... Spiders.

[aekisz]

I’d rather have spiders in my sound hole than rodents chewing and peeing on my amp speaker cones. (I’ve had both). At least spiders don’t mess with the sound all that much.

I’m the type who rescues bugs that get into the house, no matter how big or small or venomous.

 

[HardNHeavy]

my wife will come over gently capture it and then gently set it outside with food and water...........I just step on them or if it hides inside your axe you might have to .....

 

[FugaziBomb]

Spiders aren't so bad as far as bugs go. They eat other pests that tend to breed out of control and they aren't usually aggressive (although the Wolf Spiders down here in FL will chase you into another room).

Roaches, fleas, and bed bugs are the 3 worst. Dirty SOBs

 

[NortyFiner]

What happens to spiders in my house depends on who finds them.

If it's my arachnophobic wife or my playful cats, the spider's dead. That's just how it is.

If the spider is lucky enough that I find it, then it depends on the kind of spider.

The only dangerous spiders in my neighborhood are black widows. Those get sprayed because they can actually hurt me, even if only by accident.

Other spiders, I either leave alone or put outside, depending on how big and obtrusive they are. Little house spider in the corner? No problem little buddy, thanks for the pest control. Big wolf spider that I know will make my wife scream? Outside it goes.

 

[40Hz]

I’m not sure what Tralfamadorean weather is like this time of year, but FWIW spiders thrive on humidity and low altitude places. So it goes.

If you can get your bass into a dry dehumidified environment for a day or two that’ll eliminate spiders.

Too bad that doesn’t work on mosquitoes or deer ticks, which are the real problem insects where I live. Some mosquitoes carry West Nile virus and the deer ticks carry Lyme Disease.

 

[2112]

I, too, live in fiddleback territory... those damn things are everywhere lol. We also have black widows, scorpions, tarantulars, tarantula hawks, killer bees, and the state bird is the mosquito. With all the tornadoes, droughts, wildfires, ice storms, floods, and earthquakes, I'm really not sure how we manage out here lol. Probably because tort is against State law (I swear to God it is!).

 

[Vinny_G]

 

[dbsfgyd1]

Recently returned to civilization after a stint in farmville. Unloaded my things into my new room yesterday. Hoped the spiders didn't follow me.

Earlier today that hope was dashed in the worst way, when over the course of a single morning a small white spider had begun weaving a web from the wall to the headstock of my acoustic bass. I destroyed the defiler with great prejudice and thought... Well, that's that.

A few minutes ago I looked over and saw an entirely different species of spider sitting on the D string just above the sound hole. Tried to flick it off but it dove into the sound hole for safety.

Well. Guess I don't play bass anymore.

But seriously... What would you guys do about this sort of thing? My usual methods for dealing with spiders are all things I'd never do to an instrument. What's the best way to get squatters out of a sound hole and keep them out without damaging the bass?

--^@

I guess that depends on the type of bass. A DB presents more of a problem that a PB.

As for spiders, for the most part they don’t hang around long where there isn’t food ( which as far as a spider is concerned, you are not considered a food source) like an ample supply of bugs for instance. Instead of giving up playing bass, put the bass in the trunk of the car, or garage and wait it out. They will leave on their own accord.

This may be news to some, but spiders are extremely beneficial to your environment, like if you happened to bring fleas home with you for instance.

 

[Yellow Bang66]

Recently returned to civilization after a stint in farmville. Unloaded my things into my new room yesterday. Hoped the spiders didn't follow me.

Earlier today that hope was dashed in the worst way, when over the course of a single morning a small white spider had begun weaving a web from the wall to the headstock of my acoustic bass. I destroyed the defiler with great prejudice and thought... Well, that's that.

A few minutes ago I looked over and saw an entirely different species of spider sitting on the D string just above the sound hole. Tried to flick it off but it dove into the sound hole for safety.

Well. Guess I don't play bass anymore.

But seriously... What would you guys do about this sort of thing? My usual methods for dealing with spiders are all things I'd never do to an instrument. What's the best way to get squatters out of a sound hole and keep them out without damaging the bass?

--^@

Sorry, I thought this was gonna be about the old chromatic scale exercise (1,3,2,4)over the neck vertically on every string! not about critters!
Unfortunately, I got no solutions, but I hear bugs hate spearmint, maybe place a stick of spearmint gum around that bass. works with mosquitos too.

 

[Spidey2112]

What's the best way to get squatters out of a sound hole and keep them out without damaging the bass?

The thing that always worked for me was the ole, "It's me, not you speech."

 

[Spidey2112]

I can't believe @Spidey2112 has not weighed in on this yet! ( I guess some guys still gotta work )

I just saved one, yesterday... was in the house, on the wall teasing the cat...

... got a glass, placing it slowly over the top of it, slid a piece of paper between the wall and glass, and took it outside.

Spiders are good people.

Hope you are well, @nbsipics!

 

[Chili Bo Billy]

Lived on a farm for 20 + years, our century farmhouse was like the Mutual Of Omaha's Wild Kingdom.
Cluster flies, spiders of various species, etc.
One night while sleeping my ear plugged up, laying there,I could hear scratching in my ear.
I got up went to the bathroom and tugged at my ear until a spider popped out, down the drain it went and I went back to sleep.

 

[Spectrum]

Some of the photos in this thread make me feel like a character in an HP Lovecraft story who just glimpsed something he never should've known existed, and is now slightly insane for doing so.

 

[CryingBass]

I just saved one, yesterday... was in the house, on the wall teasing the cat...

... got a glass, placing it slowly over the top of it, slid a piece of paper between the wall and glass, and took it outside.

Spiders are good people....

Predictable!

 

[Pauly 4001]

There are good spiders you know , or were anyway.

 

[ThudThudThud]

Had a dog once who would take care of all spiders. Then a Jerusalem Cricket (potato bug/earth baby) came in the house. Dog would have absolutely nothing to do with it.

 

[ThudThudThud]

 

[Jeff Hughes]

Try a dehumidifier. I always find an uptick in bugs once the outside gets really dry in the summer.

Or you could get a pet house centipede. They are terrifying to look at, but they kill lots of insects and are harmless to humans.

 

[Michedelic]

Anyone want to connect the dots?

 

[EatS1stBassist]

I used to own a plumbing service in our local mountains (Lake Arrowhead, Ca.) And one of my customers owned a large old mansion on the Lake. I had to do a repair in the buildup under the house. I was under there for hours. Barely enough room to work and had to crawl in on my stomach and it was quite a ways to the area that needed repair. I usually didn’t look around while I was working under the house as I didn’t really want to know what was under there with me. As I left the crawl space I shined my mag- light back into the buildup and in every corner of the structure was a Black Widow. I literally mean there had to be hundreds of Black Widows. I was under there for about 6 hours. Not one bite!