How to get over the fear

[LizardStudent]

I'm sure that there's many people on this forum that have never been afraid of spiders ever, but wanted to discuss with anyone who's tried to break the innate spider fear

I LOVE bugs and love handling them, never get creeped out really whether its needing to touch a scorpion, vinegaroon, roach, feeders, millipedes etc but I've always had the fear of spiders! Not like a phobia or freak out, just the heart racing "ohgod ohgod ohgod" if a sling or house spider or anything is coming for me. I respect them immensely and want to know if others have experience in how to get over it, or even just funny stories about it

 

[DomGom TheFather]

I would imagine exposure therapy would help.
The best part is that you can keep a spider for its whole life and never touch it. Hands off like a fish.

 

[CanebrakeRattlesnake]

Honestly, as much as I love spiders certain species give me the heebie jeebies. I don't like looking at ones with really long spindly legs. Cellar spiders are okay but spiders like Heteropoda maxima... Even just looking at pictures makes me feel like I need to brush off my arms to make sure nothing's crawling on me lol. It's kind of strange because other long-legged spiders like Latrodectus don't scare me at all.

One thing that's really helped me with overcoming fears is slowly exposing myself to them in controlled environments. So just looking at pictures zoomed in, looking at their eyes and face instead of all the spindly legs. I used to be really scared of centipedes and although house centipedes are still uncomfortable to look at I feel better about most other kinds after spending a lot of time in my yard just looking at the little ones in my yard.

It might help to look at more "cute" spiders, like super fuzzy chunky looking ones like jumping spiders and tarantulas. You could always get a stuffed spider or little figurine/plastic one to get used to seeing it without it being an actual spider that will move around. I think Safari made a pretty nice looking tarantula figure.

 

[Matts inverts]

I’ve pet a t but I’ve never held one. I have one now but I’m waiting till it’s bigger to hold it

 

[DomGom TheFather]

I’ve pet a t but I’ve never held one. I have one now but I’m waiting till it’s bigger to hold it

~ Nooooo. Don't do it!

 

[Matts inverts]

Why? I really don’t want to hold all the time but I just want to get over the fear

 

[CanebrakeRattlesnake]

Why? I really don’t want to hold all the time but I just want to get over the fear

There was just a new thread the other day about someone killing their T by handling it. You can 100% get over the fear of T's without putting their life at risk, literally no reason to handle one.

 

[viper69]

I have one now but I’m waiting till it’s bigger to hold it

Great way to kill it, just like someone did a day ago..I can see people never ever learn. Also, in point of fact, the more massive the T gets, the more it is likely to DIE when something goes wrong.

Why? I really don’t want to hold all the time but I just want to get over the fear

See above. You have bought the wrong pet. You should get a gerbil or a snake or something else for holding

 

[Craig73]

I still have a phobia, but as mentioned, exposure has been helpful. I have mine over my desk and watch them with fascination.

You don’t need to hold them, simple things like being able to do enclosure maintenance will help over time reduce anxiety for close interaction scenarios. Some can be bolty, so over time you observe how that looks and feels and just continue to work on controlling the anxiety.

They are not out to get you. There are some that may be like an ex, just a nightmare temperament-wise, so try to start with something docile. I started all mine from sling stage because that’s what I’m comfortable with.

I just shipped four and rehoused eight. When it can down to it my mind just went to being task focused and honestly had no anxiety. Best believe I had a drink after that, maybe before too, I blacked out and cannot recall.

 

[LizardStudent]

There was just a new thread the other day about someone killing their T by handling it. You can 100% get over the fear of T's without putting their life at risk, literally no reason to handle one.

I agree that T's should not be handled or at least as minimally as possible, I was more so talking about how as a kid even touching bugs didn't bother me and picking stuff up outside was fine, but never with spiders and now I get nervous if I open my T's container up and it comes towards me or moves very quickly. I'm not trying to be able to hold them or anything, just how to get over being nervous around them in general

 

[Matts inverts]

I have helped jumpers but it was mostly on accident but I want to handle once super close to the ground just to see.

 

[LizardStudent]

I still have a phobia, but as mentioned, exposure has been helpful. I have mine over my desk and watch them with fascination.

You don’t need to hold them, simple things like being able to do enclosure maintenance will help over time reduce anxiety for close interaction scenarios. Some can be bolty, so over time you observe how that looks and feels and just continue to work on controlling the anxiety.

They are not out to get you. There are some that may be like an ex, just a nightmare temperament-wise, so try to start with something docile. I started all mine from sling stage because that’s what I’m comfortable with.

