I rescued a spider--her babies on her back--from my pool this morning...

[elehhhhna]

and cried and cried and cried. Finally.

Please don't "ask me anything."

[friesianrider]

1. I rescue buggies from my pool, too.

I must have some damn good karma built up, because I've probably saved hundreds of lives this summer ;)

[Skittles]

2. I rescue bugs from the pool too

I just cannot stand to see anything in despair, ya know? :)

[chknltl]

3. critter rescue always deserves a "Waytogo"

so: WAYTOGO elehhhhna! May her babies protect you from other bugs with nefarious intentions directed at you and yours. (and per your request: no questions asked)

[elehhhhna]

4. the buddha smiles on stray critters.

[mitchum]

5. My spider died earlier this week...

For the past 5 weeks I have been watching a beautiful black and yellow garden spider (or as we call them here in the south, "writin' spider") build her web and eat various insects on our deck. Last weekend I came home, and saw that she had laid her eggs and spun her egg sac. Wednesday morning, I discovered that she had died, and fallen out of her web.
I salute her; she did good.

[Usrename]

15. Is that the same as a banana spider?

You ever have one get on you? Gadzooks.. They're not fierce or anything, just gadzooks

[Mutley]

6. I'm terrified of spiders but

There are two fairly big ones living on my balcony. We have an agreement that as long as they stay away from me, and out of my apartment, they can live. I think I deserve karma points for that considering I am very very afraid of spiders.

[Darth_Kitten]

7. that was very noble...

:)

[RayOfHope]

8. I know the tears weren't really about the spider

:hug:

[elehhhhna]

10. LOL!

good'un

[chknltl]

9. My public service announcement:

As you know there are good spiders and there are...bad spiders. I am speaking of Hobo-Spiders here. I have no problem squishing these guys, I have seen the results of their bites and they can be VERY aggressive. There are worse spiders out there, but these guys are becoming quite the problem here in America. Here is a recommended site to educate yourselves on in regards to them, please spend a moment there then pass it along.: www.hobospider.com
I suspect these spiders are at the very root of mankind's subliminal fears. Once enlightened you too can squish away with no guilty feelings afterwords! (I love nature and I respect all creatures who stroll upon the earth but I draw the line when it comes to the Hobo Spider.. you should too).

[elehhhhna]

11. for all i know it was a brown recluse,

in which case it should be named Mother Rumsfeld

[chknltl]

12. Appropriate name indeed.

In the link I posted there is mention of a common misconception about spider bites. The bite from the Hobo spider is most often diagnosed as a Brown recluse bite. Brown recluses and Black widows are not overly aggressive. They have earned a free pass in my book, live and let live. They try to stay out of our way like any other self respecting spider. The Hobo spider on the other hand has an equally potent bite and loves to wonder around at night creating havoc. These guys are not native to our shores and they are spreading faster than killer bees. (Almost as bad, actually can be deadly to infants and the elderly). Bottom line: They highly deserve squishing!
Here is that link again, trust me, for-warned is for-armed in this case!
www.hobospider.com
:grouphug: includes your rescued mommie spider, she wasn't a Hobo

[elehhhhna]

13. euwwwwww. another thing to worry about!

[chknltl]

14. Sorry.....

damn.... guess I am not gainin much in the respect dept. here in the big DU lounge today, (a ref. to another posting) think I might just give up and do some much needed housework.

[Flaxbee]

16. good job!

every creature deserves respect and care. We have a few tunnel (or funnel?) spiders around here - they create neato tunnel-like webs and hide down in them waiting for an unsuspecting bug to wander by. I don't squish anything unless it's on me, and then I usually squish out of panic, not intent.

[chknltl]

17. I really wish I could feel that way...

....I know without a doubt I am gonna earn some bad Karma for saying this but when it comes to HOBO spiders I have to draw the line and insist that they need a good squishing. I can overlook their size and I can find beauty even in the ugliest of things but I can not overlook their downright dangerous threat to folks. They are most active at wondering about between 10:00 and 2:00 at night when most folks are asleep. Ok so they are looking for sex, no harm there but then they crawl into nice little hidey holes like shoes or your bedding and next thing ya know WAM. I can almost accept that but would you let one live in your house if you knew it might climb into babies bed? My daughters boyfriend has been bitten twice now and it was not pretty. The size of the last bite was small but the reaction looked like someone buried a baseball in his chest with about 1/3rd of it sticking out! It oozed stuff that I won't go into details about but trust me it was nasty. He is a big boy but this bite laid him pretty low. Check out some of the testimonials on that link I provided. I once knew a 4 yr old who had one in a jar. She named it Fernando. How cute is that? But that is what got me started lookin into what those spiders are, we squished that one too once we found out. These days I am an advocate of killing Hobo spiders anytime I see them. I don't like having to be like that but I justify it with the fact that I am helping to slow down the spread of an aggressive dangerous critter. Would I do the same to other venomous critters? No, they are not actively spreading throughout the U.S. looking to share a home with us and they try to get out of our way. If a rattle snake got into my home I would likely call someone who could rescue it, but Hobo spiders will get no rescuing from me. Here is that link again for anyone who wants to learn more about Hobo spiders, it is a pretty informative site... check it out,
www.hobospider.com

[minkyboodle]

18. necrosis sucks

I mean it really sucks!!!

[chknltl]

19. (actually thats pretty funny...sorry if not intended as such) n/t

[minkyboodle]

23. it was intended as so

:)

[chknltl]

20. I seem to have stolen this thread....

...sorry elehhhhna... I'll go have a drink now... lotsa drinks and martinis being offered up here in the lounge.... I can get a bit obsessive sometimes, time to get obsessive with a beer

[Vektor]

21. I rescued a Mom spider and her babies once too.

She was in the street and I moved them all to the woods. I do save insects, arachnids, etc. No shame in that at all.

[Floogeldy]

22. I'm sorry. I can't go along with this.

I cannot get all weepy when it comes to fucking spiders.

Yes, I know that they are a cog in nature's wheel and their presence plays a role in the natural food chain, considering their prey and other creatures that eat them. I never go out of my way to kill one or destroy their webs. In fact, I have gone out my way to harmlessly relocate them when they were too close for comfort.

But these spiders may have been meant for destruction by drowning at the hands of Mother Nature. And the OP interrupted that possible, natural progression.

I wish only to stress that they are FUCKING SPIDERS. Natural? Yes. Worthy of rescue? NO.

Thank you for your consideration.

Floog

[friesianrider]

24. With all due respect...

"...they are FUCKING SPIDERS. Natural? Yes. Worthy of rescue? NO."

...I wholeheartedly disagree. :)

Now, now, floog. We as human beings play God all the time. We get vaccinations, we resuscitate people, we perform operations. That, too, is tampering with "possible, natural progression." If we can help a creature in need of helping, we do. It isn't fair to let something or someone drown and say "maybe they were meant to die." If you saw someone drowning in a lake, would you keep walking by because it is "natural progression?" IMHO, if they were meant to die, then the OP wouldn't have seen them and been compelled to save them. I believe all things happen for a reason. If they were meant to die, they would have. Perhaps saving a human life it is different to some because they're a person, blah blah. But I think in the grand scheme of nature and the world, all life is equal. A spider or a human is all the same to mother nature.

If we have the chance to save a life (no matter how small), we should save a life (or in this case, a momma and her babes). Anytime a human being saves a life (especially a small life), well...that rocks my socks off.

JMHO, as always! :hi: