Maplin N96FY , Raingauge & Spiders

I have very recently had a problem with my Maplin N96FY Weather station where I had obvious rainfall and no readings showing (though everything else was OK). A mini jug of water through the system gave a nice tip/tip/tip/ etc so I thought the problem solved ( but we were in a dry period ). After a few days we had definite rain and again no response .
I found the opportunity yesterday to remove the gauge and inspect it thoroughly . Inside I found two humungous spiders living a semi detached existence either side of the tipping bucket and their separate web cones glueing it down to the side walls on both sides. Needless to say they were evicted ( as was the one living in the mini Stevenson screen section).
To avoid/minimise future problems I will start a program of web destruction on the support brackets and feed wires and fit some gauze in the exit holes below the buckets .
Has anybody done this screening against insect ingress and with what success ( and what material/mesh) ? I prefer not to use pesticides .

Hi Leo, have had the same problem, just used a good dose of fly spray inside the housing. probably not a long term solution tho', like the idea of a mesh so i'll keep an eye on this post. cheers L

My arachnid problem is back as I have not yet located suitable material to act as an insect barrier on the gauge at a suitable price/quantity . Yesterday ( a very heavy rain day here with flooding in the Upper Calder Valley above Todmorden) with no readings .I settled for a vigorous spider de- webbing again . In this mornings mist I found the whole weather system was web meshed like a trawl net yet again . How do they do that in 16 hours ?
Todays action has been a total de- web (again) , removal of the two spiders in residence in the Stevenson Screen Unit followed by a vigorous Air Dusting inside the Rain Gauge with my CFC Free dust remover can . This was done several times from both sides of the tilt buckets in the location in the gauge where the spiders had moved in before . Actively looking again for a suitable plastic gauze / sieve for the 'below tilt bucket' side of things.

I wonder if electrifying the mesh will work...

I had a similar problem with my Watson last year. For some reason, spiders seem to love rain gauges.
My spiders had even set up a larder in the form of a large wasp, which was wrapped up in the web.
I did intend to cover the gaps with mesh, but never got round to it.
So far I haven't had the problem this year, but I may just have been lucky.

Pulled my finger out and ordered this FINE WHITE HDPE 2MM MESH SCREEN 0.6 X 0.5m PLASTIC NET for £5.49 ( all inc ) on eBay . There is a product called Soffit Vent Mesh used by roofers when installing UPVC roof drainage etc . If you know a friendly roofer you may be able to cadge a bit ( or end of a roll ).
I will give this 2 mm mesh a try over the tipper exit holes. Possibly by using a Velcro type material to hold it in place or making a couple of slip in hatches using Plastruct or Plasticard moulded plastic section. I have used these latter materials before when building plastic models ( I am a one time model railway and full size enthusiast - still suffering from the affliction a little ! ) . I will report back

The spider problem has returned over the last couple of weeks (it was believed that the gauge had developed a fault , possibly the reed relay ). It turns out after several air blasts and de- webbing of the support structure that the tenacous humungous ones were back and had webbed the gauge unit internally. A new gauge was purchased and the 2mm HDPE Mesh screening fixed at spider ingress points using a rubber like adhesive used for sticking neoprene and wader repairs. I have placed a picture in LeoLions Gallery of my new screening.Water appears to be draining away well when the bucket action was checked out prior to placing back in the garden location.
The old gauge was opened up , de-webbed and shown to be working reliable in the absence of the spiders ! The two spiders concerned were Darleked . It was also found that the Humidity/Temperature/Transmitter unit had a two spider population . These two were just 'blasted' out into the garden to fend for themselves. There webs were external to the screen.
The old gauge will be re- furbed with screening ready to be re-used if needed.

I also have the same rain gauge but so far i seem to have been lucky, sensors been up since nov 2010 and recently i took them down for a mast upgrade and found no 8 legged lodgers at all.
Although as Nimbus said i think i have just be lucky up until now.

So next time i take the mast down i think i'll be performing a rain gauge anti spider upgrade.