Is it just me, or has there been an explosion of creepy crawlies this year? They seem to be everywhere – climbing up the bedroom wall, hiding in crevices, and scurrying across floorboards. It s like a scene from Arachnophobia! I don t know about you, but

Is it just me, or has there been an explosion of creepy crawlies this year?

They seem to be everywhere - climbing up the bedroom wall, hiding in crevices, and scurrying across floorboards.

It's like a scene from Arachnophobia!

I don't know about you, but I can't get to sleep if I know there's one lurking on the ceiling above me, especially when an average adult is expected to eat eight spiders in their life time while they are asleep.

Even exotic and unusual spiders, such as black widows have been spotted in Blighty since 2000.

But do not fear - you are more likely to see them in the south west.

More and more eight-legged creatures are likely to hatch if the weather stays mild.

But now that the breeding season is no longer at its peak, I'm hoping that the numbers in which they reproduce decline.

However, we're not the only ones being invaded. Queensland in Australia has also noticed an influx of unusual spiders this year because of their prolonged drought and mild winter.

SPIDER FACTFILE

- Spiders send shivers down the spines of more than one in 10 Brits

- It can take up to three hours for a spider to make a web

- Spiders have 48 knees - eight legs with six joints on each

- There about 35,000 named species of spiders worldwide

- Spiders have been on the planet for around 350,000 years

- The English word 'spider' comes from the German word meaning spinner

- The most dangerous spider in the world is the Australian Funnel Spider