Texas & Tarantulas

[Survivor_316]

Do Texans see tarantulas in the wild often? I figured the Texans in here could tell me.

Thinking about attending Mother Earth News Fair in Belton. I used to go to some but the TX one is the only dates that are possible. I really enjoy the workshops.

Anyway I am deathly afraid of anything with eight or more legs. I can keep my wits with hoosier spiders as long as the big ones stay outside, but I cannot handle seeing a tarantula.

I don't really want to stay in the city, but if reduces the chances of coming into contact with a tarantula, I'd rather stay in Austin. ...that should tell you how disgusting I find tarantulas.

 

[DrHenley]

I'd rather see a tarantula than not see a black widow or brown recluse hiding in a place were I put my hand...or foot...

 

[EastenerWesterner]

October is mating season. That’s usually when you see them.
Come to think of it, I haven’t seen any this year.

 

[rainingcatzanddogs]

Tarantulas are the most chill of all the spiders I have encountered here. I actually feel really bad because on occasion I have stepped on a baby sitting on the sidewalk while going outside in the dark.
Most places spray for pests (we don't) so you probably won't see many if any...they try to stay away from places where people or dogs/animals are doing a lot of running around.
If there are any in the vicinity of that fair, they will probably make fast for their holes and not come back out until the coast is clear.
Oh, and Belton is not the boonies anymore. It is just south of and connected to Temple/Killeen along the I-35 corridor. Steer clear of Austin if you can.

 

[Survivor_316]

I'd rather see a tarantula than not see a black widow or brown recluse hiding in a place were I put my hand...or foot...

Ouch!
My fear of spiders is completely irrational. I try to expose myself to them and I've actually gotten better. I saw a grass spider in our bathroom and I didn't freak.

No luck on centipedes, though. I come unglued every time I see them inside.

October is mating season. That’s usually when you see them.
Come to think of it, I haven’t seen any this year.

I'll steer clear in October. Spider sex is not something I'm prepared to handle.

If there are any in the vicinity of that fair, they will probably make fast for their holes and not come back out until the coast is clear.

That makes me feel a lot better. I'm afraid of having one in my tent if I camp. But now I'm worrying about these other spiders you speak of.

Steer clear of Austin if you can.

I don't know the first thing about locations, so I appreciate that. I thought Austin was pretty liberal but didn't know much else.

 

[rainingcatzanddogs]

I don't know the first thing about locations, so I appreciate that. I thought Austin was pretty liberal but didn't know much else.

Liberal and Traffic sucks.

 

[rainingcatzanddogs]

Liberal and Traffic sucks.

They defunded their police department, and refuse to do anything about the homeless issue (they actually give out begging permits) ...they call it the San Fransisco of Texas for a reason.

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/au...oters-will-decide-if-city-needs-more-officers
Take it from me. Unless you want to make a day trip down for a specific reason like a concert or maybe to go to the history museum, just stay away. I do.

 

[DrHenley]

Austin is where the fruits and nuts from California go when they want a place in Texas where they can feel right at home.

 

[Survivor_316]

Ok. Austin is definitely out, then. I refuse to set foot in a city that has defunded the police if I can help it.

 

[Dani]

I have lived in Texas for about 50 years and have never seen a tarantula out in the wild here. I would be more scared of Austin in my opinion. I would rather take my chances of bringing a tent and camping out. It is just beautiful weather this time of year.

 

[Mountain trapper]

Too many bugs down south for me. We have black widows and brown recluse spiders here, but they are rare. I've only seen 2 black widows and have never seen a brown recluse so far. I spray the inside of our house about 3 times a year. Mostly because yellow jackets and stink bugs find their way in, usually when the weather changes.
I think if we would ever see a spider as large as a tarantula we'd move further north.

 

[Survivor_316]

I have lived in Texas for about 50 years and have never seen a tarantula out in the wild here. I would be more scared of Austin in my opinion. I would rather take my chances of bringing a tent and camping out. It is just beautiful weather this time of year.

I wasn't planning to stay in Austin just because it is so far from where I was going, but I was considering flying in and out of that airport. You guys have a ton of airports, though!

Too many bugs down south for me. We have black widows and brown recluse spiders here, but they are rare. I've only seen 2 black widows and have never seen a brown recluse so far.

Yeah, I have only seen 1 black widow where I live and it was outside. We have some HUGE wolf spiders here but they like it outdoors so I don't bother them.

It's the shape and speed of spiders that scares me. I don't really find black widows scary at all. Stupid, but irrational fears are irrational.

 

[rainingcatzanddogs]

I used to be scared of snakes and spiders but, being around them a lot has erased that. Fear of something is often due to a lack of understanding. Once you understand it, the fear goes away because you can predict and control.

I'll use a non-insect example. A lot of people are afraid of horses. They may like to watch them from afar, put pictures of them on the wall but, if you put them in a pasture with five or six unrestrained horses running around together, people are terrified. It is not without cause. They are big animals that can kill you.

