Yeah, that was what I was afraid of......I hate using Round up! I swear Harebell just get's thicker the more I try to dig it out! I live on 5 acres out in the country, and I have this stuff everywhere! It's in all my flower beds, in the trees, in the ditch, down by the pond etc. The Creeping Jenny is in just one bed, so hopefully I can get that under control. Thanks

Here's the thing. Your phobia is irrational, as are ALL phobias. You know that. I don't see how you can expect others to support you in your irrational fear of a harmless spider. Sympathize....absolutely! But to gather all others around you to enable you in this debilitating fear just isn't right. I'm a reformed (recovering?) arachnophobe, myself. Because my profession AND avocation keeps me outside most of the time, I had to get over it, you might say. I had moved to the south, where you can't even image the numbers, kinds, and sizes of the spiders. I simply educated myself out of my fear. The more you know about the 'enemy' the less you will fear it. Losing the fear was like an enormous weight being lifted from my shoulders. Anyway...my story isn't going to help you. You could completely give up the outdoor activities that might bring you into range of one of these spiders. You could force your husband to go out into the garden areas and around the house with a broom a few times a day to do a 'sweep'. Certainly he can do that prior to whenever you wish to step into the yard. Luckily (for the rest of us) there really are no chemical repellents for spiders. No one is going to recommend chemical pesticides....though there might be some spider killer on the market. It hurts me to think about it. The ironic thing is that the beautiful Black and Yellow Argiope is one of the most benign of all spiders. They won't attack you. They won't jump out and surprise you. They never leave their web in order to get a closer look at you. They are one of the most predictable spiders around, and once you understand and believe that....you could make yourself become comfortable with them. Have you researched desensitization techniques on the internet? For the most part, phobias are one of the easiest of mental issues to overcome. We don't think so when in the clutches of a disabling fear, but it's true. Good luck with your problem. Let me know if I can help.

I'd just get a garden fork and start digging. The area in the picture would take about 10 minutes. Good exercise and no poisons involved. Remove all the roots of things you don't want. Then you'll need to fill the space, either with desirable plants or mulch or both. If you don't the weeds will be back. Once you've done a thorough work through little and often will keep on top of the weeds.

18 months after converting my patchwork lawn to just about 100% Tall Fescue (cheap/tough K31 at that). I have so few spots of CC I just hand pull it occasionally while mowing my lawn and at that it just seems like finesse. The seed is inexpensive and has gotten the job done with several overseedings after a scorching cutting. My strategy was to think "below ground." Kentucky Bluegrass, for example, has a shallow weak root system. One selling feature is the vigorous surface roots that enable it to spread in to bare spots. This behavior is essential identical to CC at the macro-level. Cheap K-31 grass operates in a different manner. The roots are very deep and the plant prefers to be a bit tall (usually 4" mowings for me) not creepy. I ammended soil pretty deep in areas of poor topsoil. It germinates quickly and establishs to a "bigger" potential much later. But once established -- it is harder to kill then CC. Thats how I eliminated CC. I let the K31 get strong then beat up my lawn pretty badly but with just a few moments of consideration just prior. Mowing it short in heat, mowing at varying heights that "didn't make sense", letting it get tall for some periods. K-31 if you want cheap, extremely durable, weed-free turf --consensus is just overseed it every other year. KGB if you aim to have a prettier but very high maintance lawn requiring extra water, chemicals/organics, and attention with less need to overseed for thick turf. My only question for some of the posts is what kind of grass and what kind of conditions exist and shooting for. Best of luck with whatever grass species!