People are paying to have spiders removed from their homes!

According to the app Airtasker, where you can hire tradespeople, people are paying up to €600 to have people come to their homes and remove spiders.

Trevor Hayden from Complete Pest Control said he is frequently called on to get rid of spiders in a person’s home.

“This time of year we’re getting [calls] every single day,” he told Lunchtime Live.

“We’re at the top of the social calendar for the spiders at the minute.

“It’s mating season at the moment, so what’s happening is these guys are heading indoors, looking to mate.

“As a result then, people are finding [them].”

European Cave Spider in limestone cave. Plitvice Lakes National Park, Croatia. Image: Nature Picture Library / Alamy. 19 January 2015

Mr Hayden said that people should be aware there are no spiders native to Ireland which can any real damage.

“Spiders are one of those things, they’re really doing no harm, but we’ve all been conditioned [to think] that they’re scary,” he said.

“Of all native spiders we find in Ireland, the only one that will give you a nip is the false widow.

“Even at that, it’s kind of like a bee sting.”

Scaremongering

According to Mr Hayden, while there is a lot of scaremongering around spiders online, some people are just not capable of dealing with them.

“You have to remember, we’re not in people’s homes because they have a rat or a mouse or a spider,” he said.

“We’re in people’s homes because they find themselves in a situation they can’t deal with, or won’t deal with.

“And there’s no accounting for it; everybody has something they’re afraid of.”

A European common house spider is seen in a kitchen sink. Picture by: Arterra Picture Library / Alamy Stock Photo

Zoology research associate at Trinity College Dublin Collie Ennis agreed that technology can sometimes increase fear of spiders, and a lack of experience with nature in general.

“Look, there’s a digital disconnect from nature,” she said.

“Not many people are out in the woods anymore, a lot of people have spent a lot of time on screens.

“That has a lot to do with the fear being increased.”

Ms Ennis pointed out that while it may be creepy to find spider webs in the attic, the arachnids are actually acting as “bouncers, keeping out the real nasties”, like flies and woodlouse.

Main image: Spider. Photo:Pixabay