One of the scary agitations of professional drivers' lives is to hop into their cab to find a hairy, horrible, and venomous eight-legged guest has moved in with them.
Worse, these unwelcome gruesome hitchhikers (think Huntsman spiders) can choose the most frightening times to manifest their presence from behind the dashboard, mirrors, or other automotive nooks and crannies – prompting alarming and erratic driving, such as when backing up in a complicated docking manoeuvre, overtaking, or blissfully tracking down the highway.
"Australia has thousands of species of spider, and plenty of them rather fancy a nice warm place to rest and nest. Only a few – funnel webs and redbacks – can kill people, but plenty of others can give a really painful long-lasting bite if you sit on them or try to give them the flick. And they are all frightening and totally distracting when they pop out unexpectedly," says Amanda Lintott, Director of Autonomy, and developer of a powerfully effective spider and ant deterrent, RoadBlock barrier treatment.
An Australian solution to Australian pests
RoadBlock barrier treatment is formulated and manufactured in Australia to be immediately efficacious, then provide up to three months' barrier protection to keep spiders and ants – and their nests and webs – out of vehicles, minimising potentially dangerous distractions for drivers. The powerful and long-lasting treatment – which is compliant with the requirements of the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) – is in a different category of potency from standard sprays, but safe to use on all automotive surfaces, says Amanda.
"We developed this to be the ultimate deterrent to a very common and frightening distraction that pops up often to frighten drivers generally, and particularly truckies, tradies, service techs, delivery drivers, forklift drivers, and others operating along the logistics and warehousing chain."
In addition to being particularly applicable to professional drivers covering big distances yearly, traversing many spider and ant habitants, RoadBlock is:
- Suitable for use on all automotive surfaces of big rigs, rigid trucks, utes, vans, cars, bikes, RVs. 4wds, forklifts and mobile machinery
- Especially helpful where vehicles are parked on the roadside overnight, or in garages and sheds already hosting a peripatetic population of ants and spiders
- Easy to apply, with a 360-degree nozzle and straw applicator for hard-to-reach spider and ant preferred habitat and onboarding points, including side mirrors, wheel arches and grilles
- APVMA compliant, safe to use on all automotive surfaces, and contains no oil to degrade paint or cabin finishes
- Designed to keep unwanted insect passengers at bay and reduce the risk of accident or injury for motorists.
A recent online poll conducted by Autonomy Co found 78 per cent of drivers had experienced a spider in their car, 79 per cent had had problems with cobwebs and a scary 23 per cent had come close to having an accident after discovering a spider in their car.
"The most common stowaways are huntsman spiders, which can grow up to 15cm wide, but others include venomous redbacks and famously hairy wolf spiders," says Amanda
Warm Welcome
"Spiders are attracted to the warmth of engines and can often be found in the engine bay, door frames, or on the underside of the car. They get startled by vibrations when the car gets moving. If this happens at high speed, it can be a dangerous distraction but even at low speed it's a lot of people's worst nightmare."
While a single arachnid is bad enough, spiders also have a habit of nesting in cars and leaving cobwebs around side windows, windshield-wiper arms and door handles which can obstruct vision and be tricky to shift.
Meanwhile, anywhere there's food, there are ants (and they do fancy lunchtime pies, sandwiches, and especially anything sweet).
"Ants also can give terrific bites, worse than a bee sting, as anyone who has been nipped by a bull ant will tell you," says Amanda.
"Our research shows 11 per cent of drivers have experienced ant infestations in their car. Ants are hard to get rid of and can lead to costly repairs if they manage to infest electrical systems.
"We believe RoadBlock is the first product designed specifically to keep spiders, ants, and cobwebs from talking hold in vehicles. While there are many products for homes and gardens, until now there has been nothing out there for vehicles. We are enthusiastic to expand distribution of this product throughout Australia, and to investigate manufacture of the formulation overseas for major markets there as well."
About us:
Autonomy is an Australian brand of car products and specialist online store, which is launching the new RoadBlock ant and spider barrier treatment to Australia. Founded by Amanda Lintott, Autonomy launched in 2022 with its own brand of products but will continue to add to this range to offer a curated selection of products and solutions for all drivers, not just enthusiasts. Amanda says: "After years in the car industry, I couldn't think of a single brand of quality products designed for everyday drivers or place to shop for them. Sure, there are high end products available at luxury car dealerships and products designed for enthusiasts at specialty stores – but nothing in between. That's why I launched Autonomy."
