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I am an extreme arachnophobe, to the point that I've left dishes in the sink due to a dead spider the size of an M&M.

My bike at work is right in the open, and because of the soft winter, there are dozens of spiders around the parking lot. I very much doubt I can deal with one or more of them sitting or even forming webs on my bicycle without getting all freaked out about it.

I don't want them to get in my bike, form webs on it or even get within a couple of feet of it. Are there any methods I can use? I found https://diy.stackexchange.com/questions/2384/what-can-i-do-to-keep-my-shed-or-house-free-of-spiders, but most of those are hard to apply to bikes.

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  • Note: I REALLY have no idea what tags are applicable for this subject, so I picked one that was sort-of on-target. – Nzall Aug 1 '14 at 12:47
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    I hate spiders too... Upon finding one on my arm, I've both crashed and beaten my arm so hard trying to kill one that I later had bruises. – Gary.Ray♦ Aug 1 '14 at 13:05
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    You could get a bike cover which completely encloses the bike and fastens with a zipper -- I believe that a few of these are made for transporting bikes. Of course, a cover with any openings would simply encourage spiders to climb aboard. Otherwise, always travel with your cat -- most cats love to eat spiders. – Daniel R Hicks Aug 1 '14 at 15:10
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    I hope you never go mountain biking. You'll crash after riding through a spider web. – David Crowell Aug 1 '14 at 15:36
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    In Australia we have large spiders that like to hide behind the car's sun visor. When they drop down they can give non-arachnophobes quite a fright. They're considered the cause of a small number of single-vehicle fatalities in the outback. What has this to do with cycling? Nothing, just thought you'd like to know that some other people have a worse problem, like a spider dropping on their hand while long-distance driving on dirt roads at over 100kph. – andy256 Aug 2 '14 at 12:23
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Don't use poison. It will likely not work. Would you be able to remove a dead spider from your bike anyway? How would you know it was dead? Poison is bad for other insects and animals in general. It's bad for you. I believe it's against the spirit of biking too.

I don't think a bike cover will work for you. You will give spiders another place to hide. Even if it's very well sealed I can't see any reason why spiders wouldn't want to wander around your cover just as they wander around your bike. Unless it wraps around your bike tightly it will likely have creases that again will create perfect places for spiders to hide.

What you can do:

  • use your bike frequently,
  • clean your bike frequently,
  • carry an air blower for safe removal of stray insects from your bike without coming into direct contact with them (you might even be able to use your bike pump for that if you carry one).

My bike is my main means of transport and I have never encounter a spider on it. Perhaps because I never look for them. So as soon as you approach your bike just jump on it and ride ;-)

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    A blower is a great idea! I have an electric leaf blower that is claimed to blow at 300kph. It take a serious spider to stand up to that! – andy256 Aug 2 '14 at 12:15
  • I'd suggest an air compressor with a blower nozzle. At lower pressures and with a suitable nozzle you can use it to top off your tires too. But I may be biased -- I don't like leaf blowers so don't have one, and I have some air-powered tools so I have a compressor. – keshlam Aug 2 '14 at 21:54
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    Yep, anything that blows. Except I don't recommend a hair drier ... – andy256 Aug 3 '14 at 0:06
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Following on from Johnny's answer of using compressed air, how about getting one of those computer air duster cans (a bit like this one), and a water bottle holder (a metal one with some flex in it, so you can re-adjust the size of the bottle that it can hold). One like this is a great example:

Water Bottle Holder

Then put the air duster in the water bottle holder! It's a good way to hold it without having to rummage around for it in a bag when you see a spider!

Note: I have no idea if these ones fit right now. I will check tomorrow as I have a can or two lying around.

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I'm the same way. I used one of the spider repellent pouches, Stay Away. I kept it on my bike for a while and spiders decreased!

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