Zoo scares off mum's creepy crawlies

YOUNG mum Samantha Smith hates her fear of spiders almost as much as she detests seeing an arachnid.

It is a phobia that has been with her from infancy, and was made worse after a nasty bite from a white-tail spider caused her flesh to rot, scarring her mentally and physically.

"There is the fear of the unknown if they get inside and disappear to later reappear where you don't want them, like in bed with you," Ms Smith said.

"And it doesn't help that they are black and hairy and ugly."

The PR consultant wants to quash the fear with the help of a $200 Melbourne Zoo course.

"I saw a spider in (son) Tom's room a few weeks ago. I ran screaming and grabbed a broom to try to get it off the ceiling but it latched on to the handle and danced down to me. I had to call my mum to deal with it."

"I don't want to kill them. I'd feel much better if I could safely catch them and relocate them as far away as possible."

Events manager Anita Petris, 39, who said her phobia began at age seven, has done the course.

"I (once) reached into a letterbox and pulled out some newspapers and there was a big huntsman on my hand."

Ms Petris said her daughters were "catching" her fear so she did the course.

"A year later, I am really surprised by the long-lasting effects. If I see a huntsman, I stop, take a deep breath, reach for a container to catch it and release it outside," she said.