Autumn weather beginning. . . Oh no! That means spiders will be coming in. . . .

They do say that you have to put a hole in the conkers or split them open for them to work properly, they work for me.

Another thing that autumn brings is daddy-long-legses (or should that be daddies-long-legs?). I hate the way they zoom around too fast for you to get them with a handy newspaper, and am convinced that they want to sit on me. Yuck.

Yes, I'm scared of daddy-long-legs, too, When. Hate 'em, drifting around uncontrollably. Ugh!
cazza - I'll try that, splitting the conkers. It makes sense when you think about it.

So far two rather large spiders in the house OH would seal the house up if he had his way but I can't sleep without the windows open I can only assume it came in that way . I use conkers but I just place them around the doors and windows as they are they do seem to work though.

I've just been in the downstairs toilet - there is a very large spider in the sink. I haven't attempted to help it leave the house, or even the sink - I'm hoping when I go in there tomorrow, it will no longer be visible.

Hoovers ladies, simple and effective but only if you can't manage the pint glass /postcard which works for me .

Oh for heavens sake. Poor little things. Why kill them? Personally, when I see them I am careful to vacuum round them. The larger ones I remove to the garden. The tiny ones are left alone. Remember the old saying that money spiders bringing good fortune?

I used to be terrified of them Seriously scared. About 15 years ago I was at a yoga retreat & one evening we had a demonstration of NIP ( neural linguistic programming) on phobia curing. I wasn't the subject but just watching. Afterwards the lady doing it just made a throw away comment that if any of us had phobias we may find them gone. It was very impressive but I didn't give it another thought until a couple of weeks later when there was a spider in the bath & I just gently picked it up & put it out of window. Never had a problem since. I saw her myself for fear of swimming in deep water. It is not very dear ( well 15 years ago it wasn't) which also worked. It is just gentle talking therapy. Took about 20 mins. My DIL had a session before she gave birth too. Very calming. I would totally recommend it if you are really worried about spiders. I find them friendly things now. Just as well as our conservatory is full of them.

My husband has to regularly do 'spider watch' at this time of year. No way I can get near enough to them to capture them with the glass/cardboard combo. I think my fear stems from childhood when we lived on the river bank and used to get huge spiders which made a noise as they scuttled across the linoleum floors. Mum was scared of them too which didn't help as they would send us both screaming for Dad to remove the offending arachnids!

Hello NotTooOld, I am using Hypnotheraphy at the moment to lose weight. I have not eaten a biscuit since my first session. I am now on to watching my portion control, healthy eating and exercise and the weight is coming off.It is very relaxing and I have a great therapist to guide me along. Try it !!

It's spider city here in the autumn. I use a piece of kitchen roll to pick them up and chuck 'em out the window.

Most of the time I just ignore them.

I've tried conkers, they didn't work, I bought an electronic thingy off the internet (£30) and it seemed to work for a while but I saw a spider actually making a web dangling from it the other day! I've tried sprays, jars and jumping on them but nothing seems to work, then I acquired a cat, and there is nothing he likes better than a nice spidery hors d'oeuvre before a meal, just need him to be in at the right time.

I live alone so I have no DH to deal with the pesky things and although last year I managed to handle a tarantula at a petting zoo I am still irrationally afraid of our native species. I think it's because tarantulas move slowly whereas all the others seem to scuttle furtively so that they actually look like they are up to mischief.

Hypnotherapy certainly does help. I have been treating clients with spider fears for years successfully. The thing is, I would be more fearful of bluebottles and flies as they spread all sorts of bacteria as they go, whereas your house spider does its best to eliminate house pests. I feel sad when people kill them as they don't mean any harm. Usually you have learned to be afraid of them, and the same thought process keeps running in your mind. Hypnosis helps to change the thought process.

Nothing but nothing actually needs eight legs! Put them out amd they'll be straight back in. Spiders are the reason I could never be a Buddhist. Spider Stopper spray from Lakeland, pet cat and vacuum at the ready at my house!

A feather-type duster, brush it from it's resting place and drop it into a waste paper bin, and straight outside. I used to be terrified of them, silly isn't it but as someone said, bluebottles and flies are the ones to worry about. I must admit, when they're flying round the room I just feel icy cold, they are nasty little blighters but they definitely get a whack.

