Either leave them alone or throw them outside, I never kill. And spiders rarely ever bite a human, and if their were no spiders on earth insects would rule the planet so think about the next time you kill a spider because they do much more good than bad.
I've never seen a big spider in my life, only the tiny ones that you can easily crush with a book. I'd probably run away screaming in fear if I ever go to Houston and see a massive one.
When I was doing land navigation courses in the woods for the army, I would always end up walking into giant spider webs with giant yellowish/white spiders on them! I remember every time I come near one they would open up all 8 of their legs, ready to latch onto me. Even worse I was forced to do land navigation exercises at night where walking into webs every 5 minutes was common, when it happens, I usually stop, drop everything, and brush everything off me. Going through experiences like that made me more tolerant with spiders.
I leave them alone usually unless they're somewhere I need to immediately access then I generally lead them in a small glass and then take them outside. Spiders kill roaches, flies, mosquitos and other insects that you really don't want in your house and they mostly keep to themselves in a dark corner. Spiders are alright. Even get the occasional tarantula sneaking through the garage door. Those are alright to pet usually on hand. Wolf spiders can get big but they're harmless. They are aggressive though and while their bites are only a minor annoyance, people smash their guts anyways.
I live in an apartment with regular applications of pesticides and rarely have any kind of insect in my house. I have had more geckos wander their way in from the balcony than spiders or roaches which is fortunate. At my old place I would kill all spiders and insects.
I've been bit too many times already in my life, while minding my own business and leaving them alone. I think my natural scent does something to them, especially when I was younger. It was nearly monthly thing to have some golf-ball size lump on my back or neck (was bit 3 times in the neck - 3 times! All while learning them alone.) So I'm not gonna let a big-ish spider have free reign in my house. If that makes me a pansy, then so be it.
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Spiders don't really bother me too much. Will kill them if in front of my kids or wife, if necessary...gotta keep my manly image up. Roaches...on the other hand...I turn into a broom or hockey stick wielding little eight year old girl. Absolutely cannot stand those things. Kafka be damned.
Got in my car this morning to drive to work. About to pull onto the freeway when I feel a tingle on my bicep. I look down and see a spider on my arm. I tense up and the spider leaps to my forearm. I'm now half looking at the road, half looking at the spider. I slow down and the spider jumps on my leg. I then smack my leg as hard and fast as I could obliterating said spider. Poor little bugger scared the bejesus out of me. Spiders are KOS for me if they are in my house, car, or freaking crawling on me. Outdoors, not so much.
My kids are afraid of them, but I won't kill them nor remove them. My mother was always big on leaving spiders alone (though she'd always freak about snakes, go figure) because they're beneficial and eat other pests. All other bugs I will kill on sight. If I thought one was a brown recluse or a black widow or something, I'd kill it, but it seems like a pretty remote chance I'd find one of those in my house. My wife's on an organic gardening kick right now, and -- the way it sounds to me -- all pests are beneficial in some way because they eat other pests. It seems like some jacked up logic to me.
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It depends on which type. If its a jumping spider or the tiny house spiders I leave them alone. The jumping spider is one of the brown recluses #1 enemies, and they kill a lot of brown recluses. They have exceptional vision as well & their bite cannot piece human skin, not even a babies. Brown recluses though I kill on sight.
Roaches will help process your compost. To hell with mosquitoes though, even if our whole ecosystem craters without them.
