What kind of spider is this, and should I release it or dispatch it?

[Sparrow]

Due to its size and really fast movements, it does indeed appear to be a Dolomedes, the fishing spider. They are absolutely harmless to us. They move quickly, and this makes a lot of people think they are aggressive...but all it is is spider panic. lol They do panic at the sight of us just as much as we do at the sight of them!

It actually looks rather different from the Wolf Spider in body type. Look at the legs. Fishing spiders have very skinny legs, Wolf spiders have chunkier legs. Huntsman spiders' front legs are reeeeeaally long, much longer than the back legs.

They are great spiders with lovely patterning...even if you don't like the way they look as a whole, try to look past that for a minute and just look at how intricate the patterning is on it's body.

And, it is not necessarily true that we need to fear the non-webbing spiders most. The Black Widow is a spider than lives on a web it's entire life. It is the most venomous spider we have in the U.S. Brown Recluse are not webbing spiders, they wander. BUT, they are very small, shy and rarely seen. Chances are, if you see a spider out on your wall, ceiling, or anywhere else that looks like a Brown Recluse, it's NOT. There are several other species of perfectly harmless spiders that are commonly seen in peoples' houses, and they look identical to the Brown Recluse. In any case, spiders should be respected for what they are, but there is NO reason to fear them. They are just an important part of nature.

 

[Cetawin]

Quote:
You poor dear. Being afraid of something is horrible. You really should work on your fear of these things or your son will have them as well. The black snake, spiders and other little critters are an valuable and important part of the ecosystem, food chain and life. They need to be here, do their jobs and keep the balance.

Killing that snake means 100 more rodents now have free rein to get into your yard, home, coop and so forth. Killing the spider means flys, mosquitoes and other flying pests are free to roam through as well. Those are more a threat to your child these days than the spider is.

 

[Cetawin]

Quote:
OMG my long lost twin! Finally!

I do not indulge any of that nonsense. My ex-MIL had my daughter absolutely screaming and running everytime the thunder boomed or lightening cracked. She herself was deathly afraid of storms and led my daughter into a panic over it. I stopped it quick enough by taking daughter out to play in a rainstorm one day with the thunder and lightening off in the distance but still loud enough to know it was there. We laughed, giggled and got wet. That was the end of that.


16 year old who fear spiders:

Maybe get son to face his fear by stating why he fears the spiders, read about them, look at them and maybe get him to touch a tarantula at a pet store. Just keep talking to him and work with him...it will take time because of his age.

 

[Scrambled Egg]

What kind of spider is this, and should I release it or dispatch it?

At my house we fly flap first and ask this question later....not allowed inside at all or outside if in human path....I let an enormous yellow and black garden spider live between two bushes one summer....we had an understanding......she was big enough for me to see where she was all the time and those bushes were hers..the house was mine..worked out fine....don't do spiders well..​

 

[Zookeeper9000]

 

[Oblio13]

Quote:
Facing your fears and "sucking it up" is exactly how you get over them. Soldiers are afraid of booby traps, bullets and shrapnel. Cops are afraid of going into a dark building alone after a burglar. Pilots are afraid of going 1,000 miles per hour ten miles up in the air.

 

[dacjohns]

Some of you just don't get it about fears/phobias. Some can be overcome by methods you have mentioned. Others can't. I am afraid of heights yet I have hiked the Grand Canyon and fallen out of airplanes. That fear is still there and I don't feel like investing the time and money for therapy. My wife goes up on the roof and she changes the light bulbs. In the Grand Canyon when I had the canyon wall next to me the fear was lessened. On the rim I stayed at least 20 feet from the edge. Sucking it up doesn't always work and my fear of heights has not lessened over the years despite what I have tried to do about it.

I would consider people without phobias very fortunate. Sorry for stealing the thread but I had to say it.

 

[BirdBoy88]

I got chills just looking at the pics lol

i love all animals but spiders i run from..lol i would have killed it on the spot.. but thats me..lol

 

[Lunachick]

dacjohns - have you tried hypnosis? There could be an underlying issue there that might be connected to your fear.

 

[dacjohns]

I'm 54 years old on a limited income. I've lived with it this long and it hasn't been debilitating. I've considered hypnosis and other types of therapy but have decided not to go forward with any of it.

Thank you for your suggestion but I was just trying to point out that if you haven't suffered from a phobia you don't understand. Hopefully I have said all I am going to say. Probably have said too much and in the wrong way.