What is your reaction when a family member or friend steps on a spider?

Moonohol

Two Legged Freak
Joined
Aug 8, 2016
Messages
115
They get a firm tsk tsk from me. It is slightly upsetting, but people have been stepping on bugs for ages... hasn't really slowed them down much. I'm less worried about stomp-happy arachnophobes than I am about the wicked monsters who intrude on and demolish these beautiful animals' natural habitats.
 

EulersK

Arachnonomicon
Staff member
Joined
Feb 22, 2013
Messages
3,292
It's my choice to catch and release. If it's not theirs, then it's not my job to tell them that it's important. Let's get real here, people. They're bugs. For every spider that was found and killed, there are five more living within a few yards.

Although, widows and recluses get the boot treatment from me as well. No mercy with them.
 

Toxoderidae

Arachnoprince
Joined
Nov 16, 2015
Messages
1,008
It's my choice to catch and release. If it's not theirs, then it's not my job to tell them that it's important. Let's get real here, people. They're bugs. For every spider that was found and killed, there are five more living within a few yards.

Although, widows and recluses get the boot treatment from me as well. No mercy with them.
Only thing I treat with a disregard for its existence that isn't a pest is wasps.
 

viper69

ArachnoGod
Old Timer
Joined
Dec 8, 2006
Messages
17,851
I remind that person that I believe ALL life is precious and no life should be needlessly killed.

Then, I tell them I also believe in Hammurabi's Code, as I pull out my Uzi.
 

tetracerus

Arachnosquire
Joined
May 16, 2016
Messages
65
Ideally people would educate themselves on which "pests" are beneficial and completely harmless to humans so that they can catch and release those. However, not everyone can identify all the critters that crawl into their homes. I live in AZ and people here kill scorpions regularly given that C. sculpturatus, one of the more common ones, can deliver a really nasty sting. You don't want that one crawling on your kids or small pets :/
 

AphonopelmaTX

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
May 7, 2004
Messages
1,816
I just take satisfaction in that such a person is most likely surrounded by the spiders they squashed and they don't even know it.

Reminds me of a time where I went to a park and asked a few people if they have seen tarantulas there. One girl was convinced there were none since she has been coming to that particular park for years and never saw one. That same evening I saw several walking about on the paved trails that same girl was walking on.

I think of that every time someone kills a spider out of fear or disgust. One may kill a few here and there but sometimes there are giants living in the ground those same people walk on. :)
 
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