A Tiny Intervention Involving Eight Legs
There was a small clump of lint on my floor.
I took a broom to it. The clump…moved.
Huh?
I bent down. It took a moment to realize what I was looking at.
A large-ish spider (2-inches?) had gotten its eight legs tangled in the lint. It could move, sorta, but it could not walk.
I was horrified. A creature in distress. In my house.
Gently, I moved the clump onto a piece of paper, and took it outside to the deck table. Then I went inside and grabbed two tweezers. Then back outside.
Sitting down, I very gently pulled off really tiny bits of lint, over and over and over and over while being extra careful of the delicate spider legs. The second tweezer held the lint ball firmly.
During all this the spider gave every indication of having died. It made not a move. So, it might have died. But spiders also act dead as a protective measure.
Bit by bit by bit the lint ball was reduced. Then gone. I very gently tugged at each leg. Each moved as normal. The spider still looked 100% dead.
I picked up the paper, and gently pushed the seemingly dead creature into a small flower pot making sure it was upside right.
Yep, still dead looking.
Fifteen minutes later I returned.
No spider.
My smile was ridiculously wide.
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You are a good soul. I hope that spider has a long, happy, and lint-free life.
You are wonderful Ross.
Thank you for saving this little soul.
<3
Not to sound sappy, but that kindness you gave that little creature gives me great hope for humanity in these times we are living through.
Compassion matters!
You did good and I’m sure that kindness will be rewarded in some way. Perhaps it already has.
That could have been an Orb Weaver. Really good spiders but mostly found in gardens. They are the ones that spin those beautiful symmetrical “Halloween” webs that look so gorgeous in the morning covered in dew. They catch a lot of the bag bugs in the garden so we don’t have to use pesticides (and shouldn’t.) Don’t mourn having to disturb those webs. They build a new one every day and once you can see them, they’re already old and “discarded.”
This made me smile. Good deed for the day: check!🥰
Dear Ross that was the sweetest story and proof you are a lover of creatures great and small!
This made me smile immensely!
Oh and I was remarkably astonished no shop-vac for the lint! However, Miss Charlotte the spider was relieved that the “The Giant” rescued her and didn’t vacuum this particular clump of lint! Haha 🙂 with surgical precision the lint was detangled. Haha
Thank you for helping a creature that has suffered from a lot of bad PR. I have a jumping spider that has decided to move in for the winter. I have unsuccessfully tried to evict it several times now, but it is too quick for me. I have told it repeatedly that there are 8 cats in the house, but so far it hasn’t heeded my warnings.
I agree with Sandra D Lee, you are a friend to all creatures great and small.