Man starts massive house fire after trying to kill spider with torch

As someone who's deathly afraid of spiders, I'd definitely go to extreme lengths to get rid of one.

Yell consistently until someone finally gets annoyed enough to come and help? Yep. Throw a shoe from across the room with no concern for any of the more fragile objects in its path? Absolutely.

That being said, I've never set fire to my house while trying to banish a spider...

The same can't be said for a man from Fresno, California, who sparked a response from the Fresno Fire Department during his attempts to get rid of one of the pesky eight-legged creatures over the weekend.

The fire department shared news of the callout on Facebook, where they explained that firefighters responded to a structure fire in West Fresno after a homeowner 'accidentally started the fire using a torch to exterminate a spider'.

It's unclear whether the homeowner attempted to use any other methods to remove the spider before resorting to the blowtorch, or whether that was his first weapon of choice, but either way it didn't end well.

The department gave a clear warning against blow torching spiders. (Facebook/Fresno Fire Department)

The blowtorch ended up making contact with more than a spider, and resulted in a fire which spread throughout the structure.

Thankfully, the fire department assured that no one was injured as a result of the incident and responding workers were able to put the blaze out before too much damage was done.

However, images from the scene show beams across the roof of the property blackened and charred as a result of the fire, suggesting some repair work will be needed.

The worst part is, we don't even know whether the man succeeded in getting rid of the spider or not.

Images showed the room blackened as a result of the fire. (Facebook/Fresno Fire Department)

While the incident could have been much worse, the fire department strongly warned against anyone attempting to use blowtorches to get rid of pests.

In its Facebook post, it wrote: "We get it, we don’t like spiders either, but it’s never a good idea to use a blow torch or any other flammable device for pest control. We encourage everyone to use safer methods or contact a professional."

Facebook users had mixed reactions to the post after hearing the man's story, with one joking: "Depending on the size, desperate times call for desperate measures."

Another shared their own experience of a spider-induced blaze, writing: "We had one years ago where a guy was using a torch to get rid of spider webs and got his attic going. I use and recommend a shop vac for spider and web eradication!"

As scary as spiders may be, they're definitely not worth losing your home over!