During my first year in Arizona, I had an encounter with a black tarantula. It came walking into my hallway making terrible noises while walking on the floor. My two babies ( 1 md 2 years old) were amusing themselves in the living room. I freaked out. I used my broom to kill the tarantula and swept it up and dumped it down the toilet, flushing many times to make sure there would be no repeat encounters. All the time I was feeling terribly guilty for killing a living being but I was too scared.
In the evening, my husband brought home an MP colleague who felt it necessary to tell me that killling tarantulas was punishable with a $100 fine. I never checked that out. I certainly felt guilty enough.