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Rabbits and spider proofing

Monty's Human

Alpha Buck
So, spider season is coming up, and I was hoping there might be some ideas for how to try and prevent spiders in ways which are rabbit safe. Before now I have used conkers to good effect, but we had to give that up when we got the hamster, and I understand they're poisonous to rabbits, too. I am hoping to find a conker tree and be able to put them down where the rabbits can't reach them (windowsills, behind furniture they definitely can't get behind) but that leaves large parts of the flat free for spiders to invade. I have a huge fear of spiders. I mean, HUGE. The last time a big one got into the flat, I was texting my partner in tears to take the rest of the day off of work, and it only ended when two neighbours turned up to find out why I kept screaming so loudly. I still get the insect itches just thinking about it - and I still can't get books out of the bookcase it emerged from without preparing myself first. I have a spray of smells spiders don't like that I think I can safely use even in bunny spaces - http://www.lakeland.co.uk/51529/Spider-Stopper-Repellent-Spray-500ml Unfortunately, this doesn't seem to be entirely efficacious.

Are there any other known repellents which are bunny safe? Please help! About this time of year I start talking about migrating about as far North as any human has ever been to avoid them, and after many, many stressful incidents last year, I'm really dreading this autumn!
 
Conkers are supposed to deter spiders, don't know how true it is!

You can also get a spray "Spider stop" or something like that which you can spray around, but I don't know if it would be safe to use around the bunnies.
 
Hmm, beyond keeping your house 'OCD level' clean (hoovering everywhere, under everything etc., in every corner, every day or multiple times per day) I can't think of anything that would work, sorry :S
 
So, spider season is coming up, and I was hoping there might be some ideas for how to try and prevent spiders in ways which are rabbit safe. Before now I have used conkers to good effect, but we had to give that up when we got the hamster, and I understand they're poisonous to rabbits, too. I am hoping to find a conker tree and be able to put them down where the rabbits can't reach them (windowsills, behind furniture they definitely can't get behind) but that leaves large parts of the flat free for spiders to invade. I have a huge fear of spiders. I mean, HUGE. The last time a big one got into the flat, I was texting my partner in tears to take the rest of the day off of work, and it only ended when two neighbours turned up to find out why I kept screaming so loudly. I still get the insect itches just thinking about it - and I still can't get books out of the bookcase it emerged from without preparing myself first. I have a spray of smells spiders don't like that I think I can safely use even in bunny spaces - http://www.lakeland.co.uk/51529/Spider-Stopper-Repellent-Spray-500ml Unfortunately, this doesn't seem to be entirely efficacious.

Are there any other known repellents which are bunny safe? Please help! About this time of year I start talking about migrating about as far North as any human has ever been to avoid them, and after many, many stressful incidents last year, I'm really dreading this autumn!


Bumping up MH :)
 
Hmm, beyond keeping your house 'OCD level' clean (hoovering everywhere, under everything etc., in every corner, every day or multiple times per day) I can't think of anything that would work, sorry :S

Were that I had the ability! Unfortunately, we're stuffed to the gills; move one thing and there's a bit of a chain reaction... I have previously employed the hamster for me, and indeed Monty has kindly dusted behind some bits of furniture he shouldn't have been able to get under in the past :D

Conkers do seem to work Lily - better than the sprays I've tried! - but I've found information saying they aren't safe for rabbits, and I don't think I'd trust my pair not to eat them :(

Thanks for the bump!
 
That's one thing Ive noticed since I moved up here 4 years ago, hardly any spiders, not in my house anyway :D I think they must all move down south for the winter ! :lol: -
 
That's one thing Ive noticed since I moved up here 4 years ago, hardly any spiders, not in my house anyway :D I think they must all move down south for the winter ! :lol: -

I'm learning Danish and Swedish. Apparently midges are a big problem, but I'm prepared for that. Now I just need to convince partner that we can totally pack our lives up and move to the outer reaches of Scandinavia, and find a way of taking the bunnies. I have a long term plan see :D

(Failing this, I may consider the Scottish Hebrides, so your news gives me something positive to think on!)
 
Could you put the conkers into a little mesh box so they're still out but buns can't actually access them?

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Could you put the conkers into a little mesh box so they're still out but buns can't actually access them?

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Ooh, good idea! I have no idea where I'd find such a thing but I shall certainly have a look around. Thank you :D

There was a huge one last night :( I wasn't allowed to see it, but partner said enough to spook me. I had to spray all round the bed, bedsheets and floor before I could go to sleep. Hate the things - ugh.
 
Ooh, good idea! I have no idea where I'd find such a thing but I shall certainly have a look around. Thank you :D

There was a huge one last night :( I wasn't allowed to see it, but partner said enough to spook me. I had to spray all round the bed, bedsheets and floor before I could go to sleep. Hate the things - ugh.

maybe you could improvise, keep them in a bird feeder ?
 
maybe you could improvise, keep them in a bird feeder ?

Even better! Thank you :D I knew the collective wisdom of the forum wouldn't fail me!

I guess the best answer is to try and see if the rabbits are even interested, but would I need to keep them up out of rabbit's reach, or could I have some on the floors where necessary? I guess what I'm asking is would it be disastrous if they were in reach and one of the bunnies decided to occasionally try for a quick nibble, or are they poisonous-but-small-quantities-won't-matter? (As with the hamster, I am prepared to overlook a quick nibble that ends in "urk, not trying that again", where it won't do any harm; I would move them if the rabbits were too interested). We have a couple of pieces of furniture that the bunnies could get under where it would be brilliant to be able to have them at floor level to be sure.
 
