Deceased Arachnid

I’m only fond of one spider…Charlotte of E.B. White’s classic, Charlotte’s Web.  Charlotte is fictional…thus the only spider I like. 

Two weeks or so (give or take), I discovered a brown spider living in my cottage.  He/she was residing in the corner of my kitchen underneath the lip of the counter and the wood-cover that hides my hot water heater. 

The first morning I noticed spidey, I did my best to not freak-out while I frantically grabbed for my sandal which would send one spider to the “big web in the sky” where all spiders belong.  Well, this plan backfired.  The toe of my sandal was too wide for the small space and the spider won.  Sandal 0; arachnid 1.

Day #2 – I tried using a different shoe.  Same result.  Sandal 0; arachnid 2.

I would like to note:  This spider was apparently nocturnal because he/she was never out when I would get home from work.  It would only appear in the morning with a beautiful web that I would immediately remove.  (YUCK!)

Days 3 through 10 – Different shoes – same results.  Sandal/Flip-flops/Closed-toe-shoes 0; arachnid 10+!

By Day 10, I gave up.  Too help drift off to a peaceful slumber, I assured myself that eight spider legs could not carry the arachnid in to my bedroom to crawl on me, right?  Right, I would answer myself thus affording me peaceful dreams.  Plus – as a P.S. the spider was too busy spinning a web, which according to E.B. White’s fictional spider tale – the web took a lot of strength.

Around Day 14, a scary thought entered my brain – what if this spider is a female and she’s preparing to leave behind her sac of babies?  Ummmmmm…  I pulled out the vacuum and sucked up the web and the spider in one fell swoop! 

Spider – schmider.

Curly-haired girl 1; arachnid deceased.

The end.