Hay Storage, Spiders, and Lighting

[KLeaphart]

A few semi related questions here, but some background info first:

I have a 12x24 shelter logic as my hay shed and I am buying hay for fall/winter/spring in the next few weeks. My two main issues right now are insanely large wolf spiders and lack of light.

Does anyone have any recommendations on how to get rid of these massive spiders? I know that they aren’t deadly or anything but I personally don’t like having to retrieve hay with a spider inches away. Which brings me to my next issue: lighting.

I would love to install some sort of lighting in the shed as it is usually very dark in the evenings when I throw hay. I feel like lights might also help with the spider issue (or at least make it easier to see them before they are crawling on me). Unfortunately, I do not have power running to the shed so I need either solar powered lights or battery powered.

Has anyone installed lights in their shed before? I would like to have a light on each end that are easy to turn on/off. Bonus points for low-cost options.

Thanks in advance!

[Mango20]

I bought one of these, thinking I would use it in a chicken coop (but didn’t). I thought for the cheap price, it was worth a shot. I have used it when the power was out, and even after not being charged for a while, it gives off a very bright light! One or two of these would probably do the trick for you:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01HY4RIHM/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[KLeaphart]

@Mango20 that is exactly what I need; thank you!

[SuzieQNutter]

Do wolf spiders have webs. Is so spray the webs with surface spray. That is the spray that comes in an aerosol can and kills for 6 months.

A week after that remove the webs and spray again. You will know when they are back to do again when the webs return.

[SuzieQNutter]

I have a beanie with a removeable lamp that can be recharged with USB. I love it.

[KLeaphart]

Unfortunately wolf spiders don’t make webs, but I may try spraying the perimeter to see if that helps. Thanks!

[KLeaphart]

@SuzieQNutter ooh that sounds like just what I need once it cools down!

[SuzieQNutter]

@KLeaphart

@SuzieQNutter ooh that sounds like just what I need once it cools down!

We picked it up for $15.00 at the local hardware store. The lamp has 3 different levels of brightness.

I turn the beanie up so as the lamp is towards me as I approach the horses and flick it back down when I am past their head so as I don’t shine it in their eyes.

[KLeaphart]

I will definitely be on the lookout for one of those! And smart about tilting it (sure enough I’d blind the herd before I realized what I’d done:lol:)

[beau159]

Wolf spiders?

You BURN DOWN the shed and everything in it. And run far, far away. That’s how you get rid of them.

Okay, a bit of an overreaction but I hate spiders. ICK. Much less spiders that double as small birds. shudder This is why I live in a climate where sometimes the air hurts my face because it is so cold … no wolf spiders!!

If they really are BAD, I would honestly call a pest company. I haven’t for spiders, but have for ants, and they really, really do a great job at getting rid of the pest. And since it’s on your horse’s food, they may also have options that aren’t going to be harmful for the horse to ingest. You could douse the whole shed in spider/bug spray … but you also don’t want your horses to eat spray on the hay.

Ditto to a headlamp. I’ve got a couple and I will recommend the LED ones b/c they are brighter! Plus, then the light moves with you.

[KLeaphart]

@beau159 trust me burning everything to a crisp has definitely crossed my mind more than once! I found one just sitting on a flake of hay a week ago. It didn’t run or even move when I took several pictures (with flash on) and only left after I poked around it with a REALLY long stick.

Then yesterday, I decided to take out my former horse’s blankets to clean/sell them and found another wolf spider! I drug the blanket across a paddock to the nearest hose (spider still just chilling on the blanket) tried to drown it an then lost sight of it. Couple of hours later (after hosing and hanging blankets to dry) I go to take pictures of the blankets and find it sitting on a different blanket just staring at me!

UGH I just can’t handle them! And I have a pest company coming out to spray the house soon so I’ll talk to them and see what they recommend. It’s just so wooded/buggy I wonder if anything will make a difference. If I decide to spray everything myself I’ll probably do the outside perimeter of the shed because I definitely don’t want that stuff on my hay.

[snowblaze]

No spider pix?

[enjoytheride]

I use these motion sensor lights in areas I don’t need light all night but need light when I need it. They are motion activated and because they don’t stay on all night they put out a TON of light.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B078W31942/ref=ox_sc_saved_title_3?smid=A2P6XFVRTC5MLM&psc=1

[TCA_Arabians]

We have a wolf spider… in the den… his name is Bob. He eats bugs. We like him. We also have black widows in the barn. We spray regularly in the stalls, feed storage, under feeders (not in), etc. It mitigates the problem.

We have numerous solar lights for all sorts of purposes. Love them. Sounds like you’ve found what you need.

Now, if I could just catch that spider in my kitchen window that likes to build her web on my drying roses!

[KLeaphart]

@snowblaze pictures as requested!

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@enjoytheride ooh I like those too! I may put one of those on the back of the shed to deter other wildlife.

@TCA Arabians I really should come up with a name for this one since he seems to be a permanent resident!

[clanter]

I am buying hay for fall/winter/spring in the next few weeks.

you might want to buy that hay now before the hurricane hits the Carolinas

[TCA_Arabians]

Must correct myself. It is a Huntsman Spider we have in the den. Not a Wolf Spider. Recognizing my error caused me to look up both. Both will bite and those with a sensitivity may have a painful reaction. But, it won’t kill you. The article I read also said that it requires direct contact with the spider to kill the wolf spider. This suggests a blunt instrument to me - rather that walking around with spider spray in your pocket. But, various insecticides do control them a bit. Just google it.

Yes, naming something that scares you is a good way to control your fear. Perhaps that is why they name hurricanes.

[snowblaze]

That’s a good size spider!

[allons-y]

Poor little guy. What if he thinks you’re the Landlord, and he’s consistently paying the rent eating horse flies and mosquitos. After all, you built such a nice, furnished apartment! Don’t murder your tenant! Unfortunately, winter is coming, and you won’t see him anymore. (Yes I have a soft spot for barn spiders, I still miss my “Spidey” that greeted me each am on the gate.)

Practical advice, use a pitchfork to gather and throw hay. He really doesn’t want to hurt you.

[PeteyPie]

I was watching a reality show called “Billy the Exterminator,” and one episode dealt with a family’s problem with Black Widow spiders on the porch and in the play house and play equipment in the back yard. He eradicated the spiders and told the family how to prevent them from coming back. First, don’t leave lights on near the house and have blackout curtains on the windows in the rooms you use in the evening. This is because bugs are attracted to the light and spiders are attracted to the bugs. The next thing is to keep things moving around. This would mean frequent vacuuming and dusting inside the house, and regularly sweeping and removing debris in outdoor areas. Spiders don’t like to be messed with.

I don’t know how helpful this is in your situation since you presently don’t have a light, but it is cautionary advice for the type of light you install: make sure it is intermittent light and not a fixture which stays on for hours our you might be dealing with even more spiders.

As for the dusting and sweeping, it might be worth a try but there is only so much you can do with a big stack of hay, and if it is on pallets, I don’t know how you could keep spiders out from under the hay.

What do the spiders eat? Is there a way to eradicate the bugs they are eating?