Thread: Spiders in the shed

Woodborer
Yes, I live in Tully Heads and yes, we have quite a few species and yes, I have arachniphobia which does not qualify me for admittance to a mental institution.

I like snakes, they eat rats who can spread leptospirosis if you touch thing they have peed on, mice who I am allergic to and my neighbours tom cats, whose pee stinks to high heaven when they get into my shed.

I believe the snakes are more afraid of people than I am of them so they do not bother me unless they get into the house.

Cheers
Wolffie

We don't bother. You have less spiders by using the shop more. Don't spray them unless they're a hazard; They're not out to get you. If I see a funnelweb or a redback I'll get rid of it, but that's it...

woodborer, sorry i offended you with my comments, i should have pulled my head in. so i sincerely opologise to you and hope i didn't offend any other forumite with my remarks or comments.

Cleaning out my father-in-laws shed the other day, had been banging things around and generally making a lot of noise and vibrations. So I thought any snakes would have cleared off, but...
Little blighter struck and bit the cuff of the glove I was wearing when I put my hand into a shelf to get some stuff out. He struck and bit once then kept standing up to strike again.
Screamed like a girl
Closest I have come to beiing bitten EVER. Normally don't wear gloves when working around the property so was mighty glad I was this time.

It was some type of brown, could've been anything up around the west of Gympie area. But even still I didn't kill it or chase it as I know I was in its' space.
But now the shed is cleaned up it is MY space so he'd better watch out next time.

I have no idea on the concequences on any machinery or unfinished work, but I use baygon outdoor surface spray - indoors. I spray all the edges, corners, possible entry holes, windows etc. I have done all my food cupboards (waiting until the smell goes away - it STINKS). I have never had an issue with any of the food going back into the cupboards or the containers, I have been told its a problem, but that is a separate issue, not related to this current topic.

All with no affect to my domestic animals. For my own safety I use gloves, glasses and mask, keep animals outside. ALWAYS in a well ventelated area.

I have found that I only need to do this every 2 years. I have no ants, spiders, roaches or any other creepy crawly.

It has a funny trigger top, its around $10 a can, but seems to be readily available from Coles and Safeway.

Hope this helps

ShazL

No offence Smeds. If you have a view state it. Sometimes we are passionate about our views and what we write might be a bit stronger than what we intended the next morning. I am of course not guilty of doing this

Wolfie, I am not afraid of spiders and as hard as I try it is difficult for me to understand your common fear. Our daughter has the same problem.

My reference to the mental institution in hindsight was a bit harsh, my point was that I don't think that statistically proven relatively harmless creatures should be killed merely because of an issue in someone's head.

Like Lyle said, we are in there environment.

Has there been any success in overcoming such fears and what were they?

Thanks for that wood borer, now what's the next subject we can tear to shreds. in good banter of course

Reciently, I had to deal with my elderly aunt's house... I used to have to clean spider webs from her walls and ceiling corners every time I visited. 2 years ago I had to place her in an assisted living facility and all the while maintain her house. Over a year I kept her house going. and then It became tie to put it on the market. When I went in to clean and get it ready for sell. I noticed there were no spider webs. Then I noticed she had those electronic pest controllers in a couple of rooms... We cleaned and prepped the house and it was on the market for 3 months and still no spiders... I think they did the trick ridding the house of spiders.

So, after I sold the house I kept the electronic devices (as seen on TV ads)

One of the glories of owning a houseboat on a lake is waking in the morning and walking out on the deck to confront a face full of cob webs that a spider had made during the night. This is a recurring proble all about the dock. So, I too one of the devices down to the boat and plugged it in. They aren't gone but the frequency is deminished.

I believe in them... What I have is made by Sunbeam but there are Ridex and others out there. I believe... They work.

I have a seasonal problem with red backs, but not every year. They seem to be building up again and I'm not going to drag all my timber out to clean the shed out. I like spiders but having a red back population explosion isn't healthy so I do the shed with a few bombs every few years. Just set them off and close the door. It pays to turn the power off so you don't have a compressor come on just when the vapour hits that critical flash point. You might end up with the roof a block or two away.

Originally Posted by Bruceo

It pays to turn the power off so you don't have a compressor come on just when the vapour hits that critical flash point. You might end up with the roof a block or two away.

As a very young industrial chemist I formulated quite a number of aerosol insecticides. There is nothing in them that would affect your tools. If your shed is as messy as mine, you may need to bomb it initially but a squirt of surface spray in the right places every 2-3 months should be enough to clean them out.

I am pretty sure they use butane propellants these days which is seriously explosive. Safety directions will be written on the can.

thanks Glider, thats good to know

There, an answer, that didn't take long, did it?


If you are 14yo (it says 14 on your sig) you might be pleased to know that the issues with spiders seem to level off as you get older. That's how it was for me anyway.

All this talk about vermin reinds me of an addage about these critters, They are where they are because they are happy where they are. Make them un happy and they will leave. Remove food source, make it unpleasent and they will seek other environents.

One of the old wives tales around these parts is that a Hedge Apples (fruit from Osage Orange tree) placed under the bed will wort off spiders. In fact, the Osage Orange fruit emits an odor (although so slight we can't smell it) that they don't like, so they leave.

Several years ago we were plaqued with moths when you walk out into the garage, one day I decided to find the source. As I was cleaning the shelves I found Spider webs and nests and little moths wrapped in silk awaiting devouring, all over the place. Then I located the source, my wife had purchased a bag of gormet dog food for our pet (which she refused to eat) and rather than toss out, she placed it on a shelf. When I opened the bag, I was swarmed with tiny moths. I disposed of all the partial bags of dogfood and cleaned up the webs and mess. Today, you can't find a spider web (believe me, with all the sanding dust they would show up) which tells me that the source was the food and if you rid the place of spider treats, they will look elsewhere.

The Electronic devices I discribed earlier does exactly like the Osage Orange smell. It makes the environment uncomfortable so they leave. this holds true for mice, rats and snakes as well.

The fog may hasten the demise of the critters but they won't return if you make it unpleasent for their existance. Rid the place of what attracts them and provide an irritation to keep them away.