I never understand animal phobias, to put it lightly (unless there was an injury associated or something that caused traumatic emotion) and I don't think it's okay to say you "hate" an animal that never even did anything to you. I can't imagine this forum would take it kindly if someone said they hate bunnies because they "look scary".

However, if this phobia can't be overcome, one suggestion is rubbing citrus peeling, lemon juice etc on things as spiders don't like citrus. I guess it'd be best to do that around windows, cracks etc where they get in at. They also don't like essential oils, so doing the same with citrus/peppermint/eucalyptus etc essential oils. This seems more likely to work to me than conkers (which it turns out are horse-chestnuts - I had to google that!).

And obviously check things before bringing them in the house as spiders can accidentally hitch hike inside that way. I brought a spiderling spiny orb weaver inside that way the other day on Nemo duck's water bowl but I spotted it once inside and brought it back out.

You also want to avoid stuff being damp e.g. leaky pipe under the sink, condensation from windows, leaky facet etc. Spiders need to drink and some spiders like living in moist areas. I actually got bit just yesterday by a spider apparently that was living in a coke can outside. I was crushing several coke cans that had been rained on and after I'd finished I gathered them up but there was one too many to carry at once so I looped my middle finger into the inside lip of the crushed can and my finger started stinging, burning and throbbing all at once! I thought for a second that I'd just cut my finger on the sharp part of the can but I knew a little cut wouldn't feel like that and then I saw a bite. Luckily it apparently wasn't a black widow or brown recluse! I know better than to stick my hand in dark, damp places because of venomous spiders/snakes (I found a small snake coiled inside a coke can last month) but wasn't thinking there could be anything in there since I'd already checked the can before crushing it. Lucky little spider must've been safe on the inside lip part that didn't crush!
 
Yes, citrus is definitely one that they don't like. But I don't know that I'd want bunnies getting near it, and you'd have to spray it so frequently to achieve anything.
 
Yes, citrus is definitely one that they don't like. But I don't know that I'd want bunnies getting near it, and you'd have to spray it so frequently to achieve anything.

Yeah, and the same for essential oils (EO) too (if I have EO on my hands etc I always wash well first before doing anything with my animals) but citrus peeling is a safer alternative to most sprays as very few store bought sprays are safe for animals or people. The one in the first post says it's a mix of clove and peppermint eo but I couldn't find an ingredient list so I don't know if it's purely eo and other natural ingredients or not, although I'm guessing the bottle would probably have the ingredient list on it.

But if the buns can't get on windowsills etc then it's safe to use citrus or eo there.

If the spray from the first post (No more spiders I think it's called) isnt working well and if I didn't want spiders I'd probably just buy bottles of pure eo and make my own mix so that I could make it stronger since spiders definitely don't like these things. I have several different eo actually and it's very strong if not diluted a lot. Probably spraying/wiping it twice a day, morning and evening, in strategic places would be effective to prevent them wanting to come in. You could put eo on tissue or cotton balls and place it wherever too.

Eo repels insects too, and obviously spiders mostly eat insects and other spiders so it'll also help make your house less attractive to spiders that way as well.

Seems like unnecessary trouble to me (as I said, animal phobias are strange), but at least your house will smell good! :lol:
 
We had a spider and it's web on the outside washing line yesterday. Spiders don't bother me one bit, but OH noticed that there was a little insect caught in the web.

A moment later he said: 'Fly free little one, I've just saved your life" and he released the insect from the web.

But, I said, he's also deprived the spider of his lunch :)
 
The best thing I ever did was get one of those spider vaccuum things. I say one, we have at least 3 now! :lol: They have helped so much with my spider phobia. That said, those huge ones still terrify me.
 
William - I can understand your sentiments, but to me, I'm afraid spiders aren't animals. (I wouldn't classify any insects as such, except in the "animal, vegetable, mineral" sense). To me it's no different to someone saying "I hate flying" or "I hate heights". I do really worry about them - previous run-ins with spiders in the past have brought on panic attacks, inadvertent self harm and just generally making an idiot of myself. I'm terrified of one appearing when I'm, say, cooking, because I know I wouldn't be able to deal with it safely. So sorry, but I really do hate them! At least most phobias don't come strolling into your house demanding bed and board :D

Thank you for such a comprehensive list of ideas! I have used the spray in the first post in places where it isn't rabbit accessible, and it never seemed to bother Monty. The hamster's certainly never cared! I wouldn't use it directly onto their hutch, or anything in too much proximity, but it would be able nice to be able to widen it a bit to e.g. furniture (we've had a few big ones turn up on the backs of bookcases and things). I'll bear the lemon in mind. The rabbits are now banished from the bedroom (partner's orders - I'm a softy and would let the rule my bed every time!) so I could perhaps devise a spray or similar I could use for it on the bed sheets. Ever since my student hall days when one the size of my palm (no, that's not an exaggeration - it's leg span would easily have covered my palm) crawled out from under my pillow and formed my first waking sight one morning, beds are a very touchy area with me.

(I've hunched over to an actual painful degree just at the memory - I can't exaggerate how much I can't deal with them!)

MM - we managed to rescue a bumblebee once! Tell your OH I am firmly on his side in this one :D I have to say, spiders really don't help their cause; one once killed a caterpillar in front of us who was too small to save. Given we are the world's biggest caterpillar fans, it didn't do spiders any favours in my estimation!

Sarah, please tell me more about spider vaccuums? :D I have a spider catcher - one of the poles with bristles at the end (William, if it helps at all, my policy is to not kill them wherever possible - they are always picked up and placed firmly on the other side of the back garden gate.) but it's old and decidedly ratty now. I could certainly make up a good excuse to replace it, if this is some new fangled invention that would make me relax a bit more about spiders appearing?
 
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