I had to create a "spider friendly environmental policy" yesterday after discovering that a large spider living over the stairs near my office was cruelly and deliberately killed. (whist I was away from my office - suspiciously). Whats's the general view on this important issue?
I am pro spider - anti fly, but it appears I am in the minority, many colleagues seems strangely squirmish when encountering a spider.
Am I wrong, are spiders evil?
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I'm very anti-spider, they freak me out. I still employ a more buddhist method of control though and eject them firmly but gently out the door via a glass and card.
It's very ugly seeing people batter something to death because they don't like it, even if it is just a spider.
I'm not the biggest fan of spiders. However, as long as they stay out of my way I'll leave them be. Now, if the insist on perching upside down on the ceiling above my head, one of us has to go.
Even to the point that at home, as long as it's on the far wall, and not too active, I'll leave it. If they start getting boisterous it's time to turf them out via the glass and cardboard method.
Spiders are welcome at home- they tend to be outdoor spiders at this time of year but come Autumn they start turning up ,which to me shows some perseverance (Robert the Bruce) as we are the top two floors of the building so they have to get past the neighbours and their cat and dog first.
We do not get many in the office but it may be due to not being very warm and having a suspected wasps' nest in the outside wall. Frankly if I was going to squat our offices would be low down on the list of candidates.
Spiders are welcome at home- they tend to be outdoor spiders at this time of year but come Autumn they start turning up ,which to me shows some perseverance (Robert the Bruce)
Was that a Stewart Lee reference?
There's been research carried out in Clacton showing a natural progression from battering spiders to voting for UKIP then voting leave
Stick me in the camp of gently scooping the little fella up in a glass and tipping it out the window.
That said, we're on the fifth floor at AccountingWEB towers so I don't think the window option would be that favourable for the spider.
Unless it's a particularly overweight spider, it should be fine out of the window. Air resistance will ensure a gentle fall.
Air resistance will ensure a gentle fall.
Unless there is an unsuspecting person below!
I'm a keeper of tarantulas, knowing this means you can probably deduce my perspective. However, my flat seems to be a summer holiday home for daddy-long-legs and their web is a pain when you walk through a door an immediately have to perform some freestyle karate! I have a similar issue with my car, as at home it's parked next to shrubs that seem be a breeding ground (literally, I believe) for spiders, they even live in small crevices in the bodywork, behind wing mirrors and if the sun shines at just the right angle you can see the odd piece of web in the car!
Surely weight/mass ought not to matter that much.
Terminal velocity is a factor of acceleration and time, acceleration is here surely gravity less air resistance, terminal velocity is v=u+at. Obviously if we launch at an angle we will need to consider some basic trig re the vectors but if a straight drop then we can ignore the U.
We can roughly calculate time from height of the drop using S=ut+1/2at^2, this likely simplifies to S=1/2at^2, then solve for t using 9.82 less air resistance; this latter is going to be really tricky to calculate- has there been much research on spider air resistance?
Of course there is then the force when impacting the ground, but providing Boris' additional mass accompanies an additional surface area then the force per mm^2 ought not to be that bad.
Now, if you were to strap a lead weight to Boris prior to launch, that would be a very different outcome.
Warning:-No assurance of accuracy re the foregoing is implied, this firm does not advise on applied engineering and certainly not in relation to spiders.
Air resistance is a function of mass and surface area!
A low density object like a spider has large surface area in relation to their mass, a high density object such as an elephant has low surface area in relation to their mass. If you chuck them both out the 12th floor window window then the elephant will be eight tons of kebab meat a good ten seconds before the spider gracefully lands.
Our office elephant policy clearly states that people shouldn't chuck an elephant out of a 12th floor window under any circumstances, and ignoring this policy is a serious disciplinary issue.
I can't comment on office spider policy (it's never come up as an issue) but I did find a very large specimen in my shower yesterday morning.
It looked like a mouse with eight legs and had leopard-print markings on its back. I respect all God's creatures so I put it outside.
I'm not sure the policy covers the wearing of ear-protection to a sufficient degree... anyone in my vicinity when I discover a spider (including, presumably, the poor innocent arachnid) is likely to be exposed to dangerous decibel levels for a sustained period of time (my husband says I attain frequencies which could seriously inconvenience the local bats). I'm firmly in the "gently usher them outdoors" camp though - I don't see why a poor spider has to suffer for my irrational fear :-)
this should be extended out -
have a lizard/gheko policy +officer and a mouse/field mice policy and officer. tadpole etc and of course + a rare breed is bound to found lurking in the corner or under the refuse
this way everyone will have a second job and loads of H&S + conservation meetings, or just plain job creation NICE
OP from the original post- did the cleaning co find itself in breach of contract ?
I have a simply wonderful FCA (Fly Control Assistant) called Stella Fang and woe betide anyone who tries to remove her as flies play havoc with my touchscreen in the summer months without her presence! he is also brilliant with wasps when they dare to venture near to her web. I find naming them and identifying their usual haunts is enough to ensure they are left in peace by all those who chance to encounter them in my office, Stella lives peacefully in the corner above and behind my monitor and knows her boundaries thankfully as she is huge with very large fangs which frankly make me a little uncomfortable!
Wow who would kill a spider. My office can have as many spiders as it wants there harmless.
No I would not be happy if someone killed one. It says more about them. They could have at least put it outside.
We have a spider in our living room every now and then he has a walk and then we don,t see him. My son has named him Jeff. If he does not see him for a while he wonders where he is. There may be more than 1 Jeff but my son believes it is the same one
Wow who would kill a spider. My office can have as many spiders as it wants there harmless.
All spiders are poisonous.
Many are deadly.
Happily, not many of these are in the UK.
A friend of mine opened a kitchen cupboard in Darwin, from which a large, red object fell out. Fearing it to be a red-back, he dematerialised, similarly to an episode of Star Trek, and reappeared by the door. After a few minutes of it not moving, he edged closer to establish whether it was dead. It turned out to be a Brillo pad.
He's been subject to a good deal of good-natured chaffing for the last 20 years.
All spiders are poisonous.
Then don't eat them (I'm pretty sure that would fall foul of the spider friendly policy, anyway).
Do spiders have a trade union to protect their rights?
Oh do get over yourselves you do-gooder protectionists. Kill 'em, jump on 'em, mash 'em up. Problem solved.
Seriously, spiders have very delicate stomachs and even a short fall from window height can rupture their stomachs and cause death.
Reduced to using a laptop, as desktop is being decontaminated due to influx of Bagheera kiplingi. It's my fault for leaving salad sandwiches on my desk.
I was always under the impression that if I left my mouse on the desk the problem wouldn't arise, but it seems I'm wrong!
Killing spiders is racist unless you also beat to death any stray cats or dogs who wander in to your office.
How can anyone kill a spider?!!
If you are a wimp put it outside but don't drop it from a height as you are likely to kill it - they don't float like you would think they would apparently.
Unless they are poisonous how can you be scared of them? Even the biggest critter is minute compared to a human.
Hi yes, sup.
I have no problem with spiders, they eat those awful flies that sit on dog logs and then land on your mouse whilst you sleep at night. Then, when you fancy an elevenses after spending two frantic hours double clicking you are transferring said dog log to mouth. Not ideal.
Chow a-nis airson