Having been a life-long, fully paid-up member of the Arachnophobe Society, I've often pondered the question as to why a spider - which after all is only a tiny creature - strikes such abject terror into my heart.
I'm fascinated by all nature and will handle snakes, mice and rats without a qualm.
I deal with the very large cockroaches and ants endemic to this part of the world without batting an eye.
But if presented with something that has an extra pair of legs - eight of them rather than six - all rationality flies out of the window and I become a quivering wreck.
Yes I know that they are wonderfully interesting creatures, I really, really do and I would never, ever kill one.
I'm perfectly aware that their silk is stronger than steel and how marvellous it is that they can weave such amazing symmetrical webs.
I'm totally in awe of their capabilities to catch prey and how they eat insects which can be downright dangerous to humans.
So why oh why, when I see anything larger than an M&M do I beat a hasty retreat?
Recently I spent a very enjoyable weekend with friends in Hove, a seaside town in the south of England.
My hostess really pampered me and I settled down for the night in my prettily decorated room on a very comfortable bed between crisp white sheets and fluffy pillows.
I was browsing through one of the magazines that she'd left for me on the bedside table when something attracted my attention on the ceiling on the opposite side of the room.
Yes....it was a spider.
Not an enormous one you understand.
Not venomous.
But still it was a spider. With eight legs.
I tried the Rational Approach. (It's a harmless little creature going about it's business. It isn't going to attack me or come anywhere near me).
I tried to go back to the magazine but couldn't help watching it out of the corner of my eye.
Just in case.
Sure enough, it began to move towards me across the ceiling until it was directly above the foot of the bed while I lay there about as relaxed as a coiled spring.
As I stared at it in horrid fascination, it gave a kind of shudder.........and started to descend on a thread....right...above...my...feet.
In a panic I threw my discarded balled-up socks at it to at least get it over to the other side of the room but alas - I was too good a shot and merely managed to sever the thread of spider silk which brought the creature down onto the bed.
By this time I'd lost any vestiges of embarrassment at how ridiculous I was being and let out a yelp for my hostess to come and save me and much to my relief she popped it outside using her feather duster.
Now if that had been a much larger six-legged beetle on the ceiling I wouldn't have given it a second glance let alone be scared of it.
So what is it that makes spiders scary?
I only wish I knew.
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