Giant orange spider spotted by terrified Leeds 21-year-old as 'spider season' begins
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Florrie Kamstra, 21, spotted the giant spider - which has been described as having a 'smiley face on its back' by members of Leedsplace - on her toilet window in Headingley yesterday.
She desperately spent the evening searching the internet to find out what kind of spider it was - with no luck.
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Hide AdFlorrie told the Yorkshire Evening Post she was left in shock at the find.
She posted a picture of the spider into Leedsplace which soon went viral, with hundreds of Leeds residents creeped out.
Florrie said: "I spotted it outside the toilet window last night.
"My first reaction was just shock at how big it was and also the colour is quite unique.
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Hide Ad"I was definitely a bit scared as I’ve had spider bites before and they’re not nice!
"I spent the evening looking at pictures of spiders to try and ID it and creeped myself out.
"It was gone in the morning though.
"The comments on my leedsplace post really made us laugh, although there were so many conflicting answers!"
Huge spiders have been crawling inside houses across Leeds this month as the official spider season booms into life.People afraid of spiders (isn't that all of us?) dread the beginning of September, the official start of Spider Season™.
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Hide AdSpider season is starting now thanks to the recent warm weather with reports of the leggy arachnids inside homes coming in from various parts of Leeds.
Spiders head inside houses as the weather starts to turn colder and wetter, looking for a mate in a warm dry home ahead of the winter.
How to keep spiders out of your house
Keep your house clean and airy
Spiders love dark, damp, cluttered places. Vacuum and dust regularly, and don't allow clutter to build up. Store things in plastic lidded boxes rather than cardboard ones to prevent spiders gaining access.
Keep your house filled with natural light
Never leave blinds or curtains closed during the day or for prolonged periods of time if you're away from home.
Use essential oils
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Hide AdSpiders 'smell' with their legs, so strong scents will deter them from leaving their nooks and crannies.
Tea tree, rose, cinnamon, citrus, peppermint, citronella, lavender and eucalyptus can all work - make sure you spray corners, window sills and skirting boards, and replenish regularly.
Borax
This pest control product is designed to kill ants, but it also works with spiders. Sprinkle it in corners and along door frames to prevent webs.
Seal cracks
Grab your caulking gun and seal up spider access points in walls, floors and ceilings.
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Hide AdKeep foliage away from your house Don't allow plants next to your home to creep too close, as spiders will hide in them.
Similarly, don't allow leaf litter, woodpiles etc to accumulate, as they make great spider hiding places.
Get a cat
A feline will fearlessly chase spiders - although you can't always guarantee a successful outcome!
Do conkers repel spiders and keep them out?
But don't use conkers!
There's no evidence that they're effective. Other strong aromas are likely to work better, such as garlic or vinegar.
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Hide AdTry Chalk. Spiders taste with their feet - and they don't like chalk. Draw a chalk line around windowsills, your bed, or doorways, and many of them won't want to cross it.
Should you kill spiders in your house?
Here are some of the main reasons we should be welcoming spiders with open arms:
1: Spiders are known to eat pests such as flies, moths and other variations.
If left to their own devices, they will happily feats on most of the pests in a house.
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Hide Ad2: Spiders kill other spiders. They have wars, fights, one-on-one combat that usually last until the death, when the winner will gauge on the loser's corpse.
3: Spiders can help curtail disease, by mopping up pests that enter the house carrying harmful virus'.
4: Spiders in this country aren't harmful, on the whole. The majority will not bite you and even if they do, the would is very unlikely to become serious. It is said that the biggest harm would be the wound getting a secondary infection, but that's down to the person who has been bitten not cleaning it properly.
5: Species of spiders, globally, are on the decrease. Habitats are being destroyed and people keep killing them in the house, meaning numbers are dwindling, making it a good deed to welcome them into your home, as well as a healthy one.
So the next time you see a spider in your home, maybe you'll think twice about the misunderstood 'monsters'.