If it's just one spider, and not a whole group of them, just step on it. You can also smack it down with a hardback book if you want.

If you have a spider problem, there are some things that you can do. There are poisons on the market specifically for spiders, but I tend to avoid them because I don't necessarily like chemicals.

Cleaning up the area where the spiders are hanging out is a great start - they love clutter, because it offers them so many hiding places.

You can also use diatomaceous earth, which is an organic mineral full of diatoms, which love nothing more than to eat living things. (Don't worry - they're insanely small, and can't munch on you. They adore pests, though.)

However, I tend to leave non-poisonous spiders alone, because they aren't going to harm me - but they are, at the same time, going to do something beneficial for me. The jumping spiders in my area, for example, look very scary, because they have these emerald-green eyes and furry, black-and-white bodies. They can also jump a good three feet in any direction from a resting point, which is just creepy. However, they don't bite humans unless you go out of your way to provoke them, and they pounce on flies and other pests. They're welcome around here because they're useful to me, and I enjoy watching them at work.

So, look up spiders that are indigenous to your area - try a Google search for "YourState + spiders" - and find out which ones are poisonous to you and which ones aren't. You might be surprised at some of the results, because there are times when the biggest, ugliest-looking spiders are actually the most beneficial to you.

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