When the summer heat starts to dissipate somewhat in the early evening, I open all the people doors in our coop to let the breeze through and bring the temperature down. Then before I head to bed I close the doors up again to protect the hens from late night predators. The worst part of walking around the outside of the coop at night is running into a face full of spider web. To say I make strange noises when suddenly draped with sticky gossamer threads is putting it mildly. So I have learned, finally, to use a flashlight to see the webs before I envelope myself, and how to disarm the trap so I can pass by.

The webs spread across paths usually have three or four anchor points. It is amazing how these eight-legged critters establish the anchor lines as they drift around on the breeze, and equally wonderful that if you break one of the lines, the web collapses and the spider moves in the opposite direction. Away from the break and that which broke it! No spiders in my hair or crawling up my arm, no web across the path or on my skin, and eventually they stop setting up shop in that spot. This method of disarming also looks much more dignified than waving a stick in front of you as you walk, like a deranged wizard.