Sunday, July 18, 2010

Surviving Your Fears - Spiders and Snakes



Fear of the unknown is a common problem and one that may cause irrational behavior on our part because we generally are afraid of those things which we don't understand. One of the more common fears that people have trouble dealing with is their fear of spiders and snakes. Many people are deathly afraid of these simple creatures who usually go out of their way to avoid contact with people. This is true despite the fact that most people may go their entire lives without ever having a single dangerous encounter with either one of these creatures. Many people make ever effort possible to avoid any type of situation where they may come into contact with any type of snake or spider and may end up limiting their enjoyment of outdoor activities or may needlessly put themselves at risk.


While there are some spiders and snakes out there that can cause you a lot of grief if you have the wrong type of encounter with them, the vast majority are also beneficial. Many spiders are beneficial in reducing the insect population and can be of benefit to your gardening efforts. Even the common rat snake works hard to keep the population of disease carrying rodents at manageable levels.

Here is a weblink with information on the four deadly snakes found in America:

The-Venomous-Snakes-of-North-America

Our own sense of survival often leads us to pass our own fear of spiders and snakes to our children or others and thus perpetuate many myths about these simple creatures that may be inaccurate or untrue. This is due mainly to ignorance on our part about these creatures caused by a lack of knowledge and an understanding of the role they play in nature. There are very few types of snakes and spiders that are actually poisonous and the vast majority of snakes and spiders are quite harmless. Many are an important part of our natural environment. Learning which snakes and spiders are dangerous and how to avoid them will allow you to be better prepared to handle a chance encounter with these creatures.

Developing an understanding of these creatures and a firm knowledge about the role they play in our natural environment is probably one of the easiest ways for you to combat a fear of spiders and snakes. Even though a great many people allow their fear of spiders and snakes to affect them in a negative manner, making sure you are knowledgeable about spiders and snakes will help you to deal with them in a positive manner.

Developing a little respect for these creatures in nature can go a long way in helping you defeat a fear of spiders and snakes.

Staying above the water line!

Riverwalker


5 comments:

idahobob said...

Yeah, we have the rattlesnake out here in Idaho. Not as prolific as y'all have in Texas, but enough.

Wife had a run in with one in the Rhubarb patch.....snake lost. Seven rattles and a button.

Bob
III

Ken said...

...sumthin' to share with those folks skeered of spiders...if the population of the worlds spiders were reduced by half,we would be over run by insects within a 'season',on an average acre of land there are more insects than there are people in the U.S(numbers may be a little off but you get the picture)

riverwalker said...

To: idahobob

As more and more of their habitat disappears, there will be a greater chance of encountering these creatures. As long as they stay out of my yard, I generally try to leave them alone as long as they don't pose a threat to me and mine.

We've got all four kinds of poisonous snakes here in Texas and some of the rattlers get really big. The cottonmouths worry me the most, as they can be really aggressive for a snake.

Thanks idahobob.

RW

riverwalker said...

To: Ken

I'd hate to think how bad the bugs would be without the spiders in my yard. I've got tons of the yellow garden spiders in my yard and I've still got lots of bugs.

Got quite a few hairy myglamorphs also.

Thanks Ken.

RW

Anonymous said...

damn snakes tryng to bite me

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