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Registered Member #4074
Joined: Mon Aug 29 2011, 06:58AM
Location: Australia
Posts: 335
Gday everyone. It seems I've been exiled from my workshop by the usual Spring Horde-of-Ungodly-Redbacks-and-Huntsmen, and I'm losing the war to regain my territory. The problem is I cannot use any hefty poisons, due to pets and livestock, and a simple can of bug spray is ineffective, since my workshop is 15 metres by 12 metres with a very high barn style ceiling, so any spray will disperse and be useless.
I bought one of those cheap bug zapper racquets, ripped the mesh racquet off and left the HV wires from the CW multiplier hanging out the end. It made short work of a few redbacks at ground level, but eventually died from continually being shorted out.
Next, I did something rather naughty. I grabbed my old 12kV 60mA NST and constructed a "deathstick" out of some PVC pipe and spark plug wire. Well, 6kV and 60mA is definitely effective at destroying any creepy crawlies, but its simply not safe. Its fine to get any spiders chilling on the floor, but it becomes FAR too dangerous when I have to climb the walls or reach into confined spaces.
Really not sure what to do now. The spiders seem completely happy to crawl through all my components, hide under my soldering station, documents and my office chair, and even decided to start building webs inside the secondary of my SGTC (and refuse to vacate even when the bloody thing is spewing out streamers!!).
I'm getting desperate, and am beginning to wonder what 2.45GHz and 800W will do to their fat juicy bodies...
Registered Member #2431
Joined: Tue Oct 13 2009, 09:47PM
Location: Chico, CA. USA
Posts: 5639
In lawsuit/EPA happy CA, they dont let teachers use bug spray,so there are "approved" chemicals like borax powder i think, well it started with a B. the powder gets eaten and inhaled and suffocates them or the die from eating it, since insects cant vomit its super poisionous to them, but not children i guess.
I whish i could remmber teh name of it! im druNk at the moment btu it may come to me in the morning.
burning your place down, with HV, is not a useful solution.
Registered Member #53
Joined: Thu Feb 09 2006, 04:31AM
Location: Ontario, Canada
Posts: 638
You could tape all the gaps in the walls, windows and doors shut and shovel a few pounds of dry ice in there. Just make sure to air it out the next day before you go in.
Registered Member #2099
Joined: Wed Apr 29 2009, 12:22AM
Location: Los Altos, California
Posts: 1716
Nik wrote ... You could tape all the gaps in the walls, windows and doors shut and shovel a few pounds of dry ice in there. Just make sure to air it out the next day before you go in.
To displace all the air from aforementioned barn, I figure you'd need about 2 tons of carbon dioxide gas.
Are arachnids as susceptible as red-blooded vertebrates to carbon monoxide poisoning? If so, then light up some charcoal-fired grills in there. Or look into the 19th century processes that turned coke into CO, e.g. for illumination by gas. Avoid the ones using steam, which IIRC produce more H2 than CO.
have you tried spider glue traps? you stick em where they walk by, sticky side up, like along the wall next to a door, and they get stuck. mice too but mice glue traps dont work for bugs.
Registered Member #4074
Joined: Mon Aug 29 2011, 06:58AM
Location: Australia
Posts: 335
Hey Dr Spark, I'd be a little worried about your lizards, heres a rather nasty Redback chowing down on a live Skink lizard o.O
I've been using the vacuum cleaner to suck up the webs and egg sacs, but I'm kinda paranoid about filling the vaccum bag up with live spiders, so I've been tending to zap them before disposing of the corpses.
Luckily the entire barn is constructed from galvanized steel with it's own copper ground rod, and both the steel structure and the rebar in the concrete are bonded to mains earth, so no fires or damage are caused by some stray arcs. Its practically a dedicated HV hall (with its own sub switchboard equipped with 4x 30A breakers :D). But never the less, there is still the personal danger associated with going NST-wild.
I'm really liking the idea of diatomaceous earth and spider glue traps, as both can be found locally and cheaply. I'm still not sure how to get them out of the rafters however, which is the worst part because occasionally when it's quiet you can hear the dull *plop* of a fat juicy Redback dropping from the ceiling :( ... It's horrifying...
Registered Member #65
Joined: Thu Feb 09 2006, 06:43AM
Location:
Posts: 1155
If you create a duster make sure to wear a dust mask, and eye protection.
A regular handheld sandblaster for a shop compressor, or re-purposed dry chemical fire extinguisher works.. Takes about 10 seconds using the latter method, but will put a layer on everything in the room.
In general, start by "painting" the outside of the building's footings, and consider Teflon bug barrier tape twice the diameter of you most common pest.
Looks like you now have a Lizard infestation too...
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How to deal with a spider infestation?
