DIY Giant Outdoor Spider

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The weather is changing, the leaves are falling, and we’re less than two weeks out from Halloween. It’s everyone’s favourite season, but this year the gloomy days are hitting me harder than normal – anyone else the same? Last week we had a couple good Fall days (bright and crispy!) and I managed to whip up possibly my favourite Halloween decoration ever.

Meet the newest addition to the Halloween decor family – this DIY giant outdoor spider.

A few years ago, I purchased one of those giant outdoor spiderwebs that hangs from the gutter for $10 on end-of-season clearance from Home Depot. Every year since, I’ve been trying to find the perfect statement spider to accompany it. I’ve seen the 5ft furry spiders online, but in seeing them around my neighbourhood I quickly realized they weren’t what I imagined. The fur doesn’t seem very outdoor-friendly to me (do these not get gross and musty?) and I hate how “skinny” they look.

I wanted a statement piece… and what do we do when we can’t find the right item to fit the vision? We make it ourselves. DIY everything!

Here’s how I created this DIY giant outdoor spider.

Supplies:

• • Newspaper / bubble wrap – Any type of filling you can find around the house.
  • A garbage bag
  • Black duct tape – I found this was cheapest at the dollar store. Both Dollarama and Dollar Tree carry it for $1.50 per roll.
  • Foam pipe insulation – I used 8 6ft pcs, but this depends on the size of your spider
  • Thick wire – I used 12 gauge, but anything that will hold a shape works

Directions

1. Stuff a garbage bag with your choice of filling and mold a body. I used a mixture of newspaper and bubble wrap as filling, molded the shape I wanted, and used tape to secure it.
2. Add wire to foam tubing to create legs. I ran wire through the center of each tube and made to leave an additional 3-4 inches of wire coming out the end to create some stability when adding them to the body later on. Once the wire was in place, it was pretty easy to bend each leg into shape.
3. Cover everything in black tape. This spider required no paint, no clean finish, just tape. I chose black duct tape because it’s extremely resistant to weather. I wanted this spider to be very black and I knew the tape wouldn’t fade, bleed, or wash away. One layer slightly overlapping on the edges was perfect.
4. Attach the legs. After everything was wrapped in tape and looked really solid, I attached each leg individually. I did this by driving the excess wire straight through the body and taping around the connection point.
5. Position your giant spider. After everything was attached, I positioned the legs perfectly and it was complete!

I wasn’t sure how the spider would hold up, but it’s incredibly sturdy. I can pick it up, move the legs, and nothing falls apart. It’s been raining non-stop and it appears the garbage bag + duct tape combo is pretty much waterproof. Originally I imagined this would be somewhat of a temporary decoration, but I think we’ll actually be able to remove the legs and store it for use over the coming years!

Not bad for a total cost of around $20.

I originally hoped the spider would sit up on top of the web, but I decided I actually love him so much more right at the bottom. I might add some smaller spiders on the actual web, but for now I really like the feel that he’s climbing down to get you.

I’m obsessed with this DIY giant outdoor spider!

This DIY worked out so well that Chris and I have talked about adding a few more of these spiders to our roof next year. Can you imagine!? I also think I might explore this exact technique a bit more – I’m picturing mummies using white tape.