Yard Plotted to scale, promise

make it yourself

Giant PVC Spider

A six foot spider with a bin-bag body and eight bendable legs, for about thirty five dollars. It goes up in an afternoon, it packs flat, and it is the biggest thing on this site per dollar spent.

  • $34 ish
  • 4 hrs start to finish
  • confident beginner
  • 3' 6" tall when done

grab this stuff

What you need

  • 4× 1/2 in. PVC pipe, 10 ft lengths $16
  • Black contractor bags $6
  • 2× Black spray paint for the legs $8
  • Zip ties, 100 pack $4
  • 2× Two red LED tea lights for the eyes you have these
  • Newspaper or leaves to stuff the body you have these
  • All in $34

Tools, and that is it

  • Hacksaw or PVC cutter
  • Heat gun, or a kettle and a lot of patience
  • Work gloves

here we go

How to make it

  1. Cut eight legs

    Eight lengths at 40 in. Cut a shallow notch 16 in. from one end of each so you know where the knee goes.

  2. Bend the knees

    Heat each pipe at the notch until it goes floppy, bend it to about 100 degrees over the edge of a bench, hold it 20 seconds and let it set.

    oops-proofing

    Wear gloves and keep the heat moving. PVC held still under a heat gun scorches, and scorched pipe kinks flat instead of curving.

  3. Make the body

    Stuff two contractor bags with newspaper or dry leaves into a fat teardrop about 30 in. long, then zip tie the neck. Double bag it.

    oops-proofing

    Do not stuff it with anything that holds water. Wet leaves inside a trash bag turn into a compost heap in about a week and the whole thing sags.

  4. Attach the legs

    Zip tie four legs to each side of the body, spaced along it, the front pair angled forward and the back pair angled back. Spray the legs black once they are on.

  5. Set it and light the eyes

    Push the leg tips into the ground so the body sits about 30 in. up. Tuck two red tea lights into the front of the body.

    oops-proofing

    A spider standing flat and symmetrical looks like a toy. Crouch one side lower than the other and turn it off square to the street.

one more thing

Legs first, then the body, then set it. Building the whole thing indoors and carrying it out is how you find the door is narrower than the spider.

where it goes

Layouts this one lives in

Same build, any yard shape. Here is where it lands.

  • → Spiders, Spiders, Spiders on a Wide Shallow, No Porch One enormous spider and then a great many smaller ones, with webbing strung between everything that will hold it. The cheapest Halloween theme to scale up, because webbing costs almost nothing and covers an entire yard.
  • → Spiders, Spiders, Spiders on a Narrow Shallow with Porch One enormous spider and then a great many smaller ones, with webbing strung between everything that will hold it. The cheapest Halloween theme to scale up, because webbing costs almost nothing and covers an entire yard.
  • → Spiders, Spiders, Spiders on a L-Shaped with Projecting Garage One enormous spider and then a great many smaller ones, with webbing strung between everything that will hold it. The cheapest Halloween theme to scale up, because webbing costs almost nothing and covers an entire yard.
  • → Spiders, Spiders, Spiders on a Deep Narrow One enormous spider and then a great many smaller ones, with webbing strung between everything that will hold it. The cheapest Halloween theme to scale up, because webbing costs almost nothing and covers an entire yard.
  • → Spiders, Spiders, Spiders on a Corner Lot One enormous spider and then a great many smaller ones, with webbing strung between everything that will hold it. The cheapest Halloween theme to scale up, because webbing costs almost nothing and covers an entire yard.
  • → Spiders, Spiders, Spiders on a Split-Level or Raised Ranch One enormous spider and then a great many smaller ones, with webbing strung between everything that will hold it. The cheapest Halloween theme to scale up, because webbing costs almost nothing and covers an entire yard.
  • → Spiders, Spiders, Spiders on a Sloped or Terraced One enormous spider and then a great many smaller ones, with webbing strung between everything that will hold it. The cheapest Halloween theme to scale up, because webbing costs almost nothing and covers an entire yard.
  • → Spiders, Spiders, Spiders on a Small Urban Postage Stamp One enormous spider and then a great many smaller ones, with webbing strung between everything that will hold it. The cheapest Halloween theme to scale up, because webbing costs almost nothing and covers an entire yard.
  • → Spiders, Spiders, Spiders on a Circular Driveway One enormous spider and then a great many smaller ones, with webbing strung between everything that will hold it. The cheapest Halloween theme to scale up, because webbing costs almost nothing and covers an entire yard.
  • → Spiders, Spiders, Spiders on a Long Driveway, Rural Frontage One enormous spider and then a great many smaller ones, with webbing strung between everything that will hold it. The cheapest Halloween theme to scale up, because webbing costs almost nothing and covers an entire yard.