14 Days Of Sunshine - 11

Compared to most places in the world we in Germany have almost no poisonous animals or insects to fear. It is changing a little bit now where the climate here is indeed getting a bit warmer and species move in from the south, but at this rate we won't be a danger zone for a very long time.
I am not really at odds with creepy crawlies of any kind, although I do have a seriously bad relationship to spiders.
That was not always the case, I used to catch them with my hand to put them back outside, and as a 10 year old I even had a 'pet spider'. She was living in a big jar, with twigs and other nice furniture, and was supplied by me with flies and other delicacies. It was a school project, we where asked to observe spiders and I felt this to be the most efficient way. One morning I fed my pretty big spider a few ants, and tragically she was eaten up by them in the afternoon. I did not even get to say good bye...
Anyhow... the human-aranea relationship took a nosedive when I managed to step on a brown recluse spider in 2001. We resided in Texas at the time, and I really meant no harm, I did not even do it on purpose. I also did not know that this is indeed a poisonous spider, rarely really nasty in effect but nasty nevertheless. And at first I really did not have any major problems with this bite, it had stung quite badly but then we just had survived an invasion of fire ants and I had become pretty ignorant toward stinging or biting pains. Unfortunately it took only a few days and I noticed a white spot where the bite was located, and it did look as if it was growing. The itching and burning had not stopped either, so I showed the foot to my boss . He's a hunter and outdoor activities thingy lover, and knows quite a bit. His reaction did worry me a tad... he told me to sit tight, called my husband, told him to get his behind on the way to pick me up and to take me to the hospital for a good look. Great.
At the hospital they cleaned the site and gave me an nasty, nasty antibiotic, I think after just 3 days of taking it I was so out of it that my husband had to take me by the hand to safely lead me from a to b. I still have a little scar.
A few years later, 2007, I was taking a shower in my tiny bathtub, being 5 months pregnant and for some reason big enough to carry sextuplets, I had my first encounter with a giant house spider. This was in Scotland, mind you, and I never expected to encounter such a monstrosity there. Worst thing... I was cornered. And very inflexible, considering the belly and the heaviness and such. Well, let's just say the that spider did not make it.