Honestly how bad are spiders

[Tak]

I don't kill spiders unless they are in my bed, or obviously large/potentially dangerous and in my house. I usually just leave them be or take them outside. The only poisonous spiders native to this region are brown recluse. There's a reason they're called recluse. They nest in undisturbed areas, not the high traffic of an obsessively clean home. Even my yard is clean. I'm asking if anyone has more to add or an informative book to recommend because my daughter is scared of spiders. One of them jumped while we were cleaning up outside and now the babies that are sometimes in the house terrify her. I grew up with an older sister who was scared of anything with a caripace. I had to remove, squash, or otherwise remove them. Including scorpions. I just want my daughter to know they don't hurt people most of the time. She can still feel scared, I just want to make sure she's got the information to change her mind if she chooses.

[SilverHorsey]

I don't think spiders are *that* bad, unless it is that big hairy one. My region only has those really small long legged spiders and some smaller ones. I am not scared of them, they don't bite and they catch those pesky flies and mosquitoes. If I find one bothering me I just take it out, because there is a belief that spiders bring good luck and I don't see any reason in killing these innocent creatures.

[Tak]

Glad I'm not the only one. The spiders eat the insects that harm my house, garden, and skin. I understand phobias and just hope she's not put off by one little jumper.

[Honeycomb]

I rescue the small ones and take them out.
However, anything hairy, brightly colored, or fat and creepy looking IN MY HOUSE, has to die.

[LadyMoondancer]

I love spiders!  I gently put them outside when I find them in the house.  I picked up spiders all the time as a kid and was never once bitten by one.

My recommendation would be Charlotte's Web.  IMO the 1973 animated movie is better than the 2006 film.  (Wilbur the pig was rather bland in the 2006 film IMO.)  But it is live action (plus CGI) which some kids prefer? 

And of course the book is best of all!

[aintnobuffalo]

I used to be afraid of spiders as a child, but now I just leave them be unless they aren't hiding too well and could be killed by the cats (then I try to find a way to get them outside). I think I started liking them better when I was told they keep the other bugs away. Over time I also noted that they simply didn't want to bother me. We had a lot of harmless spiders around growing up,and after a bit, I just got used to them.

[Tak]

I love spiders!  I gently put them outside when I find them in the house.  I picked up spiders all the time as a kid and was never once bitten by one.

My recommendation would be Charlotte's Web.  IMO the 1973 animated movie is better than the 2006 film.  (Wilbur the pig was rather bland in the 2006 film IMO.)  But it is live action (plus CGI) which some kids prefer? 

And of course the book is best of all!

Great idea!

I used to be afraid of spiders as a child, but now I just leave them be unless they aren't hiding too well and could be killed by the cats (then I try to find a way to get them outside). I think I started liking them better when I was told they keep the other bugs away. Over time I also noted that they simply didn't want to bother me. We had a lot of harmless spiders around growing up,and after a bit, I just got used to them.

It's good to know you moved past it. My sister never did.

My dog will kill and eat them if he can... speaking of my dog  his meds are giving him some digestive issues and I need to vacate.

[kaoskat]

Well....... I have a giant tarantula but anything loose hubby must catch and put out or it will bite me, and deadly or not, spider bites are not fun. I move a lot in my sleep so......Yeah I always end up bitten when they get on the bed, so out they must all go! I also have tiny animals so even if their bites aren't a big problem for me, they could be for them.

[Miniature Sheep]

I do my best to rescue spiders in the house, as they're most often small and they mind their own business, so they don't bother me. Sometimes, if I'm not vigilant enough, then my cat catches them and eats them - it's not a pretty sight.

[Tap Dancer]

I'm not scared of heights or clowns, but spiders terrify me! I make other people kill or remove them. If I'm alone, however, I will run away and "hide" from them.  But I hate doing that because I'll be looking around in fear for the rest of the day.

[Skeen]

I only kill widows and recluses, the rest are taken outside.

I think there's an episode of Peppa Pig about how spiders are harmless and useful. 

[Duenia]

I should still have a little popup book somewhere that we used on my step sister. It just had a bunch of facts/information. Learning about them in general made them less scary. If I can find it I will grab the title for you

[TornadoTwist]

I quite like the little critters. We don't have any dangerous kinds here where I life so all of them go outside. If one has made a spot in my room I let him stay since they are really effective when I've got a plague of fruit flies and/or mosquitoes.

[Pokeyonekenobie]

I've always made a verbal deal with the spiders that may or may not occupy my bedroom: If I don't see you, you can stay.  If I see you, I have the right to kill you.  I generally don't see any after saying that out loud.  As far as spiders outside go, they're in their environment so I don't generally do anything about them UNLESS they are a hobo or a black widow (which we have far too many of around here) because I don't want them biting my dog or my little nieces and nephews.

[ghouldilocks]

I'm really scared of spiders - the way I see it, things in nature will defend their home territories aggressively if necessary, so I have no problem doing the same. If it is a small spider that isn't obviously venomous and it's not in my bedroom, it can stay so long as it minds its own business. If it's in my bedroom or it's large - bye. I usually won't kill large ones myself, though, as I'm much too afraid they could jump on me, lol! I don't want spiders in general anywhere near me, though, venomous or not. Even the ones that aren't fatally venomous to humans can and will still bite, and it's not fun either way. Plus, I don't want my cats getting sick if they get bit or try to eat one.

ETA: Dominic Monaghan (actor from LotR movies and Lost, etc.) has a documentary series called Wild Things that he talked about one year during Shark Week - it usually features animals that most people are scared of, out of a mission to try and make them less misunderstood and therefore potentially less frightening to people. I'm not sure whether it still airs, but you could maybe look and see if you can find an episode about spiders?