One of the lesser joys of camping, campervanning, and caravanning is to find a hairy and horrible arachnid hitchhiker or stowaway has taken a liking to all the lovely little hiding places in RVs, trailers, and canvas folds of camping gear.
Free food, warmth, and lodging can prove irresistible to gruesome guests (think Huntsman spiders) that can choose the most frightening times to manifest their presence from behind the dashboard, stove, fridge, mirrors, tent linings, water covers, seats or other automotive nooks and crannies.
"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 or the children pick them up or try to brush them off," says Amanda Lintott, Director of Autonomy, and developer of a powerfully effective spider and ant deterrent, RoadBlock barrier treatment.
Many of these critters come aboard when your RV is parked close to their natural habitat. They may shyly conceal themselves in all the little nooks, crannies, and folds in camping gear – only to emerge when you least expect them, often to a chorus of screams from the horrified hosts and panic attacks by pets and children.
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 vehicle interiors, minimising potentially dangerous distractions for drivers and unpleasant distractions for family and travellers. 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 and interiors, says Amanda.
"We developed this to be the ultimate deterrent to a very common and frightening distraction that pops up often to frighten drivers and RV campers generally, and particularly individuals and families in caravans, campervans, 4WD fold-outs and slide-ons, and five-wheelers, which spend time in areas near habitat.
In addition to being particularly applicable to adventure travellers covering big distances, RoadBlock is:
- Suitable for use on all automotive surfaces and interior spaces
- Especially helpful where vehicles are parked on the roadside overnight, or in garages 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, weather covers and stairways to ovens, refrigerators, water storages, battery bays and warm restful hollow space
- 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 frightened motorists and fleeing holidaymakers, including those travelling with inquisitive children and pets.
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 cars, tables, and cooking surfaces. They get startled by vibrations when the car gets moving. If this happens in a vehicle at high speed, it can be a dangerous distraction but even at low speed, or camping, it's a lot of people's worst nightmare."
While a single arachnid is bad enough, spiders also have a habit of nesting in RVs, leaving cobwebs around side windows, windshield-wiper arms and door and hatch handles where they are not discovered until too late. They also quite like toilets, where their discovery can cause quite a rumpus in confined spaces. Meanwhile, anywhere there's food, there are ants (and they do fancy most things humans do, 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. Carpenter ants – sometimes called sugar ants – are one of the most common and widespread groups of ants in Australia and are known to infest vehicles. It is a nasty surprise when you leave your RV to go adventuring, only to find that masses of carpenter ants have infiltrated the vehicle."
"We believe RoadBlock is the first product designed specifically to keep spiders, ants, and cobwebs from talking hold in vehicles' interiors. While there are many products for homes and gardens, until now there has been nothing out there for like this for vehicles' interiors, to spray between gaps in dining seating, for example, where insects wait for their share of the food. 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 and travel 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."
