Zombie Spiders

         With hatred in my eyes I step outside and calmly walk to the edge of the front deck.  I spot my prey and with my arm outstretched I aim, hold my breath, and watch the object of my dislike curl its eight legs as I douse it with a stream of Raid.  After what seems like five minutes but is actually a few seconds it falls into the bushes, leaving behind a web the size of a small car stretched from the window to a forsythia bush in the middle of the front yard.  This action is a repeat of one I performed a few days earlier between the boxwoods and hydrangea next to where my daughter parks her car.  A few days later there is need for the same thing this time between the house and deck rail along the ramp.  These tiger striped zombie spiders are really bugging me!  There are a couple in the garden of weeds between our driveway and the neighbor’s, and then, while sitting in the comfort of our living room my daughter spots one in the middle of a window more toward the side of the house.  Thankfully it’s on the outside, but in a spot that my Raid can’t reach. 

         I am not a fan of spiders in general, but these particular spiders seem especially menacing.  They are fairly large and tend to sit in the middle of their web awaiting their prey.  When it’s breezy out they are still there, undulating in the web as the air is stirred.  It’s creepy!  There was even one living behind the driver’s side mirror on my van.  We discovered this one day at the McDonalds drive thru.  Thankfully my husband was driving and knocked it down where I’m sure it began life anew terrorizing patrons and employees.

         Hopefully the cooler weather we are having now will keep the zombie spiders at bay, at least until next summer when I’ll be stalking them once again with a can of Raid.