Four arachno myths debunked!

Good news - it's as humane to kill an arachno as it is to put it outside, because it'll probably die anyway: and despite urban legends, you're not swallowing the little bastards as you snore away...

Article below from Everett, Washington Heraldnet.com ("S"-word subsituted throughout):

Four arachno myths debunked

By Sarah Jackson, Herald Writer

It's arachno season.

They're all over the garden. They're in the house. Eeeeek!

In honor of this creepy-crawly time of year, we proudly present perhaps the greatest arachno Web site of all time: “Myths, Misconceptions, and Superstitions About Arachnos."

Not only is it easy to read, it also is penned by a local, Rod Crawford, the curator of arachnids at the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture in Seattle. (Is there a more awesome job title?) [Yes ~ arachnono blogger]

Here are a few of Crawford's myth-busters. [NB: caution!! The following link contains images of arachnids] See this link for more.

MYTH: arachnos come into houses in the fall to get out of the cold.

FACT: Those arachnos are already inside your house 95 percent of the time. Also, putting indoor arachnos “back” outside usually kills them, so you aren't doing them any favors.

“House arachnos belong to a small number of species specially adapted for indoor conditions (constant climate, poor food supply, very poor water supply).

“Some house arachno species have been living indoors at least since the days of the Roman Empire.”

MYTH: arachnos found in bathtubs or sinks have come up through the drains from the sewers.

FACT: Sorry, Charlie. “This myth … shows how very reluctant people are to confront the idea that the arachnos in their house live there all the time.

“Modern drains contain a liquid-filled sediment trap through which arachnos cannot penetrate.”

MYTH: An arachno bit me while I was asleep.

FACT: You're more likely to have a case of MRSA. “Skin bumps and sores noticed in the morning are generally caused by nonbite disease conditions.

“Currently MRSA bacteria are among the leading causes of alleged ‘arachno bites.' The minority that are really bites are caused by bloodsucking insects such as fleas, bedbugs, kissing bugs, lice or assorted flies; less commonly by mites or ticks.”

MYTH: You unknowingly swallow an average of four live arachnos in your sleep each year.

FACT: Thank goodness, no. “This very widespread urban legend has no basis in fact. For a sleeping person to swallow even one live arachno would involve so many highly unlikely circumstances that for practical purposes we can rule out the possibility.

“No such case is on formal record anywhere in scientific or medical literature.”

Source: www.heraldnet.com/article/20091019/LIVING/710199829 - at time of posting this article didn't have any arachnid images, however content-sensitive advertising may change that, so click with caution!

I've heard that myth about eating the eight-legged freaks in your sleep numerous times - usually retold by a non-arachnophobe hoping to freak me out. While it never washed with me, I know it troubles some people, so very good to have an authoritative expert laying it to rest!

Prove arachnos are scared of conkers & earn £300

This is pretty interesting but I'm going to start off with a word of caution: you REALLY don't want to click on the source link for this article that's at the bottom of this post, it's got a picture of an ugly bastard arachno nearly the width of my 1078px monitor, it made me jump out my skin even though I was expecting it.

Trust me on this one - full story copied below, as usual we've substituted the word "arachno" for the "S"-word throughout.

Prove arachnos are scared bonkers by conkers and earn £300
The Royal Society of Chemistry investigates claims conkers repel arachnos
By METRO NEWS REPORTER - Monday, October 5, 2009

An eminent academic society is looking into whether arachnos are scared of conkers.

The research by the Royal Society of Chemistry was sparked by reports from the public that arachnos suffer from 'conkerphobia' when faced with horse chesnuts.

Apparently leaving them on window ledges or near doors deters arachnids from scuttling in.

To try and verify these claims, the RSC is consulting biologists, arachno and insect experts as well as offering £300 to anyone who can provide persuasive evidence.

Members of the public are invited to send in photographic or video evidence to the RSC at Burlington House, Piccadilly, London, by 31 October.

One theory being developed by the 46,000-member society is that there might be a chemical in conkers which arachnos hate.

RSC spokesperson John Edwards said: 'We have been told by external contacts that conkers do prevent invasion by arachnos. Apparently, they have to be fairly fresh to have their deterrent effect.

'But there are claims on the web – pardon the pun – that arachnos don't like them at all and steer clear.'

