This is an ad by BetterHelp.

Who's that man in your life?

The one you're grateful for.

November is Men's Mental Health Month,

so let's encourage the men we love to take care of themselves.

With over 5,000 therapists in the UK,

BetterHelp Online Therapy can pair you with a credentialed professional

via phone, video, or live chat sessions. No referral needed.

Visit BetterHelp, H-E-L-P-com slash World Wide Web, not the virtual one, the real one.

My guest, our agnologist and science communicator T. Francis, joins me to discuss the spiders

that live on and around our house plants, and I answer a question about a bighonia that's going in the wrong

direction. So this week's show is about spiders. I'm aware that some people are very afraid of

spiders. Some people are phobic of spiders, some people don't care either way.

If you find the topic of spiders difficult, I would urge you to keep on listening, even if

all your instincts are telling you that this is not something you need to hear, because

T. Francis, arachnologist and house plant collector has loads of fabulous advice for how to overcome your

spider fears. Her advice is so good. I really recommend having a listen. She talks about what

native spiders you might find in and around your house plants if you are in Britain. What to do if you find hitchhiking spiders, not native to your own country, on your new houseplants?

And why spiders are a good thing to have in the home?

Yeah, you might find that hard to believe, but it's true.

Now, like me, T is from the UK, but she has vast experience of different spiders around the world.

But of course, the spiders that she mentions that might be in and around your home and house plants are specific to the UK, so that will vary according to where you are.

...