Arachnophobia cure! (at least for me)
Dear Bugman,
I just want to share an effective "arachnophobia" cure to anyone who is very afraid of spiders. I used to be repulsed by all spiders "squish first, ask questions later" was my motto. One day I stumbled across my very first black widow in the corner of my garage. My husband almost finished it right then and there but being an elementary teacher, I saw a glorious teaching opportunity. We captured it in a large jar with air holes and also threw a small branch in with it. I took it to school to show kids what a true black widow really looks like. The spider built a web on the branch and the students took turns catching flies for her to eat. We kept that spider alive for weeks and I found myself watching it a lot, being fascinated by its movements and behavior. Something happened to me during that time. I am no longer afraid of spiders, I actually let some reside in my home. (Though the larger "wolfies" as we call them, are placed gently outdoors. I love to find new spiders in my garden, and my hunt for the identification of some "huntsmen Spiders, or Banana Spiders that I found in my storage shed led me to your site. Keep up the great work!
Thanks,
Gina
Hi Gina,,
Thank you for the wonderful letter, though we doubt many of our readers will try taking your cure.