In your defense I probably would've done the same thing. Arachnophobia is actually quite common. So for the people who are calling the OP names and making fun of her, 50% of women are afraid and 10% of men. It's traumatizing for people..

your ex is probably secretly trying to laugh in your face or she wanna get back together with you and you wouldnt appreciate it. so eh ?

Caramel spiders or not, I want your job. o: I'm voting YDI, since as tempting as it is to freak out when something like that happens, you really shouldn't; especially since you're around heavy machinery.

Okay, even if it were a spider it's completely irrational to be freaked out by them. There are only 2 species of potentially poisonous spiders in America: the Black Widow and the Brown Recluse. Unless you are very old or a young child the probability that you will die from a Black Widow's bite is almost nonexistent. The Brown Recluse only lives in the forests of the Midwest so there's no need to worry about them. It's ridiculous how arachnophobic people are.

So when you say they alerted your boss, are they talking about Willie Wonka? C:

Um, excuse me, # 36, I live in Tennessee and once had to deal with an infestation of brown recluses and actually was bitten at one point. Luckily the worst that happened was that I got a nice little scar on my leg and a permanent fear of spiders after that. Even if the spider bite doesn't kill you, it still hurts like a bitch for awhile. So I really can't blame the OP. I would have done the same thing.

Well, YDI, but I totally understand. I share your spider fear, completely.

That would totally happen to me lol

#38, I'm sorry about your spider incident, but it's safe to say that the vast majority of people haven't been bitten by brown recluses. To most people it's an irrational fear.

36: the definition of a phobia is an IRRATIONAL fear. people (like me) just cant help being scared whether or not there is an incident tied to the subject of the phobia. so people cant help "how arachnophobic they are"