills thinking about it. If this sounds overly dramatic to you I agree, but imagine being that afraid of something so small and harmless. I have an unreasonable fear of these things. I am a thinking giant and can easily destroy them, but instead I live in fear of them.
vector_spaces 4y ago
I used to be severely arachnophobic, but accidentally cured my fear through a prescription to propranolol which I was taking for general anxiety, not arachnophobia, but I've since learned it's been successfully used for treating arachnophobia along with other phobias. I was hiking with friends one day, then my friend pointed out there was a spider on my shoulder. I let it crawl on my finger, and then it dawned on me that I wasn't afraid of it at all. The feeling of no longer being afraid of something that I previously couldn't even be in the same room with was so thrilling I started seeking out spiders to handle. I've since learned a lot more about spiders in general, so I know now how to handle them in a safe way. I now have a pet Western black widow spider (which I never handle without gloves, and only handle to clean her enclosure), and delight in giving the spiders in my yard some water to drink during dry spells. I know phobias can't be rationalized away, but in the interest of giving you a reason to work on your phobia: spiders generally don't have any interest in hurting us. Even for the medically significant ones of North America, bites rarely kill -- a black widow hasn't killed anyone in a few decades out here, and antivenom is rarely used when patients seek treatment. It's pretty difficult to induce one to bite, since its venom is mainly for its prey. When endangered, their preference is to run, which makes sense, because biting won't be enough to incapacitate most things trying to eat you fast enough to save you when you're that small.
- waltwalther 4y ago
  Everything you have written is completely logical. My brain knows that most spiders are harmless, and have zero interest in humans, and that dying from a spider bite is rare. On one hand I think they are beautiful and fascinating, and on the other hand I am completely repulsed at the thought of a spider being in my house. Not only that, but if I see a spider before or while I am eating I am unable to eat. I know how irrational that is. We generally leave our porch light off so as not to attract bugs (because they are food for spiders), but recently it was left on for whatever reason. When my son opened the door a medium-sized wolf spider ran inside and stopped. Just as my son was about to step on it I noticed that it was a mother carrying many baby spiders on her back. Stepping on her could have been a disaster. I watched as he coaxed her into an empty cereal box. I was close enough to see her babies moving and shifting on her back. Once secured inside the box we had a choice to make. Set her free out in the yard somewhere or into the toilet. After a brief conversation we decided that a watery grave would prevent her offspring from entering our house in the future. Events like this take up too much space in my head. This is the only thing I am afraid of. I am not afraid of snakes and the usual other suspects. Just spiders. I am mostly unafraid of granddaddy longlegs spiders, and will sometimes liberate them, sans a leg or two, from feline captivity. Anyway, I do not even remember what my point was now..but your experience is certainly interesting to me as I have, at times, considered learning my way out of this fear I have. I really admire that you are now able to handle these little creatures and even enjoy them! I would love to feel unafraid instead of literally terrified. I am actually sweating now after recalling that spider incident above.

chasil 4y ago

Don't tell me, Shelob lives in your back yard, and Ungoliant lives down the street. You've likely lost several children to them.

waltwalther 4y ago
WOW...I just had to Google these...

kabdib 4y ago

I moved to the Seattle area about 20 years ago, and my first encounter with a Giant House Spider was pretty unsettling. Those things are big and fast. I mostly leave them alone now (though often they become cat toys).

waltwalther 4y ago
I have a quick story. I was working from home during covid, sitting on my couch in front of my laptop. I was alone...when out of my peripheral I picked up the biggest wolf spider I have ever seen comically wobble-running, his body unusually high, and legs seemingly drawn in, running from the kitchen to...UNDER THE LIVING ROOM COUCH. And there he stayed for three days, under the couch and in my mind. I did not sit on the couch for two days. Instead I worked from my bedroom. Occasionally I would sneak downstairs to watch the couch. I could not force myself to sit on the couch. I was petrified, and I hated it. Just before lunch on the third day I soaked cotton balls in a smelly oil and tossed them under the couch. I read online that spiders did not like this, and that he would certainly vacate the area. As I waited, my son came home for lunch. He was upstairs in his room, and I was downstairs in the kitchen when it happened. Around the corner came the same comically wobbling monster...running frantically...and I was shoeless and frozen! I heard myself yelling for my son, "Tyler! Tyler! Tyler! I NEED YOUR HELP!" He came barreling down the stairs not knowing what to expect, and came face to face to the beast. I could tell by his expression that he was also creeped out, but at least he was wearing shoes. "KILL IT KILL IT KILL IT WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?!" I yelled (realizing what a baby I was being, but unable to be an adult). He grabbed a magazine and smacked it, immediately killing it, and ending my nightmare....mostly. I still get chills thinking about it. If this sounds overly dramatic to you I agree, but imagine being that afraid of something so small and harmless. I have an unreasonable fear of these things. I am a thinking giant and can easily destroy them, but instead I live in fear of them.

vector_spaces 4y ago

I used to be severely arachnophobic, but accidentally cured my fear through a prescription to propranolol which I was taking for general anxiety, not arachnophobia, but I've since learned it's been successfully used for treating arachnophobia along with other phobias. I was hiking with friends one day, then my friend pointed out there was a spider on my shoulder. I let it crawl on my finger, and then it dawned on me that I wasn't afraid of it at all. The feeling of no longer being afraid of something that I previously couldn't even be in the same room with was so thrilling I started seeking out spiders to handle. I've since learned a lot more about spiders in general, so I know now how to handle them in a safe way. I now have a pet Western black widow spider (which I never handle without gloves, and only handle to clean her enclosure), and delight in giving the spiders in my yard some water to drink during dry spells. I know phobias can't be rationalized away, but in the interest of giving you a reason to work on your phobia: spiders generally don't have any interest in hurting us. Even for the medically significant ones of North America, bites rarely kill -- a black widow hasn't killed anyone in a few decades out here, and antivenom is rarely used when patients seek treatment. It's pretty difficult to induce one to bite, since its venom is mainly for its prey. When endangered, their preference is to run, which makes sense, because biting won't be enough to incapacitate most things trying to eat you fast enough to save you when you're that small.

waltwalther 4y ago
Everything you have written is completely logical. My brain knows that most spiders are harmless, and have zero interest in humans, and that dying from a spider bite is rare. On one hand I think they are beautiful and fascinating, and on the other hand I am completely repulsed at the thought of a spider being in my house. Not only that, but if I see a spider before or while I am eating I am unable to eat. I know how irrational that is. We generally leave our porch light off so as not to attract bugs (because they are food for spiders), but recently it was left on for whatever reason. When my son opened the door a medium-sized wolf spider ran inside and stopped. Just as my son was about to step on it I noticed that it was a mother carrying many baby spiders on her back. Stepping on her could have been a disaster. I watched as he coaxed her into an empty cereal box. I was close enough to see her babies moving and shifting on her back. Once secured inside the box we had a choice to make. Set her free out in the yard somewhere or into the toilet. After a brief conversation we decided that a watery grave would prevent her offspring from entering our house in the future. Events like this take up too much space in my head. This is the only thing I am afraid of. I am not afraid of snakes and the usual other suspects. Just spiders. I am mostly unafraid of granddaddy longlegs spiders, and will sometimes liberate them, sans a leg or two, from feline captivity. Anyway, I do not even remember what my point was now..but your experience is certainly interesting to me as I have, at times, considered learning my way out of this fear I have. I really admire that you are now able to handle these little creatures and even enjoy them! I would love to feel unafraid instead of literally terrified. I am actually sweating now after recalling that spider incident above.