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a spider on a wall/ceiling
There are two right outside my front door and they've been there since the birth of my daughter who is now 7 months. Now it's getting hotter they're outside all the time at night. I open my front door and they are both just looking at me, facing my door!

I can't walk underneath them easily as I'm petrified so I put something over my head to pass them. When I've quickly passed them I turn around and again they're looking at me. They completely shifted their position to my direction.

I need them gone. I don't want to go near them and every time I get someone to try and get them out they burrow themselves away and hide well. Part of me feels guilty for them because it's their home, but they need to go.

How can I get rid of them, and what kind of spiders are they?

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  • If they haven't caused you any problems (except for your intense aversion) for 7 months, they are unlikely to cause any problems in the future. This is cold comfort, I know. I'd feel the same about a snake. I get rid of bugs in the house by putting a wide-mouthed cup over them, sliding a stiff piece of paper under the cup and then tossing the insect outside. This doesn't look easy in your case, because they are up high. Also they have an escape hatch.
    – ab2
    Commented Mar 22, 2022 at 21:41
  • From Psycom, Fear of Spiders and how to overcome it I don't think this particular article is the way to go because it implies a need for professional help (false assumption), but it offers suggestions that you may be able to follow on your own, or with the help of a friend. (How do you know they are foreign spiders?)
    – ab2
    Commented Mar 22, 2022 at 21:49
  • Well I don't deffinatly know that they arnt native to the UK however in my judgement they look like they are from overseas. I haven't seen a spider like it. It looks like it belongs in the amazonian rain forest or something haha. Insane aversion?? 😂😅 hilarious!
    – Sophie Joanne Evans
    Commented Mar 23, 2022 at 0:33
  • I've seen a tiny scorpion roaming free on my mum's deckchair in England near the coat. That's not normal in itself so you can never be sure.
    – Sophie Joanne Evans
    Commented Mar 23, 2022 at 0:43
  • 2
    I haven't seen any reason to believe that this is not a UK-native spider...
    – fgysin
    Commented Mar 24, 2022 at 6:29

3 Answers 3

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I would suggest to get someone who is not afraid of spiders to relocate (or kill) them.

In our family we always used the vacuum cleaner, just suck them up and be done with them. (But you may want to replace the dust bag and have that binned and taken out to the collection on that day.)

It looks like a hole above the spider in the picture, I would have that filled, so it does not attract a new resident after you kick out the current squatter.

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  • The vacuum is a good idea. If the spiders retreat out of reach, I suggest trying to rig a thin (gives more suction) nozzle somehow, so it is right by the hole, perhaps taped to a length of wood. Then when the spider has emerged, switch on the power.
    – Weather Vane
    Commented Mar 23, 2022 at 21:12
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Get a reasonably powerful insecticide and spray it around the area. Repeat as needed. I like spiders myself and I would not do that but you should be able to live without being stressed. Have a friend do it if necessary.

Whether it's UK or not is irrelevant: the likelihood that it would be both a venomous spider and that it would bite and poison you is vanishingly small.

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That looks to me like Steatoda grossa, one of the "False Widow" spiders. The white rim around the dark, flattened globe abdomen, with the central white "T" stem in the center of the abdomen, is a pretty good mark. Like almost all spiders, it's harmless to humans, but if it was stressing you, these are certainly common enough that if some sort of unfortunate accident were to happen to them, nobody is likely to get too agitated.

These spiders are not usually found up at the top of a doorframe like that, but I guess the hunting must be good there - maybe a porch light nearby? I wouldn't expect them to leave the web by dropping if the shelter is right there, but you never know.

I would only say that if this should arise in future, I would resist the temptation to use a spray insecticide. Spiders are pretty easy to relocate or "terminate with extreme prejudice" if you decide to take such a drastic step, and pesticides are so broad spectrum that they can affect other animals, potentially including things that you might not want to harm.

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