To be fair, the ones that I often come across in my home are literally called “house spiders” (Eratigena atrica)
The reflected sound of underground spirits.
Echo-gnomics
I used to hate them but then someone told me they are good because they eat other bugs and I was convinced. Now I move them out of my way but let them stay at home. Sometimes it’s funny because some are a bit dumb, and I have to guide them while they try to run away.
For the ones that stay at home, I started naming them lol. RIP Charlotte, Napoleon, and The Dude
For me the catch and release vs squash with my shoe dilemma comes down to one variable: how close to crawling upon my person where they when I noticed them
honestly i have to wonder if at some point spiders will evolve to actively avoid spooking us, i wanna live in a world where orbweaver spiders have the instinct to wait in specific places (like middle of the windows) where we pick them up and move them to a spot where they can set up a web and catch flies for us.
I never squash spiders. They’re either my buddies and they catch insects that get into the house, or they’re entirely too large to squash; they’d make a mess. If my wife sees a spider and gets scared, I put it outside. It helps that there are no (common) venomous spiders where I live.
Mosquitos, crane flies, flies, and wasps are all fair game though.
Meanwhile I’m squashing spiders that are already dead, just to be sure.
