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Spiders

DW aquired a fear of spiders, pretty much killed any desire to keep the sailboat as every outing now required 2 hours of spider patrol prior to her boarding​. Will the coach be a similar spider magnet? Pesticide use inside will be a no go. BTW search netted 81 results scanned most and fully read the 8 legged, non propane burner results. Can I expect a 20 minute spider patrol?
Old Phart Phred, EIEIO
89 GV ored 36' #3405 300 hp cat 3208 ATAAC side radiator, mountain tamer exhaust brake

Re: Spiders

Reply #1 –
Our coach sat mostly unused for 2 years prior to our buying it. And we are summer time campers till the wife retires next March. I.E. It's in storage quite a bit. Bottom line is that we have yet to find a spider in the living area.

I don't like spiders either, although I do find them to be fascinating & beneficial creatures. I just don't want them ON me.

If you find one and want to remove it without using pesticides. Just show the spider your coaches  last repair invoice. It will quickly faint dead away and you can put it outside. :-)








Jerry & Nona and Kimeru the cat that thinks she's a dog
1998 36' WTFE U320  #5314 Motorcade #17711
USAF 1975-1995
2019 Subaru Crosstrek 'toad'
2003 Subaru Legacy touring car
jerry Fincher | Flickr

Re: Spiders

Reply #2 –
My wife is arachnophobic and I have no fear except for Black Widows and brown recluse's My job is when she sees one is to carefully pick it up and put it outside. We have many more spiders at the house than ever show up in the motorhome. I even have her trained to quit vacuuming the Daddy Long Legs up and waiting for me to remove them.
1999 40 ft. U-320 wtfe build 5563 Chuck & Lynda's "Rollin' Inn"  2030 watts solar
prev. mh's 71 GMC 5 yrs. 73 Pace Setter 1 yr. 78 Vogue 5 yrs 81 FTX 40ft all electric 18 yrs. 1996 Monaco Signature 3 yrs.
2014 Grand Cherokee Overland
Dream as if you will live forever. Live as if you will die today.  James Dean

Re: Spiders

Reply #3 –
Phred, the reason for spiders on the boat is that mud dabbers, dobbers, what ever you call them, the waspy things that build cocoons from mud place spider eggs in the cocoons to feed their babies when they hatch.  The babies don't eat all of them thus a surplus of spiders. As far as inside the coach, you might consider getting a lizard family to move in ?


wantabe

Re: Spiders

Reply #4 –
Yup boat had mud daubers, plus for safety reasons slips were lit all night long attracting millions of flying insects = spiders out the wazoo. Last straw for the sailboat was probably the hornet's that somehow got inside the cabin. Never had a problem with bee stings before as I would get stung a couple a times a month riding motorcycles. 20 hornet stings in my mostly numb back, yeah I seen them buzzing me, but didn't freak out. About 15 minutes later went into  antiphilact shock. Wife drove me to the rangers station where she was informed that they could not help for liability reasons, except to call for a air evacuations​. Drove a mile down the road to a convience store/bait shop that had Benadryl.
Old Phart Phred, EIEIO
89 GV ored 36' #3405 300 hp cat 3208 ATAAC side radiator, mountain tamer exhaust brake

Re: Spiders

Reply #5 –

Spiders are tough.

We have been carrying:  Amazon.com: Suspend SC Contact Insecticide: Industrial & Scientific  along for a while.  Works great on small sugar ants and most everything else we have encountered.  MSDS says it is safe around food and animals.  We spray the baseboards of our coach about every 3 months.  Non staining.  The spray crystallizes clear.  We bought our present concentrate bottle in 2014 and have about 1/2 left.  Mixes with water in a spray one quart spray bottle.

Another RVer passed the tip along.  We have loaned our bottle to other RVers when bugs come into the conversation.  :)

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Scott & Carol Seibert
2001 42' double slide U320 - Sold
Previous - 2002 36' U320

Re: Spiders and bugs

Reply #6 –
I got my "new to me" project in Maine last Fall and it was infested with some kind of ants. They are (hopefully were) about a half inch long or more. I'm in NC and that's twice the size of our native critters. They seem to have died out over the winter, or they've learned to hide better?


wantabe

Re: Spiders

Reply #7 –
Quote from: wantabe –
I got my "new to me" project in Maine last Fall and it was infested with some kind of ants. They are (hopefully were) about a half inch long or more. I'm in NC and that's twice the size of our native critters. They seem to have died out over the winter, or they've learned to hide better?


