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Post by stewartw on Jul 10, 2013 21:02:30 GMT
Hi All,
Currently plagued with spiders spinning webs on the front of my cameras that in turn are leading to false captures. Bit of a pain as I need to get the ladders out each time I want to clean them off.
Any suggestions for a more long term solution?
William
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arp
Full Member
Posts: 96
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Post by arp on Jul 15, 2013 11:25:37 GMT
Hi William,
Each night I have a few false captures triggered by my neighbour's (in)security light.
Over this weekend these captures had a thin bright line waving across the FOV. I suspected a burglar/prowler with a torch, but you suggested that a more innocent cause might be a busy spider's web.
The 'torch' did not show last night, but this morning I climbed my ladder and cleaned the front glass of my CCTV housing with an isopropanol wipe. It removed a thin layer of dust that had accumulated over the past year.
Nice and clean for the Perseids season.
Not sure how to scare off spiders - perhaps you could employ your local hobbit. :-)
Clear skies,
Alex.
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Post by stewartw on Jul 15, 2013 11:56:55 GMT
Hi Alex, Was up again this weekend cleaning off spiders' webs, dust and fly droppings (they always seem to aim for right in front of the camera - I thought at least with spiders around I wouldn't have to worry about flies)! Anyway, I'm reliably informed that spiders taste sensors are in their feet and so spraying the area with a taste they don't like (citrus is supposed to be good) should do the trick. The recommendation is a diluted "essential oil" (I've gone for lemon) as used by masseurs and aromatherapy enthusiasts, sprayed on with an atomiser. Will advise how I get on after the concoction arrives ... if nothing else my cameras will be all relaxed and will smell nice too. Hopefully the law of unintended consequences won't result in a wasp's nest appearing  Best regards William |
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Post by stewartw on Jul 23, 2013 9:42:22 GMT
Was up again at the weekend cleaning off new cobwebs and fly droppings Gave the whole area a good spray and about half a dozen spiders ran away - most encouraging  Nighttime came and the spiders returned ... will increase the concentration and try again ... |
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Post by BillW on Jul 23, 2013 19:07:28 GMT
I have a home made stevenson screen that houses my weather instruments and it is stuffed with spiders! With the very high temps last weekend (I hit a new all time high of 31.5deg C on Friday  ) I was double checking the readings and I noticed lots of little spider egg sacks. I am reluctant to squish them all as I have never had an success in keeping them out of such an open structure any how. I have no idea what keeps them at bay. Can you attach a duster to a long pole so you dont have to climb up ...?  |
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Post by stewartw on Jul 23, 2013 19:26:28 GMT
Hi Bill,
Some people swear by chestnuts ... I tried them in my observatory - but the spiders just ended up sitting on them.
Need to figure out what causes more false triggers - a spider blowing about on an existing web or a spider spinning a new one.
Impressed with your temperature reading ... Was thinking of you this morning when looking at the charts showing where the worst of the thunderstorms were - looked like they were right on top of you.
Best regards
William
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Post by BillW on Jul 23, 2013 20:02:24 GMT
Hi,
We indeed had a few rumbles of thunder this morning and it dumped 12mm of rain over about an hour but nothing else. It's still quite humidy here but a lot cooler than of late.
cheers,
Bill.
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Post by stewartw on Aug 5, 2013 8:02:45 GMT
Increased the concentration by x10 and gave the whole area a good spray on Saturday afternoon ... immediate result was a mass spider exodus, rappelling from the camera housing down to the ground. Past two night have been spider free |
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Post by BillW on Aug 5, 2013 9:35:50 GMT
Hi, Is this the lemon oil? Might be a market for a spider repellent ! Bill. |
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Post by stewartw on Aug 5, 2013 10:37:14 GMT
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) I was double checking the readings and I noticed lots of little spider egg sacks. I am reluctant to squish them all as I have never had an success in keeping them out of such an open structure any how.
