They have arrived, on the outside of my house. The spiders. These remarkable animals appear with the summer and weave their artistic tapestries under the eaves of the roof, and sometimes outside the window, much to my delight. It is really interesting watching a skilled and determined European garden spider (Araneus diadematus) construct its web outside the window pane. Not to mention following a large group of tiny newly hatched spiderlings take their first arthropodean steps on the weatherboard. Nature is full of wonders, and one does not have to travel to the ends of the earth to appreciate it.

Once I lived in Australia. That fair country has an excellent selection of spiders. I must admit that they were not all equally pleasing as neighbours. The redback spiders (Latrodectus hasseltii) resided in my garden shed. It was wise to keep them at a distance, as the bite of these antipodean arthropods is poisonous, small as they are. But the redback is one good looking spider for sure. On the other hand, some huge creatures of a very different kind sometimes took up position on my living room wall: the huntsman spiders (Holconia immanis). While they may not have been that pleasant to look at, they were quite nice once you got to know them. They did a good job of keeping the home free from various insects, also present in abundance Down Under.

But back to Iceland. I simply cannot fathom another regular feature of the summer in Reykjavík: Ads from some people who want to be allowed to poison those spiders of ours! These ads appear in the media soon after the spiders themselves. There is obviously a market for such things. But hang on... At the same time as Icelanders complain loudly of various bugs, such as wasps and now also biting midgesi, spiders are being poisoned - spiders that hurt nobody but flies! Perhaps those who keep the peddlers of poison in business have not thought things through fully?

In general, I dislike intensely the thought of houses and gardens being doused in poisonous stuff, whatever the reason might be. When spiders are considered, such deeds look like pure stupidity. Let's stop this poison business and enjoy summer life with the spiders.