Watch out for spiders!

[Tom]

While we were at the factory service center recently, I needed some rewiring of the 110V circuits. The tech got on his crawler and slid under the coach with his flashlight. A few seconds later he came out in a hurry, saying there was a black widow among the wiring harnesses on the underside of the coach. I cringed because I've run 12V wires up there.

The tech went off to get another tech who apparently keeps them as pets  ???  The second tech went under the coach and came out again saying "yep, this is how you can tell ...... ". He then went to get a container, teased the spider into it and said "I'll take this home to add to my big ones. I power-feed them and they get really big." Meanwhile, the first tech was hiding and I was keeping a safe distance.

So, next time you're inclined to crawl under your RV to work on something, beware of the spiders!

 

[Ron]

Sam does not like spiders so I didn't even mention your message to her.  Any way the Brown Recluse can cause some serious long term problems if bitten.  None of the spiders over here are as dangerous as the Funnel Web spider they have in Australia.  I am always looking out for any critters or bugs when under the coach.  Fortunately I haven't run into any more than a scorpion in Az that I seen before I put my arm on it.

 

[Tom]

Well, I'm definitely spider-phobic Ron 

 

[Jim Dick]

The Black Widow is certainly poisonous but the Brown Recluse causes the same problem as the flesh eating virus. If untreated it could lead to amputation. When in doubt visit a doctor immediately!

 

[Tom]

Jim, between you and Ron, I might never go under the coach again 

 

[Jim Dick]

Tom,

I wouldn't blame you! I find spiders on my coach all the time. Had a hitchhiker the other day. It turned out to be a very colorful little devil. Forgot the name but it wasn't poisonous. Spiders just love RVs for some reason. Many cause problems in the hot water heater by building a web in the burner tube.

 

[Ron]

Many cause problems in the hot water heater by building a web in the burner tube.

The fridge too.  They build  webs in the burner tube and many times you can't blow the web out with air.  Takes a small bottle brush to remove the web.  I can think of at lease three occasions when I fixed somebody Else's fridge by removing the spider web from the burner tube.

 

[Carl L]

Jim, between you and Ron, I might never go under the coach again?

Outside of the fact that one gets to old to do that sort of jazz, why?  Just be sure to wear gloves, gauntleted is best, long sleeved shirts,  and clean out hidey holes with a brush or stick prior to putting digits near them.  An air blast can do the job too.

BTW, the last black widdy I ran into was at a RV park near Solvang, CA.  It was hiding in the electrical service box.  The biggest one I have ever seen.  Diameter of a dime.  So it is a good idea to wear gloves when opening service boxes for the first time.

 

[Tom]

It was hiding in the electrical service box. The biggest one I have ever seen. Diameter of a dime.

Electrical hookups just became a pink job! I'm not going near another service box. If the missus wants to use the hair dryer she can plug the darned coach in herself.

 

[Carl L]

Electrical hookups just became a pink job! I'm not going near another service box. If the missus wants to use the hair dryer she can plug the darned coach in herself.

No problems Tom.  Just wear welders gloves, a leather shirt or jacket, helmet, boots, and open the box with a 10 foot boat hook.  A propane blow torch works just foine in eradicating the rascals.  Contrary to rumor it does not require a 44 magnum (which is hard on the service box too). 

 

[Tom]

Just wear welders gloves, a leather shirt or jacket, helmet, boots, and open the box with a 10 foot boat hook.

I'll let her know that Carl, thanks.

 

[Tom]

... open the box with a 10 foot boat hook.

Was this the day we practiced our nautical terms at Marina Del Rey?

 

[BruceinFL]

Tom,

I wouldn't blame you! I find spiders on my coach all the time. Had a hitchhiker the other day. It turned out to be a very colorful little devil. Forgot the name but it wasn't poisonous. Spiders just love RVs for some reason. Many cause problems in the hot water heater by building a web in the burner tube.

It's the propane they are attacted to. Must be the smell. We use a couple of mothballs in the propane compartment and in the reefer, hot water heater, etc....anywhere there is a propane burner. Also throw some on the ground when parked. Keeps the spaiders away. Just don't uses too many or you'll get that mothball smell inside the coach. 

 

[Ron]

We use the 35mm plastic film containers with a few hiles punched in the lid with mothballs inside to place in the fridge burner area and in the engine area.  Helps a lot.

 

[Jim Dick]

Bruce,

Will have to mention that to new onwers. Since we use ours all the time they don't usually mess up the propane burners.

 

[Tom]

I'll try to put something in the library. Should I include a photo of Carl in his welder's gloves, leather shirt, boots and helmet?

 

[John From Detroit]

WOW.  Interesting line of posts... Worst I've ever come across in plugging in the rig is wasps.

Happened twice this year and I've only been out about five times

The first time I don't know if the nest was tennated but it was a big one,  I soaked a paper towel in bleach and stuffed it under the lid for a while... Nothing flew out

The second one was quickly destroyed

I am fairly tollerant of stings and know how to avoid them.. However Though I can tollerate them, It is not fun, not fun at all.

 

[Tom]

Ouch! The thought of wasps stinging me is not a good thought - I don't do well with insect bites or stings. We live on the water and I disappear indoors just before the sun goes down because that's when the mosquitos come out. If I stay outside too long, it's like the call goes out that dinner has arrived and it's their favorite food - me.

 

[jerryarlyne]

Uh, I don't think mothballs are such a good idea guys. They are made of naphtha and will flash burn pretty easy. I use a dog flea collar, just cut it in half and put one piece in the water heater and the other in the back of the frig. I change mine out once a year and have never had spiders there since. Granted that won't help under the chassis but it sure works in the propane areas.

Jerry

 

[Tom]

Thanks for the warning Jerry. I had no idea they contained naptha until reading your message. I haven't been around that stuff since I worked in the steel industry. Napthalene is one of the byproducts of the process of turning coal into coke for the blast furnaces. The chemists used to breed colonies of a particular bug that feed on the stuff. I recall getting a call from a chemist yelling down the phone "Help! My bugs are dying"  ;D

Here are a couple of articles I came up with after doing a little research:

http://www.madsci.org/posts/archives/may98/894550073.Gb.r.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naphtha

Has anyone removed mothballs from the area of their burner tubes after reading Jerry's warning?