In my household, DH is the squeamish one. Mice? My job. Wounds? I'm the doctor. Anything involving bodily fluids (or needles)? Do not even say a word about it in front of him, especially a descriptive word. Snakes? Yeah, that's a big no from DH.
Spiders? Oh heck no! You want to see a big guy move fast, tell DH there's a spider within a couple of feet of him. I once got steamrollered on our bed because I pointed out a spider on the ceiling above him.
I shouldn't joke about it, but it's so hard not to. It's well known among our family that I 'save' DH from spiders.
Now, I believe strongly (maybe because venomous spiders aren't vey common in Michigan) in not smashing spiders that are found in my house. Instead, I gently relocate them. Just because they aren't venomous, and I want to keep them alive because they do a bug-control service I appreciate, doesn't meant I pick them up in my bare hands. Or even gloved hands.
Nope, I have developed my nearly harmless (I say nearly because once in a while one accidentally gets injured) spider relocation system. It involves two things which I keep handy: a small see-through container, and a piece of paperboard sturdy enough to not bend easily when held that is at least a few inches larger than the opening in the see-through container.
When I (or more often, DH) spot a spider in our home, I grab my two parts and gently place the small container over the spider. This works whether the spider is on the wall, the ceiling, the floor, or a window screen. Because the container is see-through, I can center it over the spider (usually) without squishing its body or trapping any of its legs under the rim of the container. Then I carefully slide the piece of paperboard between the rim of the container and whatever the spider was on originally: wall, ceiling, etc.
Once the paperboard covers the opening of the container, with the spider captured inside, I can carry the container outside without fear of the spider jumping out. I might not be afraid of them, but I don't particularly care for them to jump at me. I also don't want it to escape in the house, as that would require finding and recapturing it.
Out of doors, I set the container, still covered with the paperboard, on any surface with the paperboard side down. Then I lift off the container. Typically the spider runs away immediately, and, if not, I gently tilt the paperboard and shake the spider off.
Then I wish it well, and go put my spider relocation system components back in their easy to reach assigned spot.


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