Rabbits!

[RoboDuck]

Thanks. She is an animal nut. If I would let her she would have a zoo in her room from snakes, tarantulas, and other creepy crawlies to all the cuddly furry critters.

 

[FoodFreedomNow]

Tarantulas need love, too.

 

[balloonflower]

Tarantulas need love, too.

Are we sure about that? I can agree with snakes, lizards, rodents, pretty much anything else, but a spider....

Actually when our butterfly pavilion has their huge birdeater tarantula on display, even I can be interested in it. My squirts used to ask for a tarantula, but since I'm the one who mostly cares for the critters it hasn't happened. I could handle having it in the house and feeding it, but if it ever got out, I'm not sure I could manage that.

 

[FoodFreedomNow]

LOL! I hear you, but they're amazing creatures. I think we just get creeped out because they're so different from us. Multiple eyes, fangs, multiple legs...pretty neat, really.

Thanks for the chuckle! You made me think of the scene from "Home Alone".

 

[User395221]

Are we sure about that? I can agree with snakes, lizards, rodents, pretty much anything else, but a spider....

I've got some "pet" spiders out in my chook run. They've set up their webs right across the doorways, but I leave them be because they are good at controlling the flies (which we get a lot of over here). My helper girl who helps clean my hutches wants to kill spiders when she sees them but I tell her to leave them alone. She thinks I'm strange. LOL

 

[FoodFreedomNow]

I've got some "pet" spiders out in my chook run.  They've set up their webs right across the doorways, but I leave them be because they are good at controlling the flies (which we get a lot of over here).  My helper girl who helps clean my hutches wants to kill spiders when she sees them but I tell her to leave them alone.  She thinks I'm strange.  LOL

Good on you! The vast majority of spiders are non-aggressive and beneficial to us...but there's no convincing some people.

My chickens and ducks enjoy the ones they can catch as a high-protein snack, too. Where's the downside, right?

 

[balloonflower]

At my house, we define the spiders "natural habitat". If they are outside where they are supposed to live, we leave them alone (and I wear garden gloves so that i can avoid freaking out), except for the occasional black widow we find. But, my house is not where they are supposed to be, so they don't get to stay. It seems to be a good balance. I do agree with the chook food! In the spring, the girls go out and try to find buffets for the chickies--turning over rocks and wood to find earwig nests.

 

[FoodFreedomNow]

At my house, we define the spiders "natural habitat". If they are outside where they are supposed to live, we leave them alone (and I wear garden gloves so that i can avoid freaking out), except for the occasional black widow we find. But, my house is not where they are supposed to be, so they don't get to stay. It seems to be a good balance. I do agree with the chook food! In the spring, the girls go out and try to find buffets for the chickies--turning over rocks and wood to find earwig nests.

I know there are some spiders (and house centipedes) that actually live mostly in peoples' homes and don't cause any trouble, except for the occasional scare...but I also relocate them outside when I spot them. They're better off when I find them - I have several indoor cats and they love nothing more than to bat a hapless centipede/stink bug/spider around until it's dead.

There's a wood pile (old wood left by a previous owner) that the ducks and chickens like to perch on, and there are great treats under there, like grubs, worms, and once even a frog that a Black Australorp snapped up before I even realized what it was. I once saw a hen running around with a vole or a mouse in her beak, too. Hooray for pastured poultry!

 

[User395221]

The vast majority of spiders are non-aggressive and beneficial to us...

We have poisonous spiders here, called redbacks. I don't think they are aggressive. They are all over the place. I don't even kill them if they are out in the garden. As long as you don't go sticking your hand underneath something and touch them (they hide underneath things), they won't seek you out to bite you. They are like snakes, they'll bite you if they are disturbed and get a fright, but they don't hunt you in order to bite you. Generally, if you leave them alone, they leave you alone. I don't mind spiders, but I can certainly understand why others don't like them.

As for house spiders, I also leave them be, generally speaking. If they are up in the corner of the ceiling, I have high ceilings so they can stay there. If they start climbing down, or installing themselves somewhere I'd walk into, I move them outside. Again, I don't mind them, because they'll trap and eat any flies or mosquitos that get inside.

 

[FluffyWyandot]

isnt this a rabbit thread?