Eeek.....Spiders! 😨

"The itsy, bitsy spider climbed up the water spout.  Down came the rain and washed the spider out," is an age-old nursery rhyme.  Regardless, I do not like spiders.  Just my luck, a black widow spider decided to greet me this week.  The immediate rush of fear overcame me.  Yes, I know.  I'm an outside girl....a camper...a former Marine.  But yes, I fear spiders and black widows give me reason to do so.

According to Google, spiders evoked the strongest response from the study's participants. Zoophobia — an overwhelming and debilitating fear or dislike of particular animals — is a quite common anxiety disorder, affecting up to 6 percent of people at some point in their lives, according to some estimates.

Some five out of 100 people in the United States have one or more phobias, with women slightly more likely to develop one than men. One of the most common phobias is arachnophobia, a debilitating fear of spiders, says Alan Manavitz, MD, clinical psychiatrist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City.

Based on what I could see, this is a southern black widow spider. This spider has a shiny, black, globe-shaped abdomen. You’ll know it by the red hourglass mark on the underside. 

Black widow spiders are active at night and live in dark areas, such as garages, sheds and of course, the woods.  

According to Lara Webster of Leaf Group, always check your equipment to make sure you don't carry spiders to the campsite from your house. If you store your camping equipment in a garage or basement, you may have spiders living in nooks and crannies of your tents and other equipment. One of the best ways to avoid spiders at your campsite is by shaking out your camping gear and searching for and killing all spiders before you leave to go camping.

Spray bug repellent around the perimeter of your tent or camper, as well as around the seating area of your campsite. While you can't obliterate all of the spiders in your campsite area, this will help prevent their crawling into the areas where you'll spend the most time.

Look for holes in your tent, or around the doorways and windows of an RV camper, to see if there are places spiders could get in. Cover up holes with heavy-duty tape and be sure to spray insect repellent in the area, on the side facing the outdoors.

Avoid spraying perfume in your campsite; it may attract spiders. Similarly, keep your food wrapped up tight and then put it inside a cooler or metal box so the smell won't attract spiders to your campsite. Clean all utensils right away and don't leave trash lying around.

Light a campfire and keep it burning until shortly before you go to sleep. Smoke can deter creepy crawlers in general, including spiders.