There’s a huge hairy spider that’s taken up residence in the headliner of my car. There’s a small gap near the rear view mirror mount that the spider crawls in and out of. He pokes his head out once in a while, especially when I’m driving at high speeds, just to scare the hell out of me. I’m now pretty nervous about driving knowing that this spider might jump out at any minute and cause me to crash.
How would you recommend I deal with this? The things I’m considering are duct-taping the gap shut and hoping he dies in that crevice (but what if the spider just comes out of some other hole?), or using bug spray or something at the gap to deter him from using that hideout. Any other suggestions?
Or if you’re really cheap and insist on keeping the car, your best bet is to whack it with something when you see it. Pull over first, of course.
There are spider traps, but it’d be hard to mount them where you need it and not damage your car, and then you’d have to hope the spider ran across it, and he probably wouldn’t.
The other option is to realize that most spiders, at least here in the USA (Australia is another story, because everything wants to kill you there ) aren’t dangerous to people. Even the black widow rarely kills anyone. From the description and where it’s hanging out, it kinda sounds like a Huntsman spider, which is non-aggressive and even if it does bite you, it only hurts a little and won’t harm you.
Spiders are our friends. They eat insects. I always feel sorry for the ones who sneak into my house where they die of starvation. You’re blessed that your car has one.
Blessed or not, I’d be inclined to pull the headliner down and relocate the bugger and the eggs and maybe family growing there. Its just a Styrofoam shell covered with fabric so the whole thing will come down if you remove the trim pieces. A Saturday afternoon’s work. Then you are done with the problem. Of course when you pull the thing down, the little guy might drop down somewhere else harder to get at, so maybe a little plastic drop cloth. If you pull the seats first, that’s a good time to go ahead and do a full carpet cleaning. Who knows what you will find?
Treats 875 ft2. You can’t turn it off early. Probably 10x the coverage needed. Now entire inside of car is covered in dense coating of poison you will touch and breathe for its effective lifespan (year?). Not something I would do for a spider…
If there is a spider, there is food. Find an insecticide with a spray straw to concentrate the spray inside the little hole the spider crawls out of. I’m assuming you can find a sprayer like this, of course. If you can’t, just spray insecticide into the hole the best you can. You don’t need much for the spider to be poisoned.
I’m kind of with the spider, they mean no harm and rarely hurt anyone. Consider professional counseling for your phobia…
Seriously, try the least involved or toxic of the suggested approaches first - vacuum, stuffing the hole with fine steel wool (hard for a critter to tear apart), or the heat idea (don’t melt or warp anything). A strategically placed sticky trap might be an option. If employing the nuclear option suggest avoiding sprays which both risk over application (poisoning you) and potentially damaging synthetic fabric or plastic. Instead while outside the car you might apply a drop or two to a scrap of cloth or paper, just enough to moisten it without running or dripping, and insert it into the hiding space where the spider may contact it the next time it pokes its head out. The spider, and eggs, could be anywhere in the headliner so if the easy things don’t work you might 1) consider consulting your state’s agricultural extension service or similar agency for safe control methods and materials. 2) If opting to use heat, you might look into the temperature used by body shops to bake new finishes to determine whether that’s a possible route.
) aren’t dangerous to people. Even the black widow rarely kills anyone. From the description and where it’s hanging out, it kinda sounds like a Huntsman spider, which is non-aggressive and even if it does bite you, it only hurts a little and won’t harm you.
