Hello .. this is Spider .. :-))
The reason I am called Spider is because I love spiders to the point of
looniness. They are my very dear friends.
Alas, it was not always the case. For 20 years I was terrified witless of
them, regardless of size or leg-length. Moving to this house with its
wrap-round garden forced me to accept treatment, which I did at the Maudsley
Hospital London. The desensitising program was so good that I was happy
with spiders after 3 months, and keeping tarantulas after 6 months!
If you are able to handle spiders in the garden but not in the house, why
not try carrying a 'managable' spider into the house, increasing the size of
the spider as you progress. You may feel anxious and panicky at first, but
try to stay with the spider until some/all of the anxiety subsides. Your
real hope lies in the fact that you can handle them outside - it's a good
starting point.

To respond to Kate's suggestion that spiders like dry homes, I am obliged to
say it's untrue. In an average centrally-heated home, a spider is in danger
of dessication unless it can find a source of water. The moisture from a
house plant will do, as will moist kitchens and bathrooms. Many spiders
mistakenly wander into our homes in search of a mate. Usually it's the male
you see, as they are obliged to seek out the female in her territory.
The need for water is essential; without it a spider cannot walk ..
therefore cannot find water .. becomes increasingly dessicated, and so on.
This is because all thirty-three muscles in a spider's leg draw the leg
inward to the body; none extend the legs. To walk, the spider effectively
uses hydraulics.
OK. Spider lesson over.
Spider

Zipadee Doodar wrote in message
...
I know they do no harm, and are almost mans' best friend but I hate them.
And in this house where we have lived for 2 years, they are enormous and
scare the compost out of me. Is there anything available to persuade them
to
go away, or at least not to appear in the bathroom etc? I was thinking
something on the lines of those sonic cat scarers etc.

BTW I can handle them ok in the garden, just not in the house.

TIA

ZD