Keeping the cobwebs out

[Tynee]

A quick search didn't yield any discussion on the topic, so....

How do y'all keep the cobwebs out of your shop? I spent the better part of a weekend recently reorganizing the garage, including pulling a good bit of the contents out and cleaning the cobwebs off. Went back in 2 days later and moved a couple things around to get to something in the back, and it was like I hadn't touched this stuff in decades. Any tips/tricks/products that work well for keeping the cobwebs and dust bunnies out?

 

[TriumphFan]

Spiders don't like slick paint but they love the builder-grade flat paint. I used a good quality gloss paint (white) and rarely see spiders or mold.

 

[Ilikeike]

Spray for bugs, no food= no spiders,
or just the occasional spider that comes in and dies, due to no food to sustain it and or bug spray.

Starting and old stinky car or tractor helps keep bugs out too lol

 

[CJ7VFR]

I have found that spiders don't seem to like making webs where air is moving. Do you have the height in your garage to install a simple, inexpensive ceiling fan to help keep a bit of air moving around in there?

I was having the same issue as you are having but in my breezeway that is attached to the house. I replaced the light with a ceiling fan and I keep it running on low all the time. It has cut down on the cobwebs, spiders and dust bunnies quite a bit.

Every so often I will get a spider web in a corner or under a chair in the breezeway but it is easy to just swipe it away with a swifter duster.

Jim

 

[Metal-Marc]

A broom almost daily and a shopvac monthly works for me.

 

[CV428]

1) I put everything on casters so I can move it easily and vacuum thoroughly. Most of the spider problems I had were from the little jerks making egg sacs under toolboxes and work tables where I couldn't vacuum.
2) Good garage door seals
3) Elimination of clutter. Either it has a home or it doesn't
4) I painted all walls with semi-gloss white. For some reason, spiders don't seem to like it as much as the ultra-cheap flat paints southern builders use on everything. Plus, you can clean semi-gloss.
5) Peppermint essential oil in a mister - spiders hate it. Don't bother with perimeter insecticides when trying to get rid of spiders (aside from eliminating their food, but that doesn't address the ones still in egg sacs)- spiders don't clean themselves like insects do, so you typically have to hit them directly. I've found that essential oil misting keeps them away and it smells good too.

 

[sgrammel]

There was an old lady who swallowed a spider
That wriggled and jiggled and tickled inside her;
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly;
I don't know why she swallowed a fly – perhaps she'll die!

There was an old lady who swallowed a bird;
How absurd to swallow a bird!
She swallowed the bird to catch the spider
That wriggled and jiggled and tickled inside her,
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly;
I don't know why she swallowed a fly – perhaps she'll die!

 

[Fixr]

A quick search didn't yield any discussion on the topic, so....

How do y'all keep the cobwebs out of your shop? I spent the better part of a weekend recently reorganizing the garage, including pulling a good bit of the contents out and cleaning the cobwebs off. Went back in 2 days later and moved a couple things around to get to something in the back, and it was like I hadn't touched this stuff in decades. Any tips/tricks/products that work well for keeping the cobwebs and dust bunnies out?

As long as the webs aren't in my way, or really unsightly, I mostly leave them in place. Spiders eat lots of far more annoying little pests. If the web is where I might walk though it, a broom or brush. I'm far too lazy to try to keep my workspace immaculate.

 

[Fixr]

There was an old lady who swallowed a spider
That wriggled and jiggled and tickled inside her;
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly;
I don't know why she swallowed a fly – perhaps she'll die!

There was an old lady who swallowed a bird;
How absurd to swallow a bird!
She swallowed the bird to catch the spider
That wriggled and jiggled and tickled inside her,
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly;
I don't know why she swallowed a fly – perhaps she'll die!

Horse.
Of course.

 

[Prospecter]

As long as the webs aren't in my way, or really unsightly, I mostly leave them in place. Spiders eat lots of far more annoying little pests. If the web is where I might walk though it, a broom or brush. I'm far too lazy to try to keep my workspace immaculate.

. . . And it adds the ambiance of an Olde Timey Shop!

 

[Skyman]

I sealed up the garage as tightly as is practically possible. I keep sticky traps deployed at the corners of the bay doors at all times. More sticky traps are in places where the critters will go, but I will not go or will not place anything (under some stationary items, in dark corners, etc). And, I bought a de-webbing set with a telescoping pole that allows me to reach higher than the 12-foot ceiling in my garage. Its occasional use helps to keep the webs to a minimum. The sticky traps at the corners of the bay doors capture all manner of crawlers, so they, especially, help to keep things under control.

 

[johnre]

I open an outside door and use a battery-operated leaf blower to clear the dust out. That also takes care of spider webs.

But it needs a gentle touch when clearing the benchtops; can't go full-on there.

 

[ATC]

Living in the woods, it's just one of those things you deal with. My garage after a couple days of inactivity:

 

[NFT5]

Living in the woods, it's just one of those things you deal with. My garage after a couple days of inactivity:

Looks ferocious, but wouldn't last 5 minutes against the redbacks that love the back of my garage door. Mean and aggressive is understatement, especially if they're guarding eggs.

 

[aggie113]

I put down sticky pads in the corners to catch all comers. Also tons of small lizards doing their part to keep the bug count down. I never see them except when they tangle with a sticky pad but do see their black and white droppings (thought it was from rodents for awhile).

 

[OccupantRJ]

I have found that an area light on the front of the shop draws bugs, which draws toads and lizards and spiders. I have no issue with the first two. The large blasting cabinet in a corner right beside the garage door is the worst for cobwebs. I usually open the garage door and use the leaf blower along with a broom to clear out that corner every few months. I considered placing sticky pads at the inner corners of the door, but then I would have to peel them off my dog’s nose when he discovered them.


I keep the door lower corner area sprayed with home defense spray and set off a couple of bug bombs when needed in the 18x20 storage metal building. I don’t do that in the shop due to the machine surfaces.


I bought a $40 UV bug light off Amazon a couple months ago and that sucker has more than paid for itself. The kill mesh is spaced about 3/32” and it gets many more bugs than the older ones from years ago. I use the leaf blower to clean dead bugs from it and around it about twice a week. Our resident Lenny the lizard and his relatives love hanging out around that area for buffet.