Did you know that there are over 100 species of spiders that mimic an ant’s appearance? They evolved themselves to disguise themselves from the predators or to hunt the ants.
Don’t worry, keeping away spiders when you go camping is not a very burdensome task. Here are some reasons why you should not care much about spiders.
Only 4 people die of venomous spider bites every year in America, and only 3.5% of the American population suffer from Arachnophobia (intense fear of spiders).
How is this information useful to you? This is to make evident that fear of facing spiders or any insect should not resist you from setting out to enjoy camping. I hope I made my point clear.
How to avoid spiders? How dangerous are they? How to take care of a spider bite? You will find all the answers to these questions in this article.
Let’s get started. Shall we?
How To Keep Spiders Away From Tent?
Spiders are the most feared pests by people as they are creepy crawlers and have a reputation for poisoning humans and their tools. This might encourage you enough to face spiders without panicking much:
“They don’t feed on humans”
Spiders are not active attackers and have no interest in humans, but there is a necessity to avoid spiders as they can cause food poisoning.
These are some safety precautions to take to avoid our eight-legged intruders.
1. Check Before Leaving For Camp
Getting prepared can solve a lot of problems. Make sure to check your tent kept in the storage for spiders, to avoid carrying them to your campsite with you. This will give you enough time to replace your tent if it is too damaged to be repaired.
Tents with damaged zippers can get you into a lot of trouble at the Campsite. Check the condition of your tents to ensure that zippers work properly.
If your tent has mesh windows, check for any holes in them. Ripped mesh windows can also be an inlet for insects and spiders in your tent.
2. Study Your Campsite
Always make sure to study a bit about the wildlife species and the conditions of your campsite before you leave. This will get you an idea of what kind of spiders you may encounter and what you need to add in the first aid.
This habit of knowing your campsite can save you from a lot of dangerous encounters with other wildlife animals as well.
Setting your camp at the appropriate place is also the right move. Avoid setting camps under a tree or very close to a water body.
If there are a lot of trees in the campsite area use a trap to hang above your tent, so that if spiders fall from the tree it will not fall directly on your tents.
3. Check Tent For Holes
Most of the spiders are tiny creatures; even the smallest rip or hole can give them an easy way to get in your tent.
Checking your camp gears beforehand is the most preferable method but in case you missed some flaws always carry a repair kit with you. The repair kit will help you in many emergencies.
Get in the habit of always keeping your tent zipped when not in use. Avoid keeping your tent unattended for too long with zips open.
Always ensure to shake your sleeping bags before getting into them. Also, check your shoes and clothes before putting them on to avoid spider bites by mistake.
4. Spray Bug Repellants
Using bug repellent sprays are proven to be effective in avoiding bugs and spiders as well. Investing in a good bug repellent spray can get you through the task of facing various bugs around your tent.
It is also one of the easiest ways to get rid of pests while outdoor ventures. You can easily find these bug repellent sprays in any store with camping supplies or these are available online too.
5. Use Scents Despised By Spiders
Thankfully there are several scents despised by the spiders. We can use these scents to keep spiders at the bay. Spiders hate the smell of anything citrus, essential oils, and vinegar also works like magic.
FUN FACT: spiders smell through their feet.
Although your presence is enough to signal the spider to vacate the area, these scents are proven to scare them away. You can mix them with water and use them as a spray or you can also create scent sacs on your own.
Here is how you can bake homemade sprays and scent sacs
Mix the Essential oil or vinegar with the same amount of water and keep it in a plastic spray bottle to use later. Spray this mixture around your tent to avoid spiders.
How to make scent sacs?
You will require the following things.
- Coffee/ muffin liners
- Crushed chestnut, cloves, orange/lemon peels.
- Dip them in essential oils/ vinegar.
- Secure them with a rubber band.
- Hang them around your tent
Vinegar creates a burning sensation on the spider’s body if it comes in contact. Sprinkling liquid vinegar around your sleeping area will also help to keep away spiders.
