Are you the type of person who leaves spiders webs alone?

Glad to hear someone else agrees with me. I have a clean obsessed neighbour who has a cleaner in before she comes to her house and every last trace of web has to be removed, bet she's far more bothered by mosquitos indoors than I am.

Well it's pretty clean except for the webs but the flying things definitely get in from the outside once it goes dark, they are attracted to the light and are rampant in the whole area at this time of year because of the heat, think they hibernate in winter. I'm pretty sure the ultra clean neighbour has them in as well.

Hehe. I think we are rare in this world.:) Well I guess there are just people who just wants to be tidy. I don't think mosquitoes will bug them cause mosquitoes are born if you don't have a clean environment.:)

Well all I can say Wolfie is you must have the wrong kind of spiders. Actually I would never have given house room to a spider when I lived in England but didn't have a mosquito problem there, thought it was just midges. Never saw my kind of spider there either. Mine are doing fine by the way, slowly moving around to escape the heat. For your bites try anti- histamine tablets or gel, benidryl is the best gel to take the itch off, and whatever you do don't scratch them.

Hi stvasile, that's a bit mean to your sisters, most girls are frightened of spiders and I used to be too and wouldn't have dreamt a few years back of sharing my home with one. The least you could do for your sisters is remove the spiders to outside the house, what a heartless brother you are. They are as you say though, very useful creatures, and they've certainly had a good diet of mosquitoes this year, which otherwise would have been busy sucking my blood (Transylvanian slip there.)

I suppose it's a matter of which is the worst to you, mosquitos and flying ants are a hideous nuisance and the latter seem to fly in en masse so to me the webs are preferable. The lizards stay outside the house where they don't bother me but if I ever saw a cockroach think I would have to leave the house, that would be one nightmare too many. I've found I've had to become less squeamish since becoming a mum as someone has to deal with these nasties.

Ahh Tiamjr, someone of a similar mind to myself, they do work hard though don't they and should be appreciated. If a guest didn't respect my spiders they can leave. My spiders tend to hover up near the ceiling so your cat wouldn't be able to reach them.

Hi Tiamjr, never heard of hunting spiders. If I actually had something running around the house think I'd have to put it outside, I'm a bit squeamish about things moving fast. My variety are very docile. I am glad to hear though that I am not alone now in what I thought was my rather odd behaviour in leaving the webs alone, they are especially effective in catching the small flying ants which enter in great quantities when in the mood.

Yes most of the time the spiders are up in webs too high for my cat to reach. But I also have a few hunting spiders that run around. These are more active and run about the house looking for other bugs to eat. If my cat sees one of these he goes crazy running round after it. Sometimes they get away through gaps in the skirting boards, or by running up walls or under funiture, but sometimes they aren't so lucky. Yes I know lots of people who think I'm strange keeping webs in my home. Most of these people are scared of spiders and jump when they see one. But I try to tell them they have a useful function and won't hurt them. It isn't like my house is cluttered with webs. Spiders here are very territorial and will usually start to kill each other if they become over populated.

I just knocked a couple down outside whilst valiantly removing a builder bees nest from between a window and a shutter. Compared to the nest the webs were totally nothing.

Well there are spiders and spiders and we seem to get many varieties out here and only one kind are welcome, the green ones I think bite and anything with big hairy legs get shown the door immediately, the ones I allow to stay have a very pleasant disposition and really don't move away from their chosen places but do a great job, each morning I remove some of the web furthest away from the spiders but leave the bit around them. I'd really rather have them than the flying things which can appear in 100's.

Hello macdingolinger, wow, another agreement. I thought from the first responses that I'd given the impression I must have a filthy house with ancient webs trawling everywhere. Maybe it's a case of having a bit of respect for the food chain.

Hi Voldrox, you might be tempted if you had as many flying things as we do! My thin legged spiders make very fine webs often in a thin line down the corners of the wall, they don't look dirty. At this time of year guests are mainly happy to sit outside but I wouldn't move the webs for them, it would be taking my little pet spiders meals away from them.

Thank goodness I have never had a cockroache, I have never seen anything so disgusting. The lizards don't come into the house and I don't mind to see them scuttering around outside. There is only one variety of spider I allow to remain in the house and they are very welcome guests as they really do do their job amazingly well.

Bravo!