PexelsIf you’re scared of spiders, you’ll probably know every trick in the book about how to get rid of them, but one guy had the unusual idea of using a blowtorch to kill the invading arachnids, and ended up setting his house on fire.
As a huge arachnophobe myself, I can kind of see where this guy was coming from when he opted to try to kill the spiders with a blowtorch.
Sure, he could have used a cup with some paper slid underneath, but then there’s always the chance the spider might escape and crawl onto your hand or arm, or simply just return to your house after thinking ‘this fool will never hurt me with their feeble cup’.
Then there’s the option of hitting it/them with a shoe or something, and while this might have worked better for the man, I just don’t think it was dramatic enough for him.
Check out the disaster here:
Admittedly, one of my first thoughts upon spotting a spider in the house is ‘burn the whole place down’. Of course, I soon rationalise and find an alternative. The guy in Fresno, California, apparently didn’t get that far.
The worst part is, it wasn’t even his own house he set fire to.
The arachnophobe was house-sitting for his parents on Tuesday night (October 23) at their home in the Woodward Lake housing development, when he spotted black widow spiders in the building, ABC11 report.
According to the National Geographic, the venom of black widow spiders is reported to be 15 times stronger than a rattlesnake. If a human is bitten by one, their venom produces muscle aches, nausea, and paralysis of the diaphragm, which can make breathing difficult.
So I think it was reasonable for the man to be afraid.
The guy looked for his weapon of choice and settled – for some reason – on a blowtorch.
Maybe he thought it would be the best way to get rid of the spider without having to get too close? Or maybe he just thought it would make him seem like someone in an action movie? Who knows.
Regardless of his thought process, the man fired up the blowtorch and got to work, killing the spiders. Unfortunately, he set fire to his parents’ house while he was at it.
PixabayThe man made it out of the house and called the fire department. 29 firefighters responded to the call and were, luckily, able to put out the fire.
Fire crews confirmed no one was injured in the incident, but the man’s interesting method of eradicating the spiders resulted in damage to the second-story and attic of the home.
Although ABC report the exact cause of the fire has not been officially determined, fire crews believe the blowtorch was to blame.
I wonder how the man explained this series of events to his parents? ‘Sorry about your scorched house guys, there were some creepy crawlies hanging around and fire was the only option’.
Hopefully he’ll be able to come up with some less disastrous ways to get rid of spiders in the future!
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Emily Brown first began delivering important news stories aged just 13, when she launched her career with a paper round. She graduated with a BA Hons in English Language in the Media from Lancaster University, and went on to become a freelance writer and blogger. Emily contributed to The Sunday Times Travel Magazine and Student Problems before becoming a journalist at UNILAD, where she works on breaking news as well as longer form features.