It's over. I'm done. Worst possible thing has happened.

Kraze

New member
Well, it's time to move on from my 4runner. I need to either sell it, or have it towed to a junkyard for destruction, or maybe just set it on fire right where it sits. I know you're probably thinking: "That sounds a little harsh. What, did the pink milkshake strike? Timing belt let go? Threw a rod? All of the above simultaneously?" No, my friends, what has happened is so much worse. You see, I have found strong evidence of.... a spider living in my 4runner.

Now, I'll be the first to admit that spiders are my kryptonite. Maybe you are more of a man than me, and can sleep with thousands of black widows as a comforter and feel perfectly relaxed, but I am just not that cool. Spiders make me their *****. So imagine the horror when I opened up my 4runner today and saw webs all over the place (strong exaggeration, but I did see multiple webs, concentrating on the drivers seat area.. FML). Notice how I said evidence, and not "I found a spider living in my 4runner." That means the little creepy crawler motherf'er is still in there somewhere, waiting for me to get in and take it for a spin so it can strike.

And do you even know how many places there are inside of a 4runner for a spider to hide? No, you don't. And that's not because someone hasn't tried to count them all before, it's because there's TOO MANY F***ING PLACES TO EVEN BEGIN TO COUNT!

So, I ask, what the hell do I do in this situation? I tried tracking down the little spider terrorist by following his webs, but I'm no crocodile dundee. What's the average life span of a spider? Can I just wait it out until it dies? What about those fumigation bomb things you can buy at Walmart? Can I close up all the windows and let one of those rip in my 4runner? Or do I just...

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I hate spiders too. I would remove any plastic panels and carpet to see where they are hiding. You could also try parking in the sun with the windows closed for a couple hours to see if it'll fry them, maybe throw in a bug bomb at the same time.
 
I hate spiders too. I would remove any plastic panels and carpet to see where they are hiding. You could also try parking in the sun with the windows closed for a couple hours to see if it'll fry them, maybe throw in a bug bomb at the same time.

Hmm, I hadn't thought about trying to fry it. That would probably work better if I still lived in the desert though. A bug bomb is one of my serious options though. Can anyone think of any reason why that would be a bad idea?

Also, I do not like how you said "them." I was previously under the assumption that it was only one, but now that I think about it, how do I know it's not a whole colony living in there now?! FML

:Cry::Cry::Cry:

That accurately sums up exactly how I feel!

A couple of gallons of gasoline and a cigarette fuse for a timer and problem solved.

Probably #1 on my list of possible solutions. We are on the same page :flamethrwoer2:
 
I would think a bug bomb would work great, but you'd have to get rid of that leftover smell afterwords. Take it to a detailer and have them clean it out thoroughly.
 
I would think a bug bomb would work great, but you'd have to get rid of that leftover smell afterwords. Take it to a detailer and have them clean it out thoroughly.

Hmm, I've never actually used a bug bomb before, I didn't even think of the possibility of it leaving a smell. How bad is it and do you think it would be possible for a detailer to get the smell out?

I think my current plan of attack is wait a day or two, then check again to see if more webs have formed. If so, proceed to bug bomb tactic. What's everyone think?
 
I wouldn't worry about that one more than the others just a few yards away from you right now.

Nothing like reaching under a door handle and finding one.
 
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Well, I hate to break it to you, but Brown Widows seem to be taking over in the San Diego area...

But I found a web in the back seat floorboard area recently and vacuumed it out. Haven't seen any signs of one since, but it could pull an Arachnaphobia on me while driving down the highway :spider:

Sorry I'm not much help, but My 8 year old had a Pink toed Tarantula and spiders don't bother me too much at this point :lmao:
 
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!! I hate spiders too! not sure if i hate them enough to justify getting rid of my rig but none the less, they scare the s*** out of me! i've heard about the bug fumigators working with much success. also contact an exterminator. i know a couple who have dealt with spiders in cars before.
 
If you bomb it, you may want to cover up any clear plastic inside your rig. I fired a couple off in my storage shed a few years back and when I went in the next day, there was bug carnage everywhere, spiders and wasps primarily. I noticed that several clear plastic instrument panels has a weird etching on their face that wasn't there before. I had to polish everything out to get it back to normal.

And there was an after smell to say.

On one of the other boards that I frequent, some have said that placing dryer sheets in the vehicle will take care of the bugs. I've not tried this yet, but the smell is said to be pleasant.
 
There's only 2 spiders in SoCal that are even remotely dangerous and neither are living in your truck.

First is the desert recluse which is a cousin to the brown recluse and basically has the same poison. It is a type of hunter spider and would not live inside a truck under normal circumstances.

Second is the black widow and those only only come out at night and wouldn't be in your truck either.

All the other spiders in our area are "mostly harmless". Now if you were in the northwest and had a hobo spider infestation I would say sell it.

But just so you feel better go buy a can of spider fog gas and bug bomb your truck.
 
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When I bought my old '85 it had been in a field for two years and was full of spiders/black widows. I parked in the garage with windows down and tailgate down and set off four bug bombs in me garage! Somebody told me you can blow up a garage that way (afterwards!) but I had no problems. Didn't have any probs with odor but it was an older truck and had that "classic" old car scent anyhow.

Good luck man!

md
 
I wouldn't worry about that one more than the others just a few yards away from you right now.

Nothing like reaching under a door handle and finding one.

Well, I hate to break it to you, but Brown Widows seem to be taking over in the San Diego area...

But I found a web in the back seat floorboard area recently and vacuumed it out. Haven't seen any signs of one since, but it could pull an Arachnaphobia on me while driving down the highway :spider:

Sorry I'm not much help, but My 8 year old had a Pink toed Tarantula and spiders don't bother me too much at this point :lmao:

You two aren't helping at all haha.

There's only 2 spiders in SoCal that are even remotely dangerous and neither are living in your truck...

I like your confidence, but the bolded part is where you're wrong. ANY spider living in my 4runner is a dangerous spider, as I'm likely to wreck it while I frantically swat at the bastard if I suddenly feel it crawling on me.

If you bomb it, you may want to cover up any clear plastic inside your rig. I fired a couple off in my storage shed a few years back and when I went in the next day, there was bug carnage everywhere, spiders and wasps primarily. I noticed that several clear plastic instrument panels has a weird etching on their face that wasn't there before. I had to polish everything out to get it back to normal.

And there was an after smell to say.

On one of the other boards that I frequent, some have said that placing dryer sheets in the vehicle will take care of the bugs. I've not tried this yet, but the smell is said to be pleasant.

Good to know about the plastic part. I've never heard of dryer sheets as a possible solution, but I'm definitely going to do some research on that. I like that option a lot more than bug bombing the truck, assuming it works.

When I bought my old '85 it had been in a field for two years and was full of spiders/black widows. I parked in the garage with windows down and tailgate down and set off four bug bombs in me garage! Somebody told me you can blow up a garage that way (afterwards!) but I had no problems. Didn't have any probs with odor but it was an older truck and had that "classic" old car scent anyhow.

Good luck man!

md

Mental note, don't park it in garage and set off multiple bug bombs, got it! Thanks for the heads up.

Take off and nuke it from orbit.

It's the only way to be sure.

Exactly!

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You might just try parking it in the sun. If it gets to 140 deg in there it's likely to kill the spiders (at least I'd think it would kill about anything). That's about as close to nuking it as you probably need to get.
 

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