Spider Squatters

I went to a place I rarely go to the other day. It was a space primarily used for outdoor furniture storage during the winter months. It was time to bring out the chairs, tables and lounges for the summer warmth and deck sitting.

I unlocked and entered a sparsely used screen door only to encounter the cross-crossed webs of spider squatters. Their tangled threads of sticky silk blocked my passage to where the furniture was stored on the other side of the screened area. It’s a lower porch never used for sitting. Yet! Maybe someday.

I admit I am not a spider liker. I never have been. I know they are beneficial insects, but I’ve always figured if they are on the outside of the house I’ll leave them alone, but if I find them on the inside they are fair game for the spray can and the toilet.

This time I was reluctant to disturb their community. I’m not sure why, but I did feel at one with their desire for life even though that realization went against my minor phobia of their presence. Technically they were on the inside, but equally valid they were on the outside. What to do? A dilemma.

I removed the furniture from another door less encumbered with webs and now I have more space for the spiders and easier access for me to destroy them.

Any suggestions?