However, once you learn to speak their language where you can understand what they are saying and why they are saying it, and speak to them in their language, now you can gradually predict and control their behavior (either theirs or yours in relation to theirs).

It is the same with many fears. Knowledge and understanding goes a long way to assuaging fear.

Fly into Austin. Belton is only about an hour and a half drive from the airport (barring rush hour or traffic accident). Dallas is much further. Just wouldn't stay there.

PS Tarantulas move very slowly which is why they tend to get smooshed on accident.

 

[Helen Back]

I HATE spiders too, but when I heard the vast majority of them are not able to even break your skin IF they bite you, and they eat other bugs, I fear them less. I will even try to relocate them if possible, and I NEVER kill a daddy long legs.

 

[Survivor_316]

PS Tarantulas move very slowly which is why they tend to get smooshed on accident.

That makes me feel a lot better.

I have actually gotten much better by forcing myself to deal with spiders around here. I can now scoop up spiders that are about the size of a quarter and put them outside with a cup. Never could do that before. I had a huge black spider that is never seen before scuttle across my flip flop and I just calmly stepped away from it.

When I was younger, I would have had to shower and been jittery for hours after that.

 

[Survivor_316]

I HATE spiders too, but when I heard the vast majority of them are not able to even break your skin IF they bite you, and they eat other bugs, I fear them less. I will even try to relocate them if possible, and I NEVER kill a daddy long legs.

See, I think a bite is where it stemmed from. As a kid, I was playing with a spider once and it bit me. That little sucker hurt. After that, I slowly got more and more terrified. I think my parents coddled my fear a bit too much and I was able to nurse it a little too long.

But daddy long legs and cellar spiders are fine. I can scoop them up with my bare hands.

 

[rainingcatzanddogs]

See, I think a bite is where it stemmed from. As a kid, I was playing with a spider once and it bit me. That little sucker hurt. After that, I slowly got more and more terrified. I think my parents coddled my fear a bit too much and I was able to nurse it a little too long.

But daddy long legs and cellar spiders are fine. I can scoop them up with my bare hands.

I am not to the point of scooping a tarantula up with my bare hands (they can shoot little hairs out at you if they get scared, that itch like crazy) but, they are really cool to watch.

 

[GaRp58]

We saw quite a few of them in Ft. Worth as a kid, but that was back in 1967-68 and we were living near a huge thousands of square acres empty fields area where they would live, but they would only leave the fields area in search of food and that was not more than about a 1/4 of a mile. They are tough tho. One of the kids had a
pump-up air gun and tried to shoot one with wax pellets. It only got pissed off and started to do something like push-ups and sprang a few feet towards him and scared the living **** out of all of us.

 

[Kevin L]

I like tarantulas and I keep them as pets. I currently have 3.

1) Mexican flame knee (Brachypelma auratum)
2) Chaco golden knee baby
3) Columbian red leg

I was in EMS for a very long time, and I've also volunteered in a poison control center.

Tarantulas from Asia and Africa seem to cause the most problems . . . but this is relative.

I don't believe anyone has ever been hospitalized and/or killed over a pet tarantula, and I believe that I would have been in a position to hear about it.

There is a theoretical risk of a life-threatening allergic reaction to a tarantula bite (it's called "anaphylaxis"), but--again--I've never heard of this happening.

The biggest risk from New World tarantulas are getting their hairs in your eyes, which may cause blindness. These "urticaring hairs" are like microscopic porkypine quills that contain substances like histamine and, possibly, formic acid. No tarantulas from the Old World have these hairs.

Another risk comes from simple infection, as tarantulas feed on vermin such as cockroaches. Puncture wounds have a reputation for being very prone to infection, and a puncture wound with a fang that has been working on roaches would probably need to be carefully cleaned and disinfected.

Please note that there are tarantula-like spiders from Australia (the Sydney Funnel-web spider Atrax robustus is an example) that are quite dangerous and potentially deadly, but such spiders are almst never encountered outside of Australia. These spiders are small, drab, and uninteresting, and Australia also has very strict laws about exporting wildlife.

Having a thriving population of tarantulas around your home may reduce venomous spider bites, as most spiders are cannibalistic, and tarantulas will eat brown recluse spiders. They may also reduce disease, as they eat roaches . . . as roaches are actually the prefered prey of many species.

Below, see photos of microscopic irritating hairs from New World tarantulas:

 

[rainingcatzanddogs]

I like tarantulas. Nancy is the latest one that lives under the spare bedroom window (outside).

 

[Kevin L]

I like tarantulas. Nancy is the latest one that lives under the spare bedroom window (outside).

What species? A Texas Tan?

 

[rainingcatzanddogs]

What species? A Texas Tan?

Don't know. She looks like

Brown....

