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OK, OK, I know I am not "up north" anymore, but I just found a TARANTULA on my porch!!! It was about 3" in diameter.
Is this a common critter here?
As long as (s)he stays outhside, that will be cool, but I don't want to wake up with it on my chest, like Peter Brady.
Seriously, is there anything practical I can do to keep them in the garden and away from the house?
Thanks.
Posted : March 16, 2004 12:24 am
cricutmaker reacted
Hello stt,
I haven't seen one in long time. The last one I saw was about the size of an adult's hand, or so it seemed, that was several years ago. They are common enough in gardens/dirt/under rocks. Folks with porches right along the same level as the dirt/garden seem to have more experiences with them coming into or around the house - I suppose easy access. Practical stuff to keep them away - I have heard keep the grass and foliage short and groomed to keep critters in general under control not sure about tarantulas...
Did you freak out when you saw it??
--Islander
Posted : March 16, 2004 1:59 am
I don't believe tarantulas were mentioned in the settlers handbook...
Yikes!
I guess the trade off of not having poisonous snakes is scorpions and tarantulas?
Posted : March 16, 2004 10:51 am
stt: I have only seen them in dark places-storage areas etc. I don't think they like the light of day!! Ha, ha! Wait until you see your first scorpion!! Welcome to the tropics... Yes, luckily no poisonous snakes and no monkeys like they have on St Kitts!! All sorts of annoyances, eh??
Posted : March 16, 2004 11:05 am
stt -I saw one in the grass right in front of the hospital one afternoon. Even though they are poisonous it is more like a bee-sting rather than a rattlesnake. They aren't aggressive & make great pets. The BIG ones are in west Texas...everything is bigger in Texas ya know.
PH
Posted : March 16, 2004 4:08 pm
Whatever you do, don't mention that to Dawn, if you ever encounter her on-line or at one the get togethers...well, not until we move at least! That would put her right over the edge, and no one needs that...especially me!
Posted : March 16, 2004 7:21 pm
*LOL* I did my best to hide the dead one I saw in our hotel parking lot on our last visit out of sight from my husband -- he HATES spiders of any kind. I think I've convinced him that trading snow, smog, diplomats who drive like madmen, and facing bumper to bumper traffic for an hour or more just to travel the five miles between my home and office is well worth encountering the occasional hairy spider.
Please don't mention that the local tarantulas are more likely to pay us a visit becasue we need to buy a home that has everything -- including the porch -- on ground level!
The HipCrip
Posted : March 16, 2004 8:14 pm
Well, I am glad that PH has confirmed what I read last night on the web (get it??...the WEB) that tarantula bites are generally on the order of a bee sting, as long as you aren't allergic (who knows until the first time?)
But still.....I'd rather they were butterflies.
Posted : March 16, 2004 8:39 pm
STT
I'm slapping my knee
Posted : March 16, 2004 8:50 pm
Butterflies abound and the Frangipani Caterpillars have just finished a second round of muching off all the leaves....perhaps they will be gone now..........for another year?????
Tarantulas here on the property the landlord has said....I've only seen one and he/she was in the empty swimming pool?????? Ugh!
Posted : March 17, 2004 11:46 am
LOL, my girlfriend is terrified of all flying/crawling, non pretty bugs, Im sure she would have had a heart attack during my expierence. I woke up one morning, sun glaring on my face(which a hate) and just waking up, doing a big stretch only to look up and behind me to see a HUGE, and i mean HUGE spider. Im not sure if it was tarantula or a Wolf Spider or what, all i know is that it was as big as my hand and it had Hairy Legs an Beady eyes..oh wait, i guess all spiders have beady eyes!! We caught him and threw him as far from the house as possible.. Scary Expierence...
Posted : July 22, 2004 10:46 pm
I have the Settler's Handbook and don't remember any section on tarantulas.....are they on STJ, too?
What about the scorpions?
Posted : July 23, 2004 4:40 am
Hey speaking of Tarantulas.. What if you are alergic to spider bites? Can a doctor give you an epi-pen that would work for tarantulas? This important because I am alergic to spider bites.
Dave
Posted : July 23, 2004 5:29 am
You need to check with Jeanette who is a travelling nurse - she just got a spider bite and was succesfully treated at the hospital here on St.Thomas.
Posted : July 23, 2004 3:42 pm
Don't know 'bout there, but have tons of crawlies here in the desert; tarantulas, scorpians, black widows (lots of them). Just have to take them in stride and hope you don't wake up with one over your head. The scorpian stings here are particularly no-fun, especially at 3 in the morning from a sound sleep. By the way, my wife says they travel in pairs so if you see one, keep an eye out for his/her friend.
Bet Orkin (or similar) stays pretty busy.
Posted : July 23, 2004 8:59 pm
!!!LOL!!! Seriously, that would be the straw that broke the camel's back for my husband! He's from England, an according to him, there is nothing there that could harm anyone (probably wrong, but I never bothered to research it). When we met, I had a 4-ft long iguana (Elizabeth) that he hid from for two years! When I found a black widow in our garage, he didn't believe me. I had to go online and show him pictures of a black widow and compare it to the dead spider on the napkin! He was under the illusion that there was nothing harmful in California either. His only objection about moving to stt was the iguana population. If he found out there are tarantulas... uh-oh!!! => I had no idea either!
Too funny!
Cali
Posted : July 23, 2004 11:32 pm
