I read something extremely disturbing this week. No, it wasn’t about ISIS or Syria, although it doesn’t get much worse than that. But that’s not the kind of disturbing I’m talking about. I suppose this particular topic is more repugnant than tragic. And here’s why…

A spider took up residence in a woman’s ear canal. I’ll give you a minute to absorb that. Feel free to step away from the computer if you’d like to get up and shudder away the grossness. Go ahead, I’ll wait.

Better now? I know how you feel because I had the same reaction. Can you even imagine such a thing? I would guess fear of spiders is one of the top 5 phobias that provoke the heebie-jeebies in people. And news like this isn’t going to help one bit.

When I was a kid, a story went around about a woman whose autopsy revealed a colony of spiders living in her hair. Maybe that’s not so far fetched after all? I mean, if a spider can make himself comfy in your ear canal, why not in your hair too? Poor spiders; I think they get a bad rap simply because they’re, well…icky.

Not quite, but you get the idea

Why are these tiny critters so frightening to us? Although some are poisonous, most spiders do nothing repugnant. They just look repugnant. I mean, they weren’t exactly blessed with the cute looks of say, lady bugs, now were they?

Adorable

Not

I’d say their 4 pairs of eyes, 8 furry legs, little fangs, and their desire and ability to crawl into places they don’t belong (like ears), contribute to why we find it kinda hard to enjoy their company. Or even look at them.

So anyway, this British pop star, Katie Melua, tells the press she felt a rustling in her ear for about a week before she visited the doctor.

Katie

Lo and behold, when he inserted a scope into her ear, the doctor saw something staring back at him. Literally. The spider sat (if spiders sit) in Katie’s warm, moist ear canal as if having a spa day, all relaxed and what not. I’ve since dubbed this arachnid Ear-ie Canal (get it?) and assume she’s female because of the spa day and all…

The spider in Katie’s ear canal

As it turns out, Katie used an old set of in-ear monitors to listen to music. Best guess — the spider had taken up residence in them, then jumped ship into Katie’s ear from there. Turns out the little critters actually do prefer warm, moist spots. Ear-ie Canal probably thought she hit the jackpot that day, don’t you think?

Katie’s in-ear monitors

Personally, I’m not one who is repulsed by spiders. Now don’t get me wrong; that doesn’t mean I want one kickin’ back in my ear. But I never kill one. I bring it outside in a napkin or sometimes on my hand. But I admit, if it starts crawling up my arm, it sort of unnerves me. So I end up running out the door to shake it off before it disappears to parts unknown on my person.

Anyway, Katie took it all in stride. She even had her doctor save Ear-ie in a test tube so the spider could be released into Katie’s garden. If you ask me, that was one lucky arachnid. I think most people would have smashed her, don’t you?

Ear-ie after extraction

But instead, little Ear-ie is now living the good life in Katie’s backyard, having baby spiders by the hundreds and looking forward to the day when they’re old enough to leave the nest in pursuit of a warm, moist place to call home.

Getting ready to head toward Katie’s house