On this page we will take a deep dive into the world of the 8 legged creatures that according to some sources up to 15% of the population are phobic of to one degree or another, making it one of the most common phobias in the world. These animals have been used in movies to create fear for decades, synonymous with creepy things/places & Halloween. 

Everyone has a spider that they think of when asked to think of these animals. Mine is the Mexican Red Knee Tarantula. I'm not afraid of this tarantula, in fact I'm quite fascinated by it. 

I even live with someone with mild arachnophobia. Yes, we're talking about Arachnophobia; the Fear of Spiders. ​What is an arachnid? Arachnida is a class of joint-legged invertebrate animals. Arachnida includes, among others, spiders, tarantulas, scorpions, ticks, mites, pseudoscorpions, harvestmen, camel spiders, whip spiders and vinegarroons.​ 

  *Image of examples of Arachnida*

What is arachnophobia?  Arachnophobia in it's clinical definition is an intense & irrational fear of spiders, with the fear reaction not matching the present danger level associated with the object. You can have a fear of spiders without it being arachnophobia, in fact 1/5 people have some form of fear of spiders.  

What is an Arachnophile ? Arachnophilia is the opposite of Arachnophobia. An Arachnophile is someone who loves spiders. ​

Fun fact: I know 2 people with arachnophobia, however i also know 2 arachnophiles. Oddly enough one of the achanophobes' is dating one of the arachnophiles... that's a fun little scene sometimes.  

Can you live with spiders & have a fear of spiders or arachnophobia? YES. It's nerve wracking, sometimes panic inducing but it can be done. True arachnophobics shouldn't be forced to live in constant states of anxiety like that, but someone with a mild fear can live with caged pets spiders (specifically the types they're less afraid of).

​I have a fascination with arachnids, I also have a healthy respect for them. My pink toe tarantula spiderling or sling isn't a species to be fearful of, however that doesn't mean there aren't some to be worried about. Depending on where you live I'm sure there are spiders that come to mind for your area. I live in MD so ours are Black Widow, Brown Recluse, & Wolf spiders. According to the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Black Widows pose the largest threat to human safety, while the Brown Recluse can cause severe reactions & be very painful, Black Widow bites can be deadly to certain individuals. Maryland DNR goes on to say that most Brown Recluse sightings are actually Wolf spiders which are considerably less dangerous to humans. 

I personally have been bitten by Brown Recluse spiderlings as a teen when I walked into a recluse web. It was not a fun time, 0 stars do not recommend.  I had to be on prednisone (a medical steroid used to treat allergic reaction inflammation), pain meds, my shoulder was swollen for like 3 weeks, I couldn't really move it without pain & oddly enough still have inflammatory flare ups in the arm sometimes (I have no idea if the 2 are in fact related but I never injured that arm other then those spider bites). My best was bitten by a spider in her crib when we were toddlers. We were young but i know she has a pretty significant scar from skin grafts even as an adult. Our parents always told us it was a Wolf Spider but Wolf spiders do not have necrotic venom Brown Recluse do. If a Wolf spider can be misidentified as a Brown Recluse, why can't it go the other way around. We both survived but not without a healthy respect of where spiders can be, & the health ramifications of those bites.

Despite my incident with the Brown Recluse web I still cared for a Brazilian Black Tarantula (Grammostola Plucha) my Dad brought home. I cared for Mexican red knees, curly hairs, pink toes, & emperor scorpions (along with birds, cats, dogs, fish, rodents & reptiles) at my 1st pet store job. I didn't get my own tarantula (a pink toe tarantula) until 2022, unfortunately (s)he passed in 2023 of SADS (sudden avic death syndrome) Yes, that exists. A friend wanted me to stay in the hobby of arachnid keeping so they got me another pink toe tarantula (avicularia avicularia). ​On to the vocabulary lesson. There are so many terms to know & remember. Life stages of Spiders  Sling/Spiderling is the infant life stage, Juveniles the "child" stage,  Sub-Adult pre sexual maturity, Adult post sexual maturity also normally full size. old world vs. new world tarantulas, old world refers to tarantulas that tend to be more "moody" & have stronger venom, new world refers to tarantulas that have less potent venom & urticating hairs (itching hairs).

Types of tarantula there are 2 categories; terrestrial & arboreal, with 2 sub-categories; fossorial & semi-arboreal.

Terrestrial=ground living, arboreal=tree living, Fossorial = burrowing, semi arboreal=half ground/half tree living.

fossorial tarantulas: Brazilian black, Texas brown, striped-knee

terrestrial tarantulas: Mexican red knee, Costa Rican zebra, Honduran curly hair

semi-arboreal: green bottle blue (GBB), Venezuela sun tiger,

arboreal: pink toe (avicularia), ghost ornamental (poecilotheria vittata), 

Oxford dictonary defines a spider as; an eight-legged predatory arachnid with an unsegmented body consisting of a fused head and thorax and a rounded abdomen. Spiders have fangs that inject venom into their prey, and most kinds spin webs in which to capture insects, & a tarantula as; a large hairy spider found chiefly in tropical and subtropical America, some kinds of which are able to catch small lizards, frogs, and birds.

Scorpion; a terrestrial arachnid with pincers similar to those of a lobster and a venomous sting at the end of its jointed tail, which it can hold curved over its back. Most kinds live in tropical and subtropical areas.