Arachniphilia

Since I am a first-year renter in my new apartment complex I am not allowed to have pets.  Although I have befriended several dogs and one cat (almost) who are harbored by neighbors and making do with the lizards, frogs, and various flutterbys and other creatures that flit, slither and scuttle around the pool shrubbery; not one of them will perch lovingly on my shoulder without, kind-of, freaking me out if they did.  Recently a banana spider (also known as the golden silk orb-weaver) has taken up residence in the middle of a rather spectacular web she has strung between two palm trees just outside my door.  I didn’t notice the construction of this gossamer edifice until a couple of days ago when the web itself starting reflecting the setting sun.

My neighbor, Tina, has named her Charlotte which I thought was a little too obvious but the name has stuck.  Tina has also designated Charlotte as belonging to me which is gratifying but, still, Charlotte seems to be growing rather more rapidly than makes me comfortable or the master of my own domain.  I’m not afraid of her since she is just doing her job and keeping her personal area (and a lot of mine) insect-free but my main concern is just how fertile she might be and whether or not she might be shooting out a hundred offspring at any moment.  Steering clear has been the best policy so far but I might soon have to start buying lady bugs, or something, to sacrifice on her altar if she starts looking more menacing/threatening than I care to deal with.
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Update 10/13/14:  The landscapers came this morning and cleared away all of the brush and debris that had built up in the shrubbery around the pool.  This must have included Charlotte's web because it's all gone, including Charlotte.  I hope she didn't end up in a wood chipper.