Spiders

I sometimes wonder if, after 18months of boating, I'm beginning to get a bit paranoid about spiders. You see, in the past, I was never too bothered by them. They often turned up in the house, and still do, presumably preferring the comfort and warmth of indoors to the cold and wet of the garden and, as far as I'm concerned, provided they don't cause a problem, I tend to let them get on with their quiet lives. Of course, if they drape their webs over windows or doors, or start to make their presence more visible, I will take a bit of action to evict them but, on the whole, we co-exist fairly well. 

On the boat it is different. When I turn up after a few days away, I will find webs strung out from the mooring ropes, across the doors and hatches, hanging in the sunshine from the tiller and fenders, all of them advertising their catches of insects, blossom and seeds. Inside, I find them under the gunwales, inside the cupboards, around the ceiling, hanging in the engine room, and even across the tv, (presumably to get a good view). Particularly annoying are the long invisible strands of web that hang from one side of the boat to the other that catch you unawares. Now, I'm not saying it's like the opening scenes of an Indiana Jones film but it can get a bit much.

So, I spend some time ridding myself of them.

I know there are lots of things on the market to deter or kill spiders and some people even try natural remedies like conkers but I have not gone down those routes (yet). I prefer a more 'hands on' low input approach involving mainly a broom, a hand brush and an odd bucket of water.

Given that most spiders use trees, bushes and other over-hanging vegetation to make the journey from terra firma to nb Skylark, I try to moor away from these things - not always possible or desirable so compromise is often needed.

Also, as prevention is better than cure, I always close all the portholes when I leave the boat for any length of time. Ventilation has to be maintained so more compromise may be called for.

I also try to keep the amount of clutter down to a minimum, both inside and out, as this gives spiders too many places to hide.

My initial searches for spiders usually start around the mooring ropes and fenders. Spiders loves these as places to curl up and hide during the day so I give them a good sweep and an occasional dousing with river water. This also keeps them looking clean and tidy. Portholes, and other external openings come next. Spiders find them good places to catch insects so I give them a brush and a wash. Door hinges, latches, under roof over-hangs, etc all get a brush and occasional wash.

Inside, my regular sweeping of the floor includes looking for spiders. I sweep the edges, wooden walls, under the gunwales, along the ceiling edges, around any boxes, under chairs, etc, etc. This is not much more than I would do just to keep the boat clean so it's not a big job.

When I come across a spider I am not keen on killing it but prefer to take the humane option of evicting it either back to dry land if that option is available or it may be given a quick swimming lesson. Occasionally, they may get sucked up the hoover dustbuster or get squashed under a shoe but this is rare. Well, I do have a heart!

So, with a little thought I can keep the problem down to a manageable level and it really only involves a little extra work above and beyond normal cleaning routines. 'Little and often' seems to be the answer.

To end on another positive note, someone told me recently, if you have spiders on a boat, you have a dry, warm boat - that's why they like it. Now I'm not sure if I should be evicting them or not.

Ahhhhh! Tell me I'm not getting paranoid!