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So i have arachnophobia, so bad that my body will lock up and i black out if there is a spider on me.

Now i do live with my parents and it occurred to be today when i freaked out when i saw a Huntsman that when when that dreadful day comes where i no longer have my parents and i live alone i'm not not going to be able to call them to kill the spiders for me.

I live in Australia so i can't buy a semi-automatic and shoot the hell out of them and using homemade flamethrowers (aerosol can (like deodorant) + lighter) will cause too much damage because i am liable to overkill them and burn a hole in the wall/floor/ceiling/house.

it's also very hard for me to be close to them. in the past when i've been told to try and crush them myself i find it hard to move my body in range to stomp on them or smash them in between the wall and a shoe on my hand.

So how can i kill spiders accurately with me being far away from them but also minimizing collateral damage to the rest of the house

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  • I had the same problem when I lived in Australia (I moved to the Netherlands, where it is safe). Do you want to pay money for devices or just the easiest way possible? – Kiwu Jun 9 '16 at 12:44
  • @Kiwi easiest would be best and hopefully i don't have to pay money for it (i think hiring an exterminator every time might be a costly solution) – Memor-X Jun 9 '16 at 12:49
  • even though I think we shouldn't crush them (I do it myself out of fear), I have had a few experiences in the matter. (check answer) – Kiwu Jun 9 '16 at 12:51
  • Buy a Swiffer duster: it's long and at the end there's a flat rectangle where you can easily crush a spider from more than a meter away :-) – Dominique Dec 4 '17 at 14:42
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Two responses:

1 - I would look into a gecko or other type of lizard that eats spiders, and allow it free range. It will be a companion of sorts (though generally will seek to live behind your stove or under your furniture); in the event that you see a spider and have some mechanism for capturing/disabling it - the lizard will also serve as a simple disposal mechanism - no need for cleanup.

2 - Seek professional help with your phobia. You are not weak, or sad, or defective for having this phobia - but there's GREAT news: phobias are, BY FAR, the psychological issue with the highest treatment success rate. You CAN receive reasonable and unscary treatment for this phobia and get on with your life. Enough with the little buggers. You can be free!

If/when you do that - you'll be able to use normal tools to deal with them. Your gecko friend will also be very proud of you, if a little hungrier.

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  • I asked about geckos on pets.SE and it appears they're not really effective for pest control (plus I guess there's salmonella, etc). I haven't tried myself; they would be the coolest solution if it worked. – Robbie Wxyz Jun 24 '16 at 20:50
  • Forget my earlier comment, I hadn't seen it was about a Huntsman. – Flater Oct 25 '17 at 8:20
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I used to suck them up with the vacuum cleaner. It works fine, I promise you they die in there, but eventually my conscience got the better of me and I trap them instead, with a big tall glass and a bit of card.

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  • We are talking about big spiders here not sure if a vaccum cleaner is strong enough, unless you have one of them industrial ones. – Kiwu Jun 13 '16 at 6:53
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While I'm not sure how big the spiders are in question, (I would imagine that in Australia, they can get pretty big), my sisters both use something called the bugzooka. This is essentially a spring loaded vacuum-creating device that sucks the bug or spider into a semi-sealed chamber which will eventually starve it to death or you can also choose to humanely release it somewhere outside.

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Killing method

  • A long pole (quaterstaff or something). The distance is good and wait while they are sitting still, aim and then one good jab. Do a quick finish if it isn't killed in one go.

Non lethal method

  • Maybe like makesift a box with a lid and rope on a long stick and just capture it and release it somewhere else. Like this:
    enter image description here

  • Check out spider catcher: Spider catcher maybe you can buy somewhere else for cheaper.

Fun little fact: Some spiders keep frogs as pets.

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  • 3
    Hey Kiwi! While looking at pictures did help you, it can be a serious trigger for others. Maybe it's a good idea to use a picture that has no spiders. – salt3g Jun 10 '16 at 14:41
  • @salt3g hi! True but everyones different, it didnt cure but i can atleast stand the things now. Maybe it could help OP – Kiwu Jun 10 '16 at 16:36

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