The Imaginary Part

"Do not use in spaces of volume smaller than 5 cubic metres."

This is a statement on the side of the Mortein pest control bomb spray cans. I wonder what's significant about that figure. I know the gas is flammable -- if used in smaller spaces does it spontaneously combust? Does it become potent enough to knock out an elephant? Hopefully I don't get to find out.

I guesstimate that my car has an internal volume of 2-3 cubic metres and there are three cans underneath that tarpaulin. One is inside the car, one is underneath the bonnet and one is underneath the rear. This gives you an idea how serious I am about removing the spider infestation thoroughly this time.

For those who missed it the first attempt was a single bomb inside the car. That killed a few and I've seen minimal evidence of spiders inside the car since then. Unfortunately those under the bonnet and at the back of the car survived. It was a definite improvement but recently I would still see half a dozen spiders on the outside of my car at night-time. They just sit on the paint, work on their webs or hide underneath the door handles. It's not good enough.

So this time I bought a tarpaulin so I can hit the entire car at once. I don't actually expect the concentration to be dangerous -- that tarpaulin will be anything but airtight, but it should keep up a nasty concentration for a couple of hours, which will do the job nicely.

Tomorrow I air it out and give it a good wash and vacuum. Woo.