Man Burns Down House Using Blowtorch To Kill Spiders

A man has accidentally burnt down a house after using a blowtorch to try and get rid of spiders, which you might think is overkill, but I think is probably about right.

The man was looking after his parents' place in Fresno, California, when he saw a number of 'dangerous spiders' in the property, 6 ABC reports.

Firefighters said the man was trying to kill black widow spiders in the house and picked up a blowtorch.

In total 29 firefighters were called out to deal with the fire.

Fortunately, he was able to make it out of the property safely and no one else was in the house at the time. The fate of the spiders is not known, but it's not looking good.

If you're a fellow arachnophobe, you might not be surprised to learn that this isn't the first time this has happened.

Last year, a man also decided that a home-made blowtorch was preferable to the old piece of card and a glass combo and ended up setting his house ablaze.

A man from Seattle used a can of spray paint and a lighter to tackle a spider he found in the laundry room of his home.

The fire quickly got out of hand, and ended up causing $60,000 (£46,489) worth of damage.

via GIPHY

A spokesperson for the Seattle Fire Department said: "I don't want to encourage people to do this, but that's what he did. The spider tried to get into the wall. He sprayed flames on the wall, lit the wall on fire, and that extended up to the ceiling.

"There are safer, more effective ways to kill a spider than using fire."

You're not wrong pal, and yet, people still seem to think it's the best course of action; including an Arizona man who found a nest of spiderwebs under his property and thought a blowtorch would be just the ticket to get rid of them.

But it didn't quite go to plan and before he knew it, he was dealing with a massive fire. The man had to then go on a bit of a rescue mission to ensure his elderly neighbour was safe. Luckily, both he and she got out with just minor injuries.

Almost two dozen firemen were called out to deal with the blaze, but despite their best efforts, once the fire was out, the man's house was pretty much gutted. And, presumably, so was he.

Topics: US News

Claire Reid

Claire is a journalist at LADbible who, after dossing around for a few years, went to Liverpool John Moores University. She graduated with a degree in Journalism and a whole load of debt. When not writing words in exchange for money she is usually at home watching serial killer documentaries surrounded by cats. You can contact Claire at [email protected]

@ClaireReid19