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warning for spider pics on this blog, only look if u feel comfortble to do itđź‘Ť
i know phobias cant b helped, but listen up: alot of fear comes from ignorence
why are u afraid of spiders? is it the way they move? the bite? how they seem to dissappear the second u take ur eyes off them? what if i tell u theres no good reasen to be scared of them?
ur probly like, NU UH UR CRAZY
well im srs. take it from me, a little backstory: when i was rlly young i loved critters of all kinds even spiders. at sum point i randomly got super afraid of them, i developed arachnophobia out of nowhere. so for like 15 years or sumthing give or take , i was terrafied of spiders. it got to the point i was hallucinating spiders evreywhere especally at nite so i was allways scared and i wasnt sleeping well at all. at a certan point u start going to huge lenths to avoid spiders like not going outside and being scared to take a shower incase one is under a shampoo bottle or on a towel
well thats no way to live wtf
and whats anyone else gunna do about it? nuthin. its up to you to decide to concqer a fearđź‘Ť
i dont remmember how but i came accross a spider id group online, where u submit a pic of a spider with info like locatian u found it, wat time of year, that kindof thing. then ppl in the group includeing experts identafy it as close to species as they can. in that group there is one very important rule: NO MISINFO/NEGATIVATY/"KILL IT WITH FIRE" KINDOF COMMENTS!!! its all about educatian and that is very importent when u want to get over a fear. u need to learn real actual facts and not false info thats used for clickbait or for pest controll companys to make money. so finding the spider id group was the first step for me to learn to love spiders
so speaking of misinfo what r sum commen spider myths?
myth: daddy long legs are the most venomous spider but the fangs are to short or weak to bite
fact: "daddy long legs" commenly refers to 3 diffrent critters and only 1 of those is a spider. the first is harvestmen (Opiliones), they r arachnids but not spiders and they have no venom or fangs at all. they mostly eat dead things. the second is cellar spiders (Pholcidae) and they r true spiders (Araneomorphae) and they can bite humans but the venom is weak and not at all mediclly significant. one reasen why ppl think they are deadly is because they kill and feed on dangerous spiders like black widows, but the reasen why they can do this is because the Pholcidae trap there prey with extra sticky silk from a safe distence and then move in for the kill when the prey cant move anymore ,it has nothing to do with the cellar spiders venom. last is not an arachnid at all. some ppl call crane flys (Tipuloidea) daddy long legs. they are allso sumtimes called mosquito eaters because of a myth that they prey on mosquitos. well crane flys are not venomous, they dont eat mosquitos (atleast not as adults*), they dont even have mouthparts capable of eating at all once they r adults. myth bustedÂ
*sum aquatic Tipuloidea species larvae migth feed on mosquito larvae but thats as far as that myth goes into truth
myth: "i got bit by a brown recluse"
fact: pics of the spider biting u or it didnt happen. this article explains and debunks the histeria around the brown recluse better then i ever could. but sinse ppl are usually not inclined to do extra reading on there own here r some quotes bullet pointed for ur convenience
- "First, a truth: Brown recluse bites can be bad. "They are a potentially dangerous spider," said Vetter, who has spent decades studying the brown spiders. “They’re not harmless,” he says. “But the reputation they have garnered in this country is just amazing.”"
- "It is true that some of the spider’s bites lead to necrotic skin lesions, but around 10 percent of them."
- "The brown recluse (Loxosceles reclusa) only lives in a few states – basically, the warmer ones between the Rockies and the Appalachians."
- "Much of Vetter’s work has involved verifying the identity of spiders purported to be brown recluses. [...] He received 1,773 specimens, from 49 states. Less than 20 percent -- 324 -- were brown recluses. All but four of those came from states with endemic brown recluse populations." and "In 2009, Vetter took a close look at 38 arachnids incorrectly identified as recluses by 35 different authorities such as “physicians, entomologists, pest control operators – people you’d think would have reliable opinions,” Vetter said. Misidentifications included a solifuge (which isn't even a spider), a grass spider pulled from a patient’s ear, and a desert grass spider that had bitten a young boy."
- "Over the years, Vetter and his colleagues have compiled a list of about 40 things that can masquerade as recluse bites: bacterial infections, viral infections and fungal infections; poison oak and poison ivy; thermal burns, chemical burns; bad reactions to blood thinners; herpes." and "Most physicians don't have a lot of experience discriminating between a recluse bite and something like necrotizing Staphylococcus. And even if a patient brings in a spider for identification, it's unlikely the ER doctor has been trained to ID a brown recluse."
- "It's possible to live with the spiders and not get bitten. Take the rather extreme example of a Kansas family that lived for six years in a house infested by 2,055 brown recluse spiders. Total bites: Zero."
theres ALOT more info in the article but ya. when it comes to the brown recluse , pics or it didnt happen, myth busted
myth: you swallow x amount of spiders in ur sleep every year
fact: there is no evidense to support that XD (source) myth busted
myth: all spiders make webs/if you see a web a spider made it
fact: all spiders produse silk but only about half make webs. sum only make webs at specific times like the nursery web spider who only makes a web when her spiderlings hatch, the web is like a nursery to keep her babys safe while they grow and she guards them untill she dies or they disperse. other critters can also make webs like certan caterpillars, spider mites, barklice , webspinners... myth busted
myth: spiders go after people/bite on purpose
fact: most spiders cant even see you. and if they do see or sense u in any way they got 3 optians like any creature in a potentally dangerous situatian, fight flight or freeze. sum spiders r super chill and just sit there, like orb weavers (Araneidae) are a good example they r such docile spiders generally but mabey part of that is because they r clumsy as hell off there webs LOL. but most spiders will run and ya sumtimes they run towards u because guess wat, they r just trying to get under cover and to them u are just another part of the enviroment. its rlly rare for spiders to bite and usully its a last resort because to bite they need to be touching the thing that could hurt or kill them. u know? most bites happen when pressure is put on the spiders body like picking up wood from a wood pile or rolling over in bed and u squish the spider, if it is able to it might bite as a last resort like u probly would if a giant was squishing u. myth busted
myth: spiders are evil/mean/dangerous/scary/unloveable
fact: guess how many of these bit me or made me feel afraid in any way
the answer is none of them. no spider i have ever caugth has bit me and i have caught alot of them. alot of spiders have had alot of chances to bite me but i never have been bit by one. that last example (a female Tigrosa helluo aka wetland giant wolf spider) was comforteble enouth to groom herself in my hand. and i fucken love spiders. myth busted
in conclusion
spiders (and all arachnids yes even ticks) r amazing animals that deserve as much respect as any other animal, and they desserve ALOT more love then they get. evreything has a place on this earth like it or not so best learn to live with it at the least, but its much better to learn to love it
peace out
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xX_Dyrk_Nyte_Xx
spiders are super smart and gentle, i was only bit once by a spider bc i accidentally pinched his leg between my fingers and he was stuck so he bit me in a panic. he was calm again once he was unpinched