Rubbing orange or lemon peels/ juice around the edges of your tent’s windows or doors will help in preventing the spiders from entering your tent.
6. Use Diatomaceous Earth
This method is also proven to be very effective when it comes to killing bugs, fleas, ticks, spiders, ants, cockroaches.
This is a drug used as a source of silica. It is also used for treating high cholesterol levels, for treating constipation, for improving skin health of skin, nails, teeth, bones, hair.
Having an advantage of killing bugs, it also has the advantage of not being harmful to humans or pets.
Spraying a thin layer of its powder around your tent will help.
7. Avoid Using Sweet-Smelling Products
The sweet smell of your perfume, hand wash deodorant will attract bugs and spiders towards your tent. The non-availability of running water and showers will urge you to use scented products.
Avoid using these products while you are camping outdoors; you can always use them when you are at home.
There are plenty of non-scented options for this product in the stores containing camping supplies. Avoid using room freshener; Use plain soap and water instead of hand wash. Using disinfectant wipes is the way to go.
8. Don’t Eat Inside Your Tent
Avoid eating inside your tent as it will leave food scrapes all around and it will act as food baits for various insects and spiders.
Always clean your tent and keep it free from garbage or leftover food. Always take out trash and dispose of it as soon as possible. Storing them for a long time will only attract spiders.
9. Ensure Cleanliness Of Your Campsite
A clean environment will help you in getting rid of most insects and wildlife. It is essential to clean your campsite before and after you leave the site To avoid unwanted creatures.
Cleaning it before will help you in getting rid of the insects and the debris lying around. It will also create a clean living environment for camping.
Cleaning afterward Should be our ethical duty. It means to take away all the garbage you have left there and maintain a clean environment for the natural wildlife living there.
10. Take Pets With You
“Spiders avoid encounters with humans and big animals “
The presence of your pet will give them a sense of threat and scare them away.
FUN FACT: Many people like to have tarantulas and other species of spiders as their pets. Avoid taking them with you camping as they can invite their friends to meet them.
11. Keep Your Camp Dark
Any source of light attracts insect pests of spiders. Avoid having lanterns and small LED lights inside your tent when not in use.
Only consider them switching on when used and after ensuring your tent is properly zipped.
12. Campfire Will Keep Them Away
Although a campfire is a source of light it is also a source of heat. Having a campfire is both a fun activity and a safety precaution measure.
Do not leave any campfire unattended when you are not around. Take this habit as an extra precautionary measure whenever you go out camping as it can lead to major emergencies.
Why You Should Not Kill Spiders?
“If spiders disappeared, we would face famine,”
says Platnick, who studies arachnids at New York’s American Museum of Natural History, where a live spider exhibit debuted this month.
“Spiders are primary controllers of insects. Without spiders, all of our crops would be consumed by those pests.”
If you don’t believe this then you might consider reading the butterfly effect.
How To Handle A Spider Bite?
- Clean the bite with mild soap and water.
- Apply appropriate ointment to prevent infection.
- Applying a cool damp cloth on the bite will help in relieving the pain and swelling.
- Get medical help as soon as possible.
- If the bite is in the arms or legs elevate it.
- Applying ice will help in relieving the burning sensation.
- Observe the area of the bite for infections or inflammation.
FUN FACT: Only 3 dangerous spiders are there out of all 3000 species of American spiders, namely: Brown recluse, black widow, hobo.
Frequently Asked Questions
Conclusion
Facing spiders is not a major topic to concern about while camping because tackling them is very easy. The amount of harmful venomous spiders are very less as compared to the non-harmful ones. Let me prove it to you with the fact – There are only 12 harmful spiders out of a total of 40000 species of spiders.
All the spider bites are not fatal so don’t panic in case of a spider bite. Only 4 out of a hundred people die due to spider bites per year in America.
Check out our other articles on how to keep snakes, and scorpions away while camping.
Let us know in the comments which of these ways helped you the most. Sharing stories of encounters with spiders. We would love to hear those.
Until then happy camping!
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