The spatial decay of solutions to initial-boundary value problems for a semilinear parabolic equation in a semi-infinite cylinder of variable cross-section subject to zero condition on the lateral boundaries is investigated. A second-order differential inequality that shows the spatial decay O(exp(−z2/(4(t+t0)))) for an L2p cross-sectional measure of the solution is obtained. A first-order differential inequality leading to growth or decay is also derived. In the case of growth, an upper bound for blow-up in space is obtained, while in the case of decay an upper bound for the total energy in terms of data is obtained.