The RSC has also launched a new database service called ChemSiper. It's nothing to do with arachnids, providing free access to a database that contains 22 million chemical structures.

Personally I'll skip the £300 if it means mincing about with our eight-legged enemies, but here's hoping some conclusive answers and maybe improved repellent products come out of this research.

Meanwhile think I'll stock up on conkers anyway, can't do any harm...

Source link - WARNING - outrageously humongous picture of one ugly-arsed arachno at the top of the article: metro.co.uk

Would you be that desperate for £300? Tell us what you think, or whether conkers have worked for you!

BBC News: Bumper year for arachnos!

I'm posting this here because obviously the BBC had to illustrate their report with a big photo and even a video clip right at the top featuring close-up glamour shots of our eight-legged foes - and I've replaced the S-word throughout with "arachno"!

More Arachnos Expected This Autumn
Conservationists say there could be more arachnos and daddy longlegs than usual this autumn because of favourable breeding conditions.

Researchers at insect charity, Buglife, said last year's wet autumn meant the larvae of daddy longlegs had plenty of decaying plant matter to eat.

Experts also said this year's temperate summer had been good for arachnos.

The charity says it will provide a good boost for declining insect populations and benefit other wildlife.

Matt Shardlow, chief executive of Buglife, said there had been a decline in the numbers of some species but 2009 could see the rate slowing down.

British biodiversity

Last year's damp autumn was good for daddy longlegs larvae or crane flies, which live just below the ground's surface.

Although the population is in general decline, Mr Shardlow said a "good number of eggs" had been laid and they should provide a boost to the number of daddy longlegs scuttling about in Britain's homes and gardens this autumn.

He said crane fly larvae helped keep the soil clean and the adults were food for birds and other animals.

Mr Shardlow said: "They are very important for biodiversity, without which we would not last very long.

"The last few years have been very bad for British biodiversity, with low numbers of moths, arachnos and crane flies."

He said the lack of dramatic weather this summer would help arachnos, which keep other bugs at bay.

"A house arachno can eat 20 flies a year. They control the populations of other insects, and themselves provide food for a host of other wildlife.

"If we do have a good year for arachnos in general, then it will just slow many years of alarming decline".

'Plentiful supply'

John Partridge, secretary of British Arachnological Society, said Buglife's predictions were good news for arachno populations and bug enthusiasts, but not for those who had a fear of the creepy crawlies.

"It is this time of year that people become more aware of them - it is the silly season for arachnos. The garden arachnos are getting fatter for laying eggs and bundles of tiny arachnos start hatching," he said.

"Those who don't like them, just leave them alone and they will leave you alone. But if you can, get up close and have a look at how beautifully coloured they are."

He said there are some 600 species of arachnos in Britain and it was important to remember the service they provided.

Ian Dawson, of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), said they were an important foodstuff.

"It's debatable whether some of our resident insect-eating birds, like the wren, would be able to survive the winter without a plentiful supply of arachnos in leaf litter and under shrubbery," he said.

10:57 GMT, Friday, 25 September 2009 11:57 UK
Source - warning contains BIG arachno pictures!! - BBC News Science & Environment

Is he taking the mickey?! "just leave them alone and they will leave you alone" - yeah, right, like the big bastard that ran right over my sofa the other day, and which we had to dispatch to webby-heaven with my Bayer spray (still loving that stuff btw).

The other thing about that statement is, it rather scarily implies that if you DON'T leave them alone.... EEEK!

I mean, yes it's sad we've messed up the environment, but give me a break - more of these little scuttlers we just don't need.

Why not deploy military bugbots with bits of bird food strapped to them, then we could completely eradicate ALL arachnos, and live on a safe sane planet?

Maybe those alien overlords who are just gagging to bring us peace, prosperity and cures for all known diseases are just hovering overhead, playing their weird alien music and stuff, but they're chronic arachnophobes, and won't land and deliver us all as long as there's a chance of seeing an eight-legged scuttler anywhere nearby?

Hadn't though of that one, had you, Mr Partridge!

Dearie me...

Whited-out stuff with the "S" word below:

BBC News predicts this is a bumper year for spiders, which they say is good and I say is insane! Full post and spider repellent and spiderkiller tips on this non-commercial blog by fellow arachnophobes, where the word SPIDER is whited out, there are no images of spiders either..