Isn't Arachnophobia irrational?

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I don't understand why people are so afraid of spiders. Most of it is borne from folklore and ignorance. There are only 5 species of spider in the world that are problematic to humans, and the most dangerous ones live in the rainforest and australian outback.

Being afraid of spiders because some of their bites are dangerous is like being afraid of cats because lions can eat you.

Jumping spiders are cute little f*****s.

I think a lot of the fear of spiders is them being considered "creepy looking" by most people. Also, you usually aren't sure which ones are poisonous and which ones aren't. Larger ones are quite scary looking in my opinion too.

Sure, I agree completely, especially around Western Washington where the common spiders we see and people fear (cellar spider, European giant house spider, garden orb-weaver) are not even remotely dangerous (whereas the quite rare hobo spider is rather dangerous but still, uncommon). I think the nature of most phobias are irrational which is why they're so alarming to people suffering from them. I, for one, have absolutely no idea why I have emetophobia...it's pretty unlikely that vomiting will kill me outside of a third-world country.

Spiders are quite nice, actually. I like them. I talk to them whenever I see one. I think they are interesting the way they make such beautiful webs.

I don't mind little ones or medium-sized ones. It's the big ones I am a bit frightened of. It's not a fear of them biting me; just a fear of them crawling on me and feeling their giant feet on my skin. I don't mind tiny spider feet on my skin. I am only terrified of giant spider feet on my skin. It all has to do with the relative size difference between me and them.

The larger ones tend to be the least venomous, ironically.

Dangerous spiders are-

1) The wandering spider or 'banana spider' from Brazil
2) Australian Funnelweb
3)Black Widow Spider (dont think there have been any black widow fatalities for last 20 years)
4)Japanese Red Back ( a close cousin of black widow)
5) Huntsman spider -a small brown spider with a large abdomen native to USA. Bites are non fatal but cause ganggrene.

Those are just the potentially lethal-poisonous ones right? I'm pretty sure there's tons of other nonlethal-poisonous spiders. Getting bit by them still sounds scary since it would probably hurt pretty bad, and I'm not sure how strong the venom would be either.

Most scorpions don't kill you either, but their venomous sting still hurts like hell.

Most phobias are irrational. But it doesn't make them less real. It's possible to toughen up and ignore them for a while, but the feeling is there.

I don't particularly fear spiders unless it's a species I don't know, or one I do know as dangerous. But I can't stand bees or wasps or other insects with stingers and high mobility

A phobia is by definition an irrational fear. Many people with phobias know that their fear isn't rational and they won't be harmed by the object of their fear, but that doesn't lessen the fear.

My problem with spiders is because of sensory issues, not because I'm scared they'll bite me, or that they look "creepy."

I think its in the gray zone between rational and irrational fears.


Also there must be some inborn instinctive component to the revulsion that most folks have toward spiders.

I agree with everyone else that phobias are by definition an irrational fear. I myself am afraid of spiders, but it has less to do with fearing their poison than with how they look, particularly when it comes to large spiders such as tarantulas. I believe that as a Tim Burton fan I should learn to enjoy and celebrate in all things creepy, but I just can't get over the way that tarantulas make me feel. It's not really a full-blown phobia, but it does make me uncomfortable.

What she said.

A phobia meaning an irrational fear is pretty funny in this context since the 1990 movie "Arachnophobia" is about spiders that cause near-instantaneous death to their victims.

It takes at least an hour, for the most venomous spider, the wandering spider, to kill.

The other species are incrementally less dangerous.

AFAIK this spider is found no where outside Brazil and specialist owners.

I wonder if it's even possible for venom to be as incredibly potent as the fictional-spiders in that Arachnophobia movie.