Spider infestations are much more common than you'd think, and there are tons of horrifying stories to prove just how frequently these invasions occur. In some cases, people are so terrified by their eight-legged invaders that they either move out of their home or even burn it down. Some of the worst spider infestations in history would likely cause the most arachnid-friendly humans to shudder.Â
Whether it's massive amounts of bugs or spiders, people generally aren't very welcoming towards tiny unwanted creatures – and for good reason. It's no wonder some people take drastic measures to rid their houses of creepy crawlers.Â
A Man Used A Blowtorch To Get Rid Of Spiders And Accidentally Burned His House Down
A Tuscon, AZ, man was so panic-stricken by a spider invasion in his home that he used a blowtorch to try to get rid of them, burning his house down in the process.
On October 16, 2017, the unidentified man was reportedly attempting to get spiders and their webs out from underneath his mobile home when he decided to use a propane blowtorch to solve the problem. The house quickly caught fire, prompting the man and an elderly woman who lived inside to flee.
Nearly two dozen firefighters attempted to save the home, but were unable to put the fire out in time.
An Infestation Of Over 4,500 Brown Recluses Forced A Family To Leave Home
In October 2014, a Missouri family was driven from their home after it was infested with between 4,500 and 6,000 Brown Recluse spiders. The family tried to solve the problem with pesticide treatments to no avail, so they packed up and abandoned their 2,400-square-foot home.
The Trost family purchased the home in 2007 for $450,000 and noticed a spider web during the first day in the house. Susan Trost said she attempted to clean the spiders away, but they kept coming back and forced the family to leave. They sued the previous homeowners for not disclosing the spider problem, and were awarded $472,000, although they never collected; the previous homeowners, the Gaults, had no way of paying.
Memphis Homes Were Invaded By Spiders, And Residents Said It Was Like A "Horror Movie"
Homeowners in North Memphis, TN, described a massive plague of spiders in their homes as a "horror movie." The invasion began thanks to an almost half mile-long web of what Memphis Zoo curator Steve Reichling called a natural occurrence of "harmless" spiders. Locals weren't buying it, however.
"They're just in the air; they're flying everywhere. They all on the house, on the side of the windows," resident Debra Lewis said of the November 2015 infestation.
"When I got up this morning, it was like spiders all over my door; they were coming in my house," Lewis's neighbor, Frances Ward, added.
This Man Found A Family Of Spiders On His Living Room Wall
In 2015, a man caught a family of spiders invading his living room on film. He posted a clip of the critters that went viral. In it, he attempts to get the creatures to flee by throwing small objects at them while they hang out behind his couch.
In July 2015, alarmed officials at Montgomery Elementary School in Mercersburg, PA, held an emergency meeting. They decided to shut down the building after discovering an infestation of Brown Recluse spiders in "isolated areas" of the school. Brown Recluses' bites are poisonous and can eat away at skin tissue surrounding the bite area.
The meeting included school officials, the superintendent, the school board, and the district's pest control company, and a plan was enacted to eradicate the creepy problem. The issue was apparently so bad that the pest control company proposed two extreme treatments to get rid of the spiders.
False Widows Invaded Kent, England, By The Thousands
Authorities in Kent, England, issued a truly horrifying warning in November 2017 to locals after dropping temperatures lured False Widow spiders to their homes "in force." After a warm summer, these arachnids capitalized on prime breeding conditions, and "thousands" of spiders were expected to make their way into people's homes.
"Spiders will have fewer places to hide if you keep clutter to a minimum, so I would say keep your house tidy and vacuum regularly," pest control spokesman Rob Simpson explained. "You can spray dark corners of the home with pesticides and there's an old wives tale about placing conkers on window sills, but I'm not sure that works."
