[dixie]

As I posted earlier today on Facebook... unknowingly walking headfirst into a spiderweb is never fun, but doing so after just applying fresh mascara is hideous!!! *shudder*

In the house, I actually don't mind those whatchamacallit granddaddy longlegs things. I usually end up showering with 2 or 3 in the corner near the ceiling. They are never a nuisance. When I was a kid my grandmother used to pick them up and let them crawl over her hands, so I did the same. OTHER spiders, however, are a different story. Anything looking even remotely "hairy" is a deal breaker. If I spot them first, I can usually "trap and release", but heaven forbid they launch a sneak attack such as dangling down a web in front of my face or dropping onto my shoulder. Then, they get smacked and flung and stomped upon.

As for outside, that's their turf. They have every right to be there, as long as they aren't building webs for me to get stuck in my mascara. *still shuddering* I do check the type of spider though, if it's close enough to the house. I live in the NC mountains, and especially since I'm in the woods we end up with a lot of brown recluse and black widow. Sadly, if I spot one of those they get the 15-ft-away-foaming-bee-spray. I love that stuff cause I can stand far enough away without getting jumped on by creepy crawlies, and also because instead of just a liquid stream that could miss, it's a nice foam that will cover and then deteriorate within seconds. It's great for those with bad aim in the face of scary monsters! LOL

All this pretty much just covers spiders. Any other type of bug doesn't rate on my scale, so they're safe....lol

And as for snakes, well... I have a really bad habit of just grabbing them up, poisonous or non... I've had a snake fascination since I was a kid. Luckily I was taught at an early age by my grandparents and great-grandma how to distinguish poisonous vs nonpoisonous native snakes, and how to properly handle them. I guess it comes from living in the mountains for so long, and with my great-grandma it probably had a lot to do with her being Cherokee and seeming to know everything about everything in nature (at least to a kid..lol). I learned to respect nature early on. We, as with every other living creature, are just playing a role in the grand scheme of things. Even the tiniest insect has a purpose...