 

[Survivor_316]

I like tarantulas and I keep them as pets. I currently have 3.

1) Mexican flame knee (Brachypelma auratum)
2) Chaco golden knee baby
3) Columbian red leg

I was in EMS for a very long time, and I've also volunteered in a poison control center.

Tarantulas from Asia and Africa seem to cause the most problems . . . but this is relative.

I don't believe anyone has ever been hospitalized and/or killed over a pet tarantula, and I believe that I would have been in a position to hear about it.

There is a theoretical risk of a life-threatening allergic reaction to a tarantula bite (it's called "anaphylaxis"), but--again--I've never heard of this happening.

The biggest risk from New World tarantulas are getting their hairs in your eyes, which may cause blindness. These "urticaring hairs" are like microscopic porkypine quills that contain substances like histamine and, possibly, formic acid. No tarantulas from the Old World have these hairs.

Another risk comes from simple infection, as tarantulas feed on vermin such as cockroaches. Puncture wounds have a reputation for being very prone to infection, and a puncture wound with a fang that has been working on roaches would probably need to be carefully cleaned and disinfected.

Please note that there are tarantula-like spiders from Australia (the Sydney Funnel-web spider Atrax robustus is an example) that are quite dangerous and potentially deadly, but such spiders are almst never encountered outside of Australia. These spiders are small, drab, and uninteresting, and Australia also has very strict laws about exporting wildlife.

Having a thriving population of tarantulas around your home may reduce venomous spider bites, as most spiders are cannibalistic, and tarantulas will eat brown recluse spiders. They may also reduce disease, as they eat roaches . . . as roaches are actually the prefered prey of many species.

Below, see photos of microscopic irritating hairs from New World tarantulas:

View attachment 19207

Now you just gave my irrational fear some rationale. I didn't know about the blindness. And all this time, I calmed myself by telling myself they can't do any permanent damage.

Y'all are braver than me.

 

[Mountain trapper]

You guys can keep all that nasty vermin down south. If I lived there I'd have to have a tanker of DDT on hand. I don't have a problem with spiders, except when they're the size of a cat and can throw poisoned hair.

 

[bill harrell]

What's the big deal, mosquitoes kill more people than all other animals combined so I hear. What do you do. Bathe in deet. It's kinda like when the inside of your nose stinks. But , nearly all fear stems from imagination of might, possibly, could haves. What we do with that is a choice we make.

 

[Survivor_316]

What's the big deal, mosquitoes kill more people than all other animals combined so I hear. What do you do. Bathe in deet. It's kinda like when the inside of your nose stinks. But , nearly all fear stems from imagination of might, possibly, could haves. What we do with that is a choice we make.

My choice is to skedaddle the other direction and scream like a little girl.

No, joking aside, I do recognize the fear is silly, but I can't completely get rid of it.

 

[Mountain trapper]

What's the big deal, mosquitoes kill more people than all other animals combined so I hear. What do you do. Bathe in deet. It's kinda like when the inside of your nose stinks. But , nearly all fear stems from imagination of might, possibly, could haves. What we do with that is a choice we make.

Last year I saw a total of 2 mosquitoes here at the house, so no need to wear repellent. The only real pest that we have is yellow jackets, hornets and rattlesnakes.

 

[rainingcatzanddogs]

My choice is to skedaddle the other direction and scream like a little girl.

No, joking aside, I do recognize the fear is silly, but I can't completely get rid of it.

I used to have a fear of sharks, wouldn't swim in the ocean. A fear of snakes. A fear of large dogs (childhood trauma). A fear of spiders. Because I was afraid, I learned as much as I could about them. Poof! No more fear. I'm not going to borrow trouble but, at least when I come across these things, I can be confident around them.

 

[Kevin L]

Don't know. She looks like

View attachment 19215

Brown....

That looks like it could be a Texas Tan (Aphonopelma hentzi).

They are essentially harmless, and they make excellent pets. It does look like you possibly have a male. Their abdomens tend to be smaller and their longer legs give them a more "spindle" appearence.

The males are the ones usually encountered in the open, as they leave their burrows to seek out and court females . . . which is often the last thing that they do, if you get my drift.

The males may live 3-5 years, while females may live to be older than 30 years.

 

[rainingcatzanddogs]

That looks like it could be a Texas Tan (Aphonopelma hentzi).

They are essentially harmless, and they make excellent pets. It does look like you possibly have a male. Their abdomens tend to be smaller and their longer legs give them a more "spindle" appearence.

The males are the ones usually encountered in the open, as they leave their burrows to seek out and court females . . . which is often the last thing that they do, if you get my drift.

The males may live 3-5 years, while females may live to be older than 30 years.

That was a picture off the web but, that is what she looks like. She has been there now for a few years. We just leave her be. Makes me sad when the babies come out though as I have accidentally stepped on the first of them in the dark. After that, I keep an eye out.