A friend of mine woke up in bed one morning to find a scorpion on the pillow next to him. Not likely to be the nicest thing he's woken up next to (or maybe).

In any case, this freaked me out. so much so that I had to get my proverbial halfbakery hat on and figure something out.

Imagine a roll of tape, much like duct tape, one side sticky, but the other side having a sort of 'netty' surface.

Similar to the fluffy section of velcro this netty stuff would be. Little nylon loops. However when one individual loop were tugged, another 5 would be pulled in. This is possible by using an intricate knotting system in the small gap between the sticky side and the netty surface (hope you're following)

Insects' little legs have all sorts of serrations and jagged endges to allow for it to climb up rough surfaces. So when an insect comes across this tape it would initially get one leg trapped and caught on the thin stringy nylon, then in trying to set itself free from that it would in turn trap it's other legs. The more it tries to get out, the bigger a mess it makes of the situation.

The endgame - big ball of fluff with insects caught in the middle.

This tape could be stuck onto anywhere you fear insects may climb up. Legs of a bed, table, chair etc. Could be made almost enritely see-through so as not to interfere with decor.
-- shinobi, Aug 06 2006

Glue boards http://www.bugsaway...ets/glueboards.html
Another way to trap insects. [Klaatu, Aug 07 2006]

Secret Weapons http://www.amazon.c...344-4641537?ie=UTF8
This book is a great read. Each small (2-4 pages) section deals with a different critter and its defenses. There is a caterpillar with a tail full of these small javelins - one end has hooks and the other end a deal meant to interlock. The hooks hook hairs and porjections on an ant or other foe, then the interlocking parts hook the javelins together. It is sort of a net that builds itself. The ant is incapacitated. [bungston, Aug 07 2006]

Spider Oils http://byfaithonly.com/Spiders.html
Faith cures? or Homeopathy? [The_Englishman_Abroad, Aug 08 2006]

An ingenious invention for the arachno/pantherophobes Dream_20Tiger-Repelling_20Dream_20Pod
rather unrelated to topic, more to suspendobed [jellydoughnut, Aug 09 2006]

If it works then good idea, but I wouldn't want to clean it.
-- fridge duck, Aug 06 2006


I take it you buy this stuff as one-use on a standard roll? Or as [fridge duck] says, cleaning would be annoying if not hazardous.
-- kuupuuluu, Aug 06 2006


When you wake, you will see exactly what nocturnal horrors cohabitate with you, but never found you interesting enough to wake you up.

I think your design would be effective. No good against mosquitoes but I could see this as a help against bedbugs or reduviid bugs.
-- bungston, Aug 07 2006


[Ian]; A scorpion, being an arachnid, is a non-insect arthropod. It seems to me that all arthropod leg essentially have the same kind of hooks on their feet, whether it be an insect, arachnid, or a crustacean.
-- jellydoughnut, Aug 07 2006


I have used glue boards to catch mice and insects. <link> They work very effectively. The only downside is the screaming of the mice when they get caught.

I don't see how this idea would be more effective. [neutral]
-- Klaatu, Aug 07 2006


Given that regular fly paper works well enough without fancy velcro stuff, why don't you use that? If you want to stick it to your furniture, just use regular double sided tape. But I'm thinking that would like pretty awful after a while.

(Fly paper contains pesticide as well as being very sticky.)
-- DrCurry, Aug 07 2006


Glue is messy. This would be effective against insects without the mess.
-- bungston, Aug 07 2006


Right. And more humane toward those afore-mentioned screaming mice, who you can release.
-- jellydoughnut, Aug 08 2006


UnaBubba - The comment about spiders feeding off the siliva on the corners of our mouths' as we sleep is by far the most horrible thing I've heard probably EVER! I am a self confessed arachnophobic, and hearing this has just shattered me. I'm devastated. I dont know what to do now. Perhaps keep gecko on each bedside table to stand guard, or maybe I should sleep in a vaccuum, I just dont know. Can somebody please come up with a brilliant halfbakery idea on how to sleep after hearing this!
-- shinobi, Aug 08 2006


Can't sleep because of the spiders sipping your saliva?

Just go to bed in a body bag... preferably unused...
-- ye_river_xiv, Aug 08 2006


//Can somebody please come up with a brilliant halfbakery idea on how to sleep after hearing this!//

Sedatives?
-- jellydoughnut, Aug 08 2006


Sedatives? They make you drool more. You'd become a regular oasis for spiders.
-- ldischler, Aug 08 2006


Cool. I wouldn't want to handle the scorpion covered tape in the morning, though. Include a convienient pull strip on the tape and a big stompin' shoe with every package.
-- notmarkflynn, Aug 08 2006


//So, instead of waking up next to a reasonably happy scorpion you wake up next to an extremely pissed off scorpion, and also find a couple of spiders that slipped into bed with you during the night for a quick drink of the spit from the corner of your mouth and a half dozen cockroaches that have been in for a nibble on your dandruff?//

Why did you have to say this? Why? I'll fumigate the whole bedroom tonight; you explain the smell to my wife.
-- methinksnot, Aug 08 2006


I thought that spiders like tears better than saliva, Saltier, you know. Perhaps, [shinobi] if you sleep with an onion you could keep the spiders away from your saliva?
-- bungston, Aug 08 2006


If you are particularly worried about Spiders then you could always make a suspendo-bed to hang from the ceiling, that could help. You could also make a nice controlled fire around your bed, I dont believe scorpions like fire.
otherwise their is the Baboon option. Baboons think Scorpions are tasty, (and they double up as Spider connoisseurs too!) Alternatively you could try the essential oils in the (dubious) *link*
Personally I dont like creepy crawlies, but I sleep like a log, and if I can't see it, hear it, taste it, or touch it, it definitely doesn't exist (He said, about to go to bed)
Bun [+]
-- The_Englishman_Abroad, Aug 08 2006


//If you are particularly worried about Spiders then you could always make a suspendo-bed to hang from the ceiling, that could help.// Because we know that spiders' only weaknesses are their poor climbing abilities and fear of heights.
-- jellydoughnut, Aug 08 2006


The suspendo-bed is suspended from the ceiling by inordinately strong pieces of Scorpion Tape.
-- methinksnot, Aug 08 2006


Spiders steer clear out of respect of the bed. I mean, a bed that hangs for the ceiling? You don't mess with that.
-- notmarkflynn, Aug 09 2006


Maybe the entire portion of the ceiling above you is covered with glue. But what if a spider across th room is hanging down from a strand and gust comes in through the window...?
-- jellydoughnut, Aug 09 2006



random, halfbakery