I just shipped four and rehoused eight. When it can down to it my mind just went to being task focused and honestly had no anxiety. Best believe I had a drink after that, maybe before too, I blacked out and cannot recall.

Thank you, I agree they aren't out to get you, they can just be so quick! It's easy to get nervous. I have an l. parahybana sling currently, she is my first and I love watching her but she can be lightning fast when I open her container to feed or otherwise

 

[goliathusdavid]

I don't think handling Ts is inherently bad if you are properly trained. I've handled them for education programs, and it can be really helpful for audiences to get over some of their fears, watching someone hold such an animal. But I would agree that in general, handling shouldn't be done without a clear purpose and proper training on other inverts. And they are definitely not gerbils

 

[Craig73]

Thank you, I agree they aren't out to get you, they can just be so quick! It's easy to get nervous. I have an l. parahybana sling currently, she is my first and I love watching her but she can be lightning fast when I open her container to feed or otherwise

I was attempting to rehouse one of my Psalmopoeus after had just transferred some new ones I got, coaxed it out and was like ooh boy, a snitch larger than I anticipated for the setup I prepared and so I’ll be going back through that exercise again. The first couple of burst of speed are jarring, but you get a sense for what their mood is like and then it becomes a cat and mouse game. I did have a different genius challenge me, so that was a little more stressful, but you just work through it. Your mind just resets to problem solving vs all out fear, at least for me.

 

[LizardStudent]

I don't think handling Ts is inherently bad if you are properly trained. I've handled them for education programs, and it can be really helpful for audiences to get over some of their fears, watching someone hold such an animal. But I would agree that in general, handling shouldn't be done without a clear purpose and proper training on other inverts. And they are definitely not gerbils

Maybe a bit comparable to gerbils...
- fuzzy
- may or may not like to burrow
- eating machines
- large tooth to body ratio

 

[Edan bandoot]

I'm not one to hold spiders, too fast for me personally but when I was a kid I would place my hand in front of the spiders I saw walking across the ground and that helped me to realize that they are just as "friendly" as the rest of the bugs

 

[spideyspinneret78]

I used to be terrified of spiders, pretty severely. I'd always been fascinated with them, but watching a family member freak out over a spider as a kid made me deathly afraid of them for many years. When I worked as a zookeeper there was a building behind the scenes that had TONS of cellar spiders and Steatoda species in it. To get over my fear, I started observing them and even dropping a few mealworms into their webs to watch them eat and hopefully desensitize myself over time. It partially worked. I'm still a little nervous about cellar spiders in particular (I would be too scared to hold one), but I can tolerate them around me now as long as they're not actually crawling on me. Oddly enough I've never been afraid of tarantulas, though. Their fuzzy appearance always struck me as cute instead of scary. Some true spiders though, like Pholcids, still creep me out. I remember seeing a close of shot of a cellar spider's eyes/ chelicerae and it sent chills down my spine.

 

[Stan Schultz]

I'm sure that there's many people on this forum that have never been afraid of spiders ever, but wanted to discuss with anyone who's tried to break the innate spider fear

I'm one of those who've never been afraid of them. But, I know of someone who is a recovered arachnophobe par excellence. She even wrote a book about her recovery. I'll contact her to confirm that she's willing to help you. In the meantime, if you send me an e-mail (look in my sig, below) I can pass it on to her and then quietly step back, out of the way, so you two can chat without interruption.

 

[8 legged]

I'm sure that there's many people on this forum that have never been afraid of spiders ever, but wanted to discuss with anyone who's tried to break the innate spider fear

I LOVE bugs and love handling them, never get creeped out really whether its needing to touch a scorpion, vinegaroon, roach, feeders, millipedes etc but I've always had the fear of spiders! Not like a phobia or freak out, just the heart racing "ohgod ohgod ohgod" if a sling or house spider or anything is coming for me. I respect them immensely and want to know if others have experience in how to get over it, or even just funny stories about it

This fear / respect is completely ok and leads to only self-promoters picking up their spiders in order to be in the spotlight. However, a certain distance makes life more pleasant for both the spiders and the keepers!
I think this fear / respect is justified. A bite hurts like hell, usually you flinch (reflex) and injure the animal.
You're a cool guy too without touching spiders!

 

[Polenth]

I had a short period of being afraid of spiders as a child. Nothing innate about it as I had an arachnophobic parent, so I started out thinking they must be dangerous.

All that happened is I realised it made no sense and did something about it. I took over catching any I wanted to put out and left the pholcids alone in my room. There were some racing heart moments at first, but I was over it by my teens. I basically did exposure therapy to myself as a child, though I didn't know what that was at the time. I still remember being afraid, but I don't experience it at all anymore and see them just like any other critter.