Odd problem - spiders in garage windows
#11
My garage isn't my shop, and it's uninsulated (well, the door wall and the front wall). The other two walls adjoin the house so they are insulated. 

We have three windows in the garage, which I installed matching blinds on. They aren't fancy - just plain white faux wood - but they look terrible. The garage is partially finished - the walls are drywalled, but only the screw holes are patched - no skim coat and no paint. The windows have stools and sills, but no casing. They are sealed. However, being a garage, plenty of spiders like to build webs in there. I really like spiders as they eat a lot of things I really don't like (flying bugs), but this means that my windows are covered with spider sacs and spider poop. I can clean the glass easily enough, but the blinds are a pain and I have to go over them thoroughly with a Mr. Clean magic eraser every few months.

Is there any way to fix this? I can't keep spiders out (it's a garage, after all, and if I can't keep out the huge spotted salamanders on wet days I certainly can't keep out the spiders.
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#12
My old apartment had 4 sets of venetian blinds:  white; light gray, medium gray and dark gray.  (OK, just one set that morphed in color over the time.)

Venetian blinds have the advantage of letting in direct light, indirect light or no light at all.  Other than that they really suck.  I've thrown all of mine away.  

Vertical blinds are easier to clean.  They work almost as well as venetian blinds.  You see them mostly for doors.  I don't know if they are available for windows.  Not too many places show them.  Here is an example.

[Image: lif_verticals_03.jpg]
No animals were injured or killed in the production of this post.
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#13
(03-29-2018, 08:58 AM)FS7 Wrote: My garage isn't my shop, and it's uninsulated (well, the door wall and the front wall). The other two walls adjoin the house so they are insulated. 

We have three windows in the garage, which I installed matching blinds on. They aren't fancy - just plain white faux wood - but they look terrible. The garage is partially finished - the walls are drywalled, but only the screw holes are patched - no skim coat and no paint. The windows have stools and sills, but no casing. They are sealed. However, being a garage, plenty of spiders like to build webs in there. I really like spiders as they eat a lot of things I really don't like (flying bugs), but this means that my windows are covered with spider sacs and spider poop. I can clean the glass easily enough, but the blinds are a pain and I have to go over them thoroughly with a Mr. Clean magic eraser every few months.

Is there any way to fix this? I can't keep spiders out (it's a garage, after all, and if I can't keep out the huge spotted salamanders on wet days I certainly can't keep out the spiders.

Perhaps grab a wallpaper glue tray, mix some Tide with hot water and drop in the blinds.  Give them about a 10 minute soak and the hose them off.  It is still a cleaning process, but perhaps easier than what you have been doing.  I have found Tide works good for more than clothes.  I have cleaned siding with it.
I tried not believing.  That did not work, so now I just believe
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#14
I inspected a home recently and the owner was there (normally they aren't). He had these gizmos plugged into the outlets and I asked what they were. He said they ward off bugs and assured me that they really work. I didn't see any bugs. Not even in the utility room.
Neil Summers Home Inspections




I came to a stop sign and a skanky tweaker chick in a tube top climbed out of the brush and propositioned me.  She looked like she didn't have any teeth so I counted that as a plus.


... Kizar Sosay





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#15
All good ideas. The vertical blinds would work really well (probably easier than soaking). The only downside is that they wouldn't match. Not the end of the world. 

The thing is, I want the spiders to take care of all the flying bugs...I just want them to be cleaner about it. 
Laugh
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#16
(03-30-2018, 09:06 AM)FS7 Wrote: All good ideas. The vertical blinds would work really well (probably easier than soaking). The only downside is that they wouldn't match. Not the end of the world. 

The thing is, I want the spiders to take care of all the flying bugs...I just want them to be cleaner about it. 
Laugh

I Googled "housebreaking your spiders".  Not much useful information though.

https://www.google.com/search?ei=HFm-Wun...2WlrzDC35s
No animals were injured or killed in the production of this post.
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#17
Do you need blinds in a garage? No blinds means no blinds to clean.
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#18
(03-30-2018, 10:35 AM)Cooler Wrote: I Googled "housebreaking your spiders".  Not much useful information though.

https://www.google.com/search?ei=HFm-Wun...2WlrzDC35s

LOL, thanks to this I now realize people have asked (tried? searched?) to housebreak goats and monkeys.

At my old house I actually did have a wolf spider trained (as much as you can train a spider, I guess) to take bugs from me. He used to camp underneath the porch light and wait for the bugs in the summer. I never had a problem with him pooping in the house, though.
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#19
While a much more expensive solution, you could replace your windows with the ones which have integrated blinds sandwiched in the insulation space between the panes.
I tried not believing.  That did not work, so now I just believe
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#20
(03-30-2018, 02:06 PM)Cooler Wrote: Do you need blinds in a garage?  No blinds means no blinds to clean.

Prying eyes.
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