Cobwebs inside my Dob.

[Orange Smartie]

Noticed a few cobwebs (Dobwebs?) inside my Dob while I was checking the secondary. It's going to be open to the elements in use, so I guess that sort of thing is unavoidable, but is there any particular way of dealing with this (other than very carefully removing them)? I think the little spiders can probably get in through the bottom of my dob, so I doubt it's possible to prevent them in the first place.

[scarp15]

Think that I would be pretty horrified if I saw cobwebs (Dobwebs) inside the tube of mine (though occurred with my former 14" once when the primary dust cap had dropped off). I do try to keep the dust caps tightly in place, yet is due a clean since a few annoying specs have formed / blown in onto the primary. There is no such place as a spider free zone of course, yet mine is kept in the corner of a relatively warm clean back room. Would employ using an air blower or vacuum cleaner suction hose maybe, if lodged onto a mirror surface, an artists soft sable brush used lightly might shift it. 

[Xilman]

Cobwebs happen. Live with it. A feather duster will remove any which are in the light path.

Over here in La Palma we are much more concerned about gecko droppings, which gets everywhere and is far more damaging than cobwebs. It is essential to keep optical surfaces covered when not in use.

Sorry to be blunt, but that's life.   😉

Edited January 19 by Xilman
Compensate for forums Bowdlerization

[PeterStudz]

And watch out for spider poop! I had that on an old secondhand Dob. Surprisingly hard to remove from the primary too and obviously can’t do it any good. 

[Carbon Brush]

Alternatively - the spiders catch anything else that is in there😁.

Something used by intruder alarm people on PIR detectors is a silicone polish, like Mr. Sheen. Other brands are available.
Apparently the creepy crawlies don't like the fumes so spin webs elsewhere.
Obviously you can't spray mirrors and you don't want the matt black tube made shiny.
But a bit of chemical deterrent sprayed on the inside of the end cap before refitting, or brushed on the back of the main mirror every so often has to be worth thinking about.
 

[Xilman]

4 minutes ago, Carbon Brush said:

Alternatively - the spiders catch anything else that is in there😁.
 

Geckos eat spiders ...

[Mr H in Yorkshire]

1 hour ago, Xilman said:

Geckos eat spiders ...

But what do all creatures do following eating?

Edited January 19 by Mr H in Yorkshire

[niallk]

'Dobwebs' 😂😂🤣

[Backyardscope]

The spider was called James Web.

[maw lod qan]

Sometimes I leave an eyepiece, capped, in the focuser when parked.

Then I put the covers on the ends of the scope and finder scope.

Started viewing one night, got the moon in the finder, put my eye to the eyepiece and saw nothing!

Finally I took out the eyepiece and laying just below it was a frog, completely blocking the view.

[bosun21]

Easily prevented by simply placing a bar stool cover fitted over the primary mirror end and one on the top as well if you have a loose fitting cap.

[Xilman]

55 minutes ago, maw lod qan said:

Sometimes I leave an eyepiece, capped, in the focuser when parked.

Then I put the covers on the ends of the scope and finder scope.

Started viewing one night, got the moon in the finder, put my eye to the eyepiece and saw nothing!

Finally I took out the eyepiece and laying just below it was a frog, completely blocking the view.

Here in LP is hosted a robotic observatory for a chap in Cheshire. When I am also in LP I do tech support and can recount wild life stories.

Once we were watching a gecko wandering around in the view of the web cam set up to monitor the conditions inside the dome.

On another occasion, the dome would sometimes go to its parked position on request and sometimes it would not.  I hate irreproducible bugs intensely. After some investigation I found that a spider was setting up home between the led and photodiode which the dome controller used to monitor the position of an occulting bar attached to the movable part of the dome. Depending on whether the spider was at home or not the beam would be interrupted and the dome controller would believe that the dome had reached the parked position because it thought the occulting bar had moved into place.

[Marvin Jenkins]

Conkers 

[Captain Scarlet]

I have had web issues, and spider excrement too, which as mentioned is annoying to remove. I now store my newts primary-down, which may not be possible with your dob. To remove the webs, I swirl a stick around inside from the spider end (apols for the irrelevant pun 😬) having first made sure the length of stick I’m using won’t go as far down as the primary.

Magnus

[Bugdozer]

2 hours ago, Marvin Jenkins said:

Conkers 

Doesn't work. My mum believed this for a while, leaving conkers in the corner of her rooms, until I pointed out a spider had actually built a small web between two of the conkers... 

[Mognet]

1 hour ago, Bugdozer said:

Doesn't work. My mum believed this for a while, leaving conkers in the corner of her rooms, until I pointed out a spider had actually built a small web between two of the conkers... 

I guess if you're sitting on the sofa and throwing them at any visible spiders then they're likely to work! 🤣

[Mr H in Yorkshire]

18 hours ago, Bugdozer said:

Doesn't work. My mum believed this for a while, leaving conkers in the corner of her rooms, until I pointed out a spider had actually built a small web between two of the conkers... 

Where do these stories (myths) come from. We had collected a load of conkers for the grandsons, they were down in our cellars which are spider heaven (hell to my wife). Within a day they were totally covered in web.

[Orange Smartie]

20 minutes ago, Mr H in Yorkshire said:

Where do these stories (myths) come from. We had collected a load of conkers for the grandsons, they were down in our cellars which are spider heaven (hell to my wife). Within a day they were totally covered in web.

It's the other way round. Ever since I've had a spider in my dob, it has been totally conker-free.

[Marvin Jenkins]

19 hours ago, Mognet said:

I guess if you're sitting on the sofa and throwing them at any visible spiders then they're likely to work! 🤣

That is what I was suggesting.

[Marvin Jenkins]

2 hours ago, Mr H in Yorkshire said:

Where do these stories (myths) come from. We had collected a load of conkers for the grandsons, they were down in our cellars which are spider heaven (hell to my wife). Within a day they were totally covered in web.

But those are the rare conker spider! The only known species to actually thrive in conker environments.

They are a species of arachnids that normally live out thier lives in the limbs of the Northern Red Horse Chestnut. Due to the decline of this tree, by way way of parasite infection the Spiders have no other option but to seek alternative accommodation.

I have tried Chestnuts but the spiders said I was sweet enough already

[Marvin Jenkins]

Obviously everything I previously wrote was made up on the spot.

However... Living in SW France we seem to be on the border of the hospitable environment for the Horse Chestnut. 

I am a landscape gardener and the Horse Cestnut is diseased and in decline. An insect parasite seems to be the cause, and many clients of mine use a hanging pheromone trap.

My joke about the Northern Red Horse Chestnut is that there is one old avenue of trees near me that flower red. It seems to be the only place.

As to Sweet Chestnut this far south, never seen any any. As to spiders, no idea.