I don't know if this might help anyone, but I have several pots of Greek Basil in the house to deter flies. It works very well, and it seems to keep spiders away too.

I'm not sure if it's because they have no flies left to munch, or whether they also dislike the smell of basil. My house is old and very 'spidery', so although I'm not scared of spiders myself, the difference is very noticeable.

I do hope all you arachnophobes have a fairly scare-free Autumn!

I'm fine with spiders and can put them in a pot and deposit them outside. However my daughter is terrified of them. She sprays them with hair spray. Rather cruel, but if it works for her, who am i to object.

Great to hear that you're all as potty as me. Living on my own, I have to deal with them and it makes me break out in a sweat and feel sick when I see one. Don't mind tiddlers, but size and legs matters! Ha! So I generally hoover like mad and keep windows and doors constantly shut. More psychological than actually effective maybe, but I found it helps me. Don't forget some of these blighters we're seeing now in the South, can actually bite!

If I lived in Australia, I'd be really really afraid, but living in the UK, our species here are not in that league at all.

I am more worried about ticks as we have a dog. They don't scare me, just really concern me even though we use a high-grade flea/tick collar on her.

It seems that fear of spiders can be inheritable. Not sure I completely believe that. My husband is not bothered by them, but his 44 year old son is.

www.psychologytoday.com/blog/why-we-worry/201407/why-are-we-afraid-spiders

Another one here that's frightened of them. I spray with lemon oil mixed with water everywhere. Up to now have only had one. Not sure if it works but it makes me feel better and smells nice. Also have a caravan so bought some spider spray from Amazon and before we leave spray the window frames and doors and up to now have only had two very small ones.

Conkers work well here, whole and fresh off the tree every Autumn on every windowsill or other possible place of entry. However I have also used a dab of lemongrass oil on a small piece of kitchen paper tucked here there and everywhere in the kitchen cupboards and any gaps. Bay leaves in flour cupboards deter flour mites, lavender bunches keep the wardrobes smelling fresh, fly-screens deter flies, and I never leave outer doors open to make it harder for mice or (heaven help us) rats to get in. As you can guess we live in the country and I don't like any uninvited guests.

If you want to live and thrive, let the spider run alive.
I was never afraid of spiders ...until last summer when a spider bit my leg when I was cutting the hedge. Looking at the bite ,two punctures , I thought it was a snake bite. After three days the leg was swollen , red and itching., it spread to my foot and I could hardly walk. Doctor confirmed ,a spider bite and it took three weeks to clear up. Now I am very cautious when in the garden.
But I will not kill them.

My biggest fear has always been daddy long legs so I dread it when September comes around. Windows and doors have to be shut when it gets dark as they are attracted by the light and we live in a submarine type atmosphere for 3 weeks or so. Unfortunately my dh is hopeless at dealing with them and won't kill anything.

We used "Mrs White's Leg It" spray & it seemed to work for us!
www.trouva.com/products/56cd98fa2e8586030002c9b9?utm_source=googleshoppingUK&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=googleshoppingUK&dfw_tracker=12274-56cd98fa2e8586030002c9b9&gclid=CjwKEAjwl4q-BRDtzJmSk-uGunkSJACmCOY-xURw9uBuXqClZZiAIWJYzIjl1rqh5dpiAp6qcUQkuxoCQIbw_wcB
Pricey but effective.
There are other sprays that get good reviews. If you're really bothered by them, the preventative sprays may be worth it?
There are also various plug in devices but haven't tried one. Just google " spider repellant"

I am quite fond of spiders - memories of the book and film "Charlotte's Web" . However all the cats who have ever owned me did not share my view and would stalk and munch the little creatures if I was not there to rescue them. Perhaps a cat is the answer?
My daughter in law has a plastic battery operated vacuum tube with which she sucks them up. She once crashed her car , luckily no one hurt, because there was a spider in the car and she was driving and she grabbed her umbrella from the passenger seat with which to batter it to death.

I do empathise with all of you arachophobics (?) because I have a deep fear of snakes, even grass snakes and here in rural SW France they are to be seen. Thankfully my husband does not mind snakes so if ever ................ (Big Shudder.), just hope he is around!