and I'm as close to having arachnophbia as anyone else. These "big" guys really don't have many enemies and don't have much to fear except cars running over them. Actually I overcame some of my arachnophobia 4 summers ago when we had a rather large zipper spider set up housekeeping on my back porch. My dh talked me out of killing it and asked me to observe it for a while. Having peaked my curiousity( I do have a Biology degree) I agreed. Well that spider stayed all summer and well into the fall. I was actually sad to see it leave. And I learned a lot about spider behaviour that was intriquing. And seeing how many bugs that thing took care of was amazing!! Now I only kill the black widows and brown recluses I find, they can be quite dangerous. I let all other spiders live.

As far as scorpions, another arachnid, I hate them. The ones here are not dangerous but they can be aggressive little boogers. I do kill them because they pose a danger to my cat and dog. Now if I can overcome my fear of wasps, bees, and yellow jackets, I'll have accomplished a lot.

Donna