So, I just want to say that your fears, in my opinion are not totally irrational. Although MANY are, not ALL spiders are good! I live in Northern Virginia, and a couple of years ago I was in the car w/ my father and he felt like something had just bitten him. We never found the culprit. He had pain that worsened, nausea, and the site where he had been bitten became inflamed, started turning blue and moving from his foot up his leg. The doctor told him that he was bitten by a Brown Recluse spider, one that is not thought of to be common in this area but who's habitat is spreading to encompass this state. They drew a line on the top of his leg and was told that if the medicinal treatment he was given failed to stop the spreading of the venom (if his leg continued to turn blue above the line they drew) they would have to amputate his leg. Thankfully it reached the line but did not go over and with continual treatment eventually subsided.
I'm not telling you this to worsen your fear, though. Because of the incident w/ my dad, I do not hate spiders and let a fear of them control me. These types of instances are rare comparatively and the amount of good that many spiders can do cannot be ignored. But the fact that they can be dangerous can not be ignored either. Just as snakes are good in many ways, too, you don't want the rascals in your house, and we also have poisonous snakes just like poisonous spiders in our area (rattlers which I have also seen personally) and so we have to be responsible and knowledgable about their habits, habitats and identification of different species. The trick w/ this fear is educating yourself about the spiders, then you feel a sense of power and the fear is no longer "irrational" because you are knowledgable and know how you need to react when you see a spider or a spider bite. You know when there is a real threat or just an emotional reaction. To educate yourself there are many internet sites that you can research to get pictures and other info - or go to the library. I'll say, too, that even w/ my scary personal experience I have/will not have my house exterminated to rid us of spiders. There are health risks there, too, that we must also be responsible about and are probably more common than the poisonous spiders, themselves! (Use some of the suggestions from the internet sites to discourage them from living in your house, be aware when you are in a situation where you might inadvertantly threaten them and make them want to bite (out of self defense), get some spider traps, etc. instead.)
Good luck and you're not crazy!
Try to remember to keep a perspective about it!
S.
