Sciencemadness Discussion Board - Fumigating a spider

Fumigating a spider

Upsilon - 9-11-2015 at 15:44

So there's a large 1"-2" spider lurking somewhere in my car. Trying to look for it and kill it via mechanical means is likely nearly impossible given all of the tiny crawlspaces in the car. So, is there any kind of gas I can use to kill it via fumigation? The gas needs to be virtually odorless, relatively nontoxic to humans, and not able to damage leather, metals, or any other common material used in cars. Any suggestions?

j_sum1 - 9-11-2015 at 15:49

I think you need some Raid-ium.

Upsilon - 9-11-2015 at 19:56

Cmon this is serious, do you have any idea how terrifying it is to be driving while knowing you are under constant threat of attack

NedsHead - 9-11-2015 at 20:08

I've heard leading a hose from the exhaust is good for fumigating vehicles.. most people who try it have great success

MolecularWorld - 9-11-2015 at 20:23

Quote: Originally posted by NedsHead

I've heard leading a hose from the exhaust is good for fumigating vehicles.. most people who try it have great success

Spiders like exhaust.

j_sum1 - 9-11-2015 at 20:33

Seriously, what is wrong with a bit of bug spray?

JJay - 9-11-2015 at 20:50

Quote: Originally posted by j_sum1

I think you need some Raid-ium.

haha. You deserve karma for this post.

Upsilon - 9-11-2015 at 21:23

Quote: Originally posted by j_sum1

Seriously, what is wrong with a bit of bug spray?

Well I'd have to fill the whole car with it since I don't know where the thing is, and that'd make it smell terrible for months.

Mailinmypocket - 10-11-2015 at 12:57

Spiders need oxygen! Let a big block of dry ice sublime in there and make sure everything is sealed up tightly. Leave it overnight or something and that might work?

aga - 10-11-2015 at 13:16

Wear a SpiderMan outfit whilst driving.

It will not attack when it can clearly see you have SuperSpideyPower.

battoussai114 - 10-11-2015 at 13:21

Just get some Deltamethrin or another Pyrethroid insecticide dude.

aga - 10-11-2015 at 13:24

Yeah !

Wear the SpiderMan outfit just for skin protection from the insecticide.

Lycra. Mmmm.

[Edited on 10-11-2015 by aga]

The Volatile Chemist - 10-11-2015 at 16:23

Perhaps, as I originally read this thread title, you could fulminate the spider?
Are you being serious, though? If so, the dry ice idea is probably the best one.

Upsilon - 10-11-2015 at 19:16

Well, I'm more like half-serious. If someone came up with something that matched all of the criteria and I could buy/make fairly easily, then I would do it. Otherwise it's time to go spider-hunting.

As to the dry ice idea, have any of you actually tried drowning a spider before? I had one pinned at the bottom of my pool one time for several hours and it was still very much alive when I released it. Carbon dioxide asphyxiation would be even less effective than that.

Texium - 10-11-2015 at 19:42

Eh, if it's not a poisonous spider I wouldn't do anything. I managed to live comfortably for over a month with a 3 inch long house spider co-inhabiting my bedroom. It stayed out of sight during the day, and prowled the floor at night eating silverfish (bane of my existence) and other undesirable critters. It left on its own accord a couple months ago.

The Volatile Chemist - 11-11-2015 at 16:49

Silverfish? In your bedroom...? Is it a clean bedroom?

JJay - 11-11-2015 at 17:05

I've been thinking about getting a pet spider. It's easy enough to poison the rodents....

Bert - 11-11-2015 at 17:52

Spiders do not survive being frozen. Leave the car outdoors with the windows rolled down on a night that goes down to 28*F. No more spider... You big girly man.

If it doesn't get that cold where you live, bag the car with a good quantity of dry ice overnight, as suggested previously. Or get therapy and learn to love nature's gentle wood folks.

cyanureeves - 11-11-2015 at 19:53

make some chloroform and leave it in an open bottle in your car.wear the spidey costume also just for an all out spiderman theme roll play kinda thing.

cyanureeves - 11-11-2015 at 20:02

spiders do not like boric acid either,just sprinkle some all over the floor boards.record a wasp buzzing sound and play it while driving and the spider will freeze still.per wiki:hobgoblin.lizard,electro.mysterio,doctor octopus,vulture and chameleon all are enemies of spiderman.

