Along came a spider...

[kaysadeya 0]

So what's the trick to keep spiders from turning your camera housing into a deluxe condo, complete with heater and picture-frame window? A spider has taken up residence between the lens and housing window in a camera I installed just a few weeks ago. I really can't blame him. I'd do exactly the same thing if I were a spider.

 

So the question is how do you make the circumstances less attractive? I'm thinking that sprays have too short a life and might goo up the glass and powders are out of the question for obvious reasons. Maybe some sort of sticky paper, like flypaper?

 

Anyway, most of you have probably figured this out already, so please advise.

[rory 0]

Inside the housing?

 

Anyway, I use Baygon, spray it on the housing, you cant spray the glass, but that stuff will keep them away no matter what, as when they smell it they wont come anywhere near the housing. I dont know if you have baygon over there though? Its some deadly spray ..

 

Baygon lasts at least 2 weeks, we use them on Alarm Motion Detectors in the food stores here (in the warehous sections away from open food), which like to normally atrack ****roaches and spiders for false alarms. 99.9% of their false alarms are from ****roaches, spiders, and huge rats!

[kaysadeya 0]

Yes, inside. If there's something that lasts longer than a few weeks, that's what I'm looking for.

[rory 0]

If its inside, it shouldnt be, that means rain and dust will get inside. Make sure the housing is 100% sealed, even if you have to use Caulking.

 

Rory

[kaysadeya 0]

There are vents on the underside. Shouldn't I allow for airflow to prevent condensation?

[rory 0]

if its sealed wont need that. Vents will just let rain and dust get in and eventually the camera lens will get dirty, and the camera itself will die.

 

Ive got these camera housings sealed tight here, in all the heat and rain now for a few years .. only thing needs cleaning is the outer glass.

 

What type of housing is it? The cheap housings always let dust into them, so I only use the more expensive ones.

[kaysadeya 0]

Oh, it's cheap (you know me). But I can seal it up. I just didn't know that was the goal.

 

Rory, once again, thanks very much for sharing the details of your craft.

[Cooperman 0]

With conventional weatherproof housings, I usually use a squirt of acrylic sealant inside the cable glands before they're tightened up, and for compression seals, a thin application of silicon grease will generally stop anything from getting in.

 

If you're doing maintenance, remember to wipe it off first otherwise it gets everywhere, and it's a b****r to wash out

[kaysadeya 0]

If I hadn't seen Four Weddings and a Funeral about five times, I probably wouldn't have understood that last bit.

[paranoid 0]

Boy am I having problems with spiders !

 

Using bullet cams with built in I.R.'s and no guesses as to what is happening at night . Under no circumstances can I change these cams so it looks like a strong insect repellent sprayed every 2 weeks is the only answer.

 

Unless someone makes a solar charged sonic spider scarer ?

 

Mick

[baywatch 1]

Weve stopped using these cameras because of this problem & now use seperate cameras & I.R lights which seems to cure it.

[paranoid 0]

Hi all,

 

6 months later and im still having problems

So far I have tried the following :

 

Insect repellent / killer - lasts 2 days max and sometimes they absail from the corner of the building on a silk line so that they can land directly on the lens to avoid the sprayed surfaces !

 

Cloves / clove oil - lots of people swear by it and I say rubbish, the spiders just dont care and probably use it to spice up a 'fly curry'.

 

Cleaning the webs off and poking the spiders with a stick every day, works very well and lasts about 5 minutes, I actually saw a spider making a new web before I got down to the bottom of the ladder.

 

Leaving a note saying "all spiders will be shot", didnt work and they threatened to sue me.

 

On a more serious note I am considering sticky insect tape but dont fancy the job of cleaning it off when it needs replacing.

 

Anyone got any new ideas ?

There is a big gap in the market for a clever invention to combat this problem.

 

Cheers

Mick

 

p.s. my problem with spider webs is actually so bad that they regularly obscure the entire cams view.

[rory 0]

keep the camera as far away from corners or edges, away from areas such as are directly under an eave.

 

Use a Extreme or Derwent UF500, that will fry the spider

 

Baygon, it may not be available in the UK or US though as its some lethal spray, we use it here though, lasts a couple weeks at least.

 

Make the front of the camera as hard as possible to make a web on, sunshields tend to make it easy for them, so get rid of the sun shield.

 

Pray or dance or something ...

[SeanMort 0]

A little plastic Praying Mantis or Chameleon mounted on the cam ?!?

[paranoid 0]

Thanks rory,

 

You mentioned baygon before but google didnt show anything up, after another quick search it showed up www.baygon.com, lots of info but no contact email address. They have 2 sites, one in the usa and one in germany. I would happily try to import some if I could find a way of contacting them bt without an email address im a bit stuffed.

 

I may just try info@baygon.com and see what happens.

 

What interesting is the 'jonnsons' logo on their website, this name is familiar to me over in the u.k. but not sure if its the same company.

 

Im prepared to try this stuff because resighting the cams is not a possibility and im not sure I want to remove the sunshields as they appear to be helping with glare etc.

 

Cheers

 

Mick

[rory 0]

yeah we use it on motion detectors down here, when they have problems with spiders .. keeps them off for a while.

 

When handling though must be careful as its posion.

[SeanMort 0]

Try Repel 100. I think you can get it a Boots. My son lives in London and brought some over here on holiday. It's quite deadly. We use the Baygon over here

[baywatch 1]

If your really desperate try this.

 

http://www.seemans.com/banish_spiders.htm

[Cooperman 0]

Hey paranoid,

 

The reason that the "All spiders will be shot" sign didn't work is possibly because you didn't follow the 'pc' route and provide it in fifteen different languages

 

Going back to an earlier posting where I mentioned Silicone Grease, I used to supply systems to researchers and biologists, and insect monitoring was actually a fairly common application. The way they contain small insects (such as spiders) in the observation area, is to use a very thin film of grease to set up a boundary (the little bug***s won't attempt to cross the film because they know they'll get stuck).

 

You could try applying a very thin film to the underside of the sunshield, and the area each side or around the housings window. You can get silicone grease from a plumbers merchant or possibly somewhere like B&Q warehouse. If it works, you'll probably need to remove and replace it every 2 - 4 months during the summer.

 

Generally, the problem will reduce anyway as the temperatures drop over the next few weeks. Here in the U.K., arachnids usually hibernate from November through till spring (no food for them).