Recently a man in Seattle, Wash, set his rented home on fire in trying to kill a spider. The man used a can of spray paint and a lighter to kill the spider that was crawling around his laundry room. The attempt caused a fire which spread through the room and up into the attic, causing an estimated $60,000 worth of damage.

But it’s not the only incident of people setting their homes on fire in trying to kill a spider ...

• In June, 2014, a Hutchinson, Kan., woman attempted to kill a spider by lighting towels on fire with a cigarette lighter to burn it out and ended up causing multiple fires in her duplex. Although fast response by fire fighters kept damages to smoke damage, the woman was charged with aggravated arson.
• The 2012 attempt of a Chico, Calif., man to clear cobwebs from his backyard with a propane blowtorch caused dry plants to catch fire, which spread to the attic of his home. The fire also destroyed electric wiring causing about $25,000 in damages and displacing the family.
• A blowtorch was also used by a man in Garrett, Ind., to burn off spider webs in the basement of his home, who set his house on fire in the attempt. The fire caused exterior damage and interior smoke damage.
• In Reno, Nev., a 17-year-old teenager was using fire to kills spiders on a fence, when the fence caught fire, which then spread to the teen’s home. The fire was rule accidental but burned through a wall to a ceiling before being put out by firefighters.

• And it’s not just Americans ... in 2009, a man in the U.K. set his house on fire trying to kill a spider, that was crawling up the front of his home, with a lighter. Though the attempt caused minimal damage to the home, it took firefighters two hours to put out the fire.

 

Arachnophobia – The Fear of Spiders

While such behavior may be somewhat understandable in light of the fact that arachnophobia – the fear of spiders – is one of the most common of phobias. And people that fear spiders will often go to great lengths to avoid and get rid of the eight-legged creatures.

However, if such fears are based in the perception that spiders are aggressive, frequently bite people, and are poisonous, it is important to understand that none of the fears are fact for the majority of spiders, particularly those found in the U.S.

 

Spider Facts

The facts are:

• Spiders are generally more afraid of you than you are of them. They rarely attempt to attack except in self-defense – such as if they have been provoked, sat on, etc. Additionally disruption of its web could simulate the presence of prey causing the spider to instinctively attack.
• Because spiders are so small, their jaws, too, are small, so fangs cannot penetrate through human skin.
• Spiders are venomous, and they use their venom to paralyze and trap their prey. However, with few exceptions (such as the black widow spider, brown recluse spider, and hobo spider), their venom is not strong enough or produced in enough quantity to affect humans.

Additionally

• There are more than 35,000 known spider species in the world.
• Only about one/10th (3,500) of those spiders are found in the U.S.
• In many regions, only one tenth (350) of those can be found. 
• Of those commonly found in the U.S., only three (listed above) are venomous to humans, and these are found only in certain regions of the U.S.

For information on the right way to control and prevent spiders, see Control Spiders Indoors & Outdoors.