Texium - 13-11-2015 at 15:25

Quote: Originally posted by The Volatile Chemist

Silverfish? In your bedroom...? Is it a clean bedroom?

Of course it's clean... Silverfish eat paper, and I have a lot of papers. Plus the disgusting things can live for a year or more without eating so it's virtually impossible to starve them out. Even if I removed all of my books and files and loose papers for a year (which would be very difficult) they may still linger in crevices...

The Volatile Chemist - 15-11-2015 at 14:22

Quote: Originally posted by zts16

Quote: Originally posted by The Volatile Chemist

Silverfish? In your bedroom...? Is it a clean bedroom?

I see....Yeah, I found a bunch of them in an old paper box (of the stuff for very old printers with the perforated holes on both sides...)

aga - 15-11-2015 at 15:12

Silverfish are not a sign of uncleanliness.

Cockroaches, Rats and Mice are.

The Spiders here are just plain lazy.

There are loads of annoying Flies (one species in particular) and the Spiders do Nothing at all.

They just hang about knitting webs and chatting all day.

Lizards, gekkos, wasps and ants are great as they clean up the bodies as i swat them.

If it were up to me, i'd turn every f**king Fly into a Walk.

chemrox - 15-11-2015 at 16:14

Spiders are good pest control. Does your car have fleas? Leave the spider alone! Or help her relocate.

ave369 - 17-11-2015 at 03:53

I have a crapton of spiders living in my house. Every Mad Scientist's Castle in Eastern Europe has to have them. I don't do anything about them, live and let live. Of course, it's rural northern Russia, and no spiders here are dangerous for humans.

[Edited on 17-11-2015 by ave369]

Tabun - 17-11-2015 at 11:44

The only thing I could think of when I saw your post was this thing I found in a book called "car bomb recognition guide"(no,there's no connection between what books I have and the username)

picture doesn't work...I don't know why,here's the link:

http://imgur.com/ZQ6O7T1

[Edited on 17-11-2015 by Tabun]

Tsjerk - 17-11-2015 at 12:44

Every time my arachnophobic flatmate calls me in to remove one, I "catch'' them, pretending I let them out the window. Apparently they are good in hiding as I never hear from them again.

Here in the south of Germany there is however a kind of small cockroach that normally lives outside and to which everyone seems to be used too... to me they still are disgusting and the first time I saw one in my room it didn't survive for that long.

[Edited on 17-11-2015 by Tsjerk]

aga - 17-11-2015 at 13:00

Several critters have met a sad end in the Chem Shed.

Flies, of course, generally by splatteration.

If they would agree to NOT land on my face, i'd happily let them live, but no, they got to do the Nose Dance as often as they can.

A large-ish spider somehow decided that a 250ml beaker of fairly concentrated sulphuric acid was a great place to try swimming.

When i found it in the morning, the joints had mostly dissolved, leaving a sad crime scene of disconnected leg parts and intact body floating on the acid surface.

I blame the single-parent mother.

She should not have eaten her life partner after having sex for the first time, and should have sent spider junior to university instead of 'hanging out' in a web and chilling all day, getting high on insects.

[Edited on 17-11-2015 by aga]

Camroc37 - 17-11-2015 at 17:24

Quote: Originally posted by Upsilon

So there's a large 1"-2" spider lurking somewhere in my car. Trying to look for it and kill it via mechanical means is likely nearly impossible given all of the tiny crawlspaces in the car. So, is there any kind of gas I can use to kill it via fumigation? The gas needs to be virtually odorless, relatively nontoxic to humans, and not able to damage leather, metals, or any other common material used in cars. Any suggestions?

Try Chlorine gas. It works nicely. Saccharin is also very effective.

Bot0nist - 18-11-2015 at 09:16

Chlorine gas will destroy the inside of a car!
Even if your unlucky enough to get bitten by the spider, chances are you would be fine. Unless your in Australia, the risks of serious complications or death from a spider bite is highly exaggerated. There are very few species that pose a real mortal threat to humans, and even in those rare cases, the prognosis is usaully good. Look at the stats for spider bite deaths, compared to auto accidents. Driving your car, with or without a spider in it is much more likely to harm or kill you than a spider bite.