Summer is almost over, and fall is over here, and that means only one thing: it's almost the time of year where spiders begin invading our houses and apartments en masse, and we end up being frightened out of our wits by the sudden and uncomfortable appearance of these eight-legged freaks.
When it comes to dealing with spiders, opinions are divided on the best method of disposal. Some people are utterly ruthless, sucking them up with the nozzle of the vacuum cleaner or swatting them with a rolled-up newspaper. Other people just hide in a different room and wait for them to go away.
Check out this terrifying video of a woman finding a spider on her sun visor:But if you're looking for a more humane way of dealing with spiders this year, then Aldi has the product for you. The popular German retailer is currently selling an awesome spider-catcher, which is capable of nabbing even the fastest wall-crawler, without harming it at all. So if you want to get rid of the many-legged pests, but don't want the bad karma that comes with squishing them, then this is perfect.
The 'Zero In Spider Catcher' is a simple-yet-effective invention, which features a 68cm long plastic handle with fine-filament bristles, which you can snap shut around any beasties by pulling the handle. That means you can stand back safely and catch any insects - such as spiders, moths, and daddy-long-legs - without hurting them. Best of all: the device only costs $9.69 (£7.99).
But the question remains? Why do so many horrible bugs end up infesting our homes round about September/October? Well, the chilling is that they're actually always in your house. They're camped away nice and snug in the various different nooks and crannies of your dwelling all year round. It's just that they become far more visible during the fall.
Why is this? Well, it's because the autumnal months are actually arachnid mating season, which means that they will be far more visible as they attempt to find a mate.
In fact, according to Geoff Oxford of the British Arachnological Society: "It is unlikely that the large specimens we see in our houses in autumn have come in from outside, as is commonly assumed. They will have spent their entire lives in our company without us being aware of it."
Check out this video of a man who found a gigantic spider in his home in New Zealand:Oxford adds: "The spider you see is most likely to be a male - lookout for short, leg-like palps on the head, their ends swollen like boxing gloves. He is looking for a mate."
However, there are some spider species out there that are simply too big for the spider catcher to handle. For example, check out this article about the gigantic huntsman spider that invaded an Australian home.