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Forget Big Brother and welcome a whole host of other housemates into your home as spider season is officially here.

The Guardian newspaper proudly announced this week 'owing to a dismal summer, the 2011 domestic spider season promises to be the best yet'. Great news!

Actually, I'm not in the least bit and have never understood the problem with them, especially after watching with the children.

But there will be plenty of people quaking in fear at the thought of an invasion of eight-legged invertebrates climbing into their nooks and crannies.

A beautiful garden spider by Keith Evans.

I went to brush my teeth the other night and was greeted by two enormous spiders in the bath - properly huge, complete with hairy legs and winsome smiles!

There's a great website to help identify British spiders - www.uksafari.com and having looked at the photos, I think I saw were cardinal spiders - named after Cardinal Wolsey who was allegedly terrified of them.

Also, contrary to popular belief, spiders don't climb up plug holes (incy wincy spider), they end up in the bath after falling from above and can't escape due to the enamel surface of the bath.

Charles Dawson with a house spider which apparently tried to run up his sleeve just after this shot was taken.

The reason there are so many spiders around currently is because: September is the start of their mating season, (so they're actually looking for love) and a warm spring and dreary summer has meant greater numbers this year.

There are 640 species of spider in the UK and according to the Natural History Museum, 12 British breeds are capable of biting humans, although only one, the false widow spider can actually do any harm to us.

The Museum also sensibly points out that no-one has ever died of a spider bite in the UK.

So what's the point of spiders? Well, they're actually very important to the ecosystem and when they come into our homes looking for shelter this month, will helpfully eat lots of other creepy crawlies during their stay.

Disposal methods

And as for how to dispose of them - there's a multitude of advice and opinions on this subject but I went for the 'grab in a piece of kitchen roll and fling out of the window' approach with mine..

However, it seems that a glass covered with paper or card is the preferred method of choice for showing spiders the door.

So, next time you see a spider looking for a quiet corner in your home - maybe it's not such a bad idea to consider taking on a temporary lodger?