wantabe

Ants can hide during the cold season. They are pretty resilient.
Put some TERRO ant bait out. It's a mix of Borax (just like the laundry soap) & corn syrup. The workers will drink it up & take it back to the nest. The Borax will interfere with digestion & the ants that consume it will starve. No pesticides involved.
Jerry & Nona and Kimeru the cat that thinks she's a dog
1998 36' WTFE U320  #5314 Motorcade #17711
USAF 1975-1995
2019 Subaru Crosstrek 'toad'
2003 Subaru Legacy touring car
jerry Fincher | Flickr

Re: Spiders

Reply #8 –
Not trying to hijack this thread, but I had a home in Texas hill country that was infested with spiders and scorpions when we bought it.  Over the years we would have the "natural" exterminators treat from time to time.  They used less-than-lethal natural sources of pyrethrin.  All it seemed to do was stir up the scorpions. 

Then someone told me about diatomaceous earth (DE).  Went to the swimming pool supply section of Home Depot and bought a bag ( a lifetime supply - like 30 pounds as I recall).  I put the DE around the outside of the house, pool area and garage and in every nook and cranny in the house.  We went from killing 30 scorpions in one summer to only finding 5 dead ones on the floor after application of DE!  DE's killing process is interesting.  It acts as an abrasive to the exoskeleton of insects.  Essentially it breaks down their exoskeleton and the bugs dehydrate. Sounds like a nice, slow painful death and I'm good with that after 5 scorpion stings in that house.

Here's the wikipedia link:  Diatomaceous earth - Wikipedia

Only one application was needed.  No serious warning labels on the bag of DE, however, it is a silica product so you'd want to be judicious in its application, keep away from food, don't breath the dust, etc..  Personally I wouldn't have an issue using it in the coach.

YMMV,
Mark
Mark Duckworth
2003 U320 4220
Build 6199, Motorcade 17971

Re: Spiders

Reply #9 –
Quote from: Mark Duckworth –
Not trying to hijack this thread, but I had a home in Texas hill country that was infested with spiders and scorpions when we bought it.  Over the years we would have the "natural" exterminators treat from time to time.  They used less-than-lethal natural sources of pyrethrin.  All it seemed to do was stir up the scorpions. 

Then someone told me about diatomaceous earth (DE).  Went to the swimming pool supply section of Home Depot and bought a bag ( a lifetime supply - like 30 pounds as I recall).  I put the DE around the outside of the house, pool area and garage and in every nook and cranny in the house.  We went from killing 30 scorpions in one summer to only finding 5 dead ones on the floor after application of DE!  DE's killing process is interesting.  It acts as an abrasive to the exoskeleton of insects.  Essentially it breaks down their exoskeleton and the bugs dehydrate. Sounds like a nice, slow painful death and I'm good with that after 5 scorpion stings in that house.

Here's the wikipedia link:  Diatomaceous earth - Wikipedia

Only one application was needed.  No serious warning labels on the bag of DE, however, it is a silica product so you'd want to be judicious in its application, keep away from food, don't breath the dust, etc..  Personally I wouldn't have an issue using it in the coach.

YMMV,
Mark
Works in the yard for fleas also, as long as it is dry.
1999 40 ft. U-320 wtfe build 5563 Chuck & Lynda's "Rollin' Inn"  2030 watts solar
prev. mh's 71 GMC 5 yrs. 73 Pace Setter 1 yr. 78 Vogue 5 yrs 81 FTX 40ft all electric 18 yrs. 1996 Monaco Signature 3 yrs.
2014 Grand Cherokee Overland
Dream as if you will live forever. Live as if you will die today.  James Dean

Re: Spiders

Reply #10 –
 The quickest and safest way to get rid of spiders and other insects is to use Tempo spray. It is cleared for use in Hospitals , kitchens just about anywhere.  We have used it for several years around the foundation of our house and inside around the foundation takes care of all insects.  You can usually get it at hardware stores and Farm chemical sales.  It's safe for your pets and you.  It's  not a restricted pesticide and it's a lot safer than most  over the counter chemicals.  We have also used it all around campsites to keep mosquitoes out and  Crawly little creatures.
Linda & Randy Kemink
1996 ForeTravel U295 CAI
Build #4845
MC #17912
2017 Chevy Silverado High Country