Urticating Bristles.

[Paul Larke]

Hi everyone,
Joined the BTS last month and this is my first thread.
I’m looking into buying my first tarantula and am pretty keen on a B. Smithi, however the more I learn about urticating bristles the more I question my decision. I’ve got three questions, if that’s ok. If my questions seem very naive, that’s probably because they are.

• I understand that people are effected differently by the bristles, but does anyone know what proportion of people suffer very bad effects? How likely am I to be one of these people?
• If the tarantula is kept in her cage, what is the likelihood of the bristles escaping in to the air and being deposited within the surroundings. My main concern is my 2 year-old son who will be playing within the vicinity of the cage. (BTW I was planning on getting one of the enclosures from ‘House of Spiders’).
• Bristles + Eyes = Bad. How easy is it to avoid getting the bristles in your face and eyes? Is it as simple as keeping the spider away from your face or is it a case of simply being unlucky and it could happen to anyone no matter how careful.

I’d appreciate any answers.

[Peter Roach]

I understand that people are effected differently by the bristles, but does anyone know what proportion of people suffer very bad effects?
How likely am I to be one of these people?

Of course everyone is different and will have different reactions BUT in general it seems that people who are new to the hobby are less effected than people who have been keeping them for years and therefore have almost certainly been subjected by their spiders to multiple episodes of the itchy scratchy attacks

If the tarantula is kept in her cage, what is the likelihood of the bristles escaping in to the air and being deposited within the surroundings. My main concern is my 2 year-old son who will be playing within the vicinity of the cage. (BTW I was planning on getting one of the enclosures from ‘House of Spiders’).

The bristles dont just float about for no reason, only when the spider is disturbed enough will it then start to kick the bristles up into the air. As long as your son doesnt start to actively annoy the spider and then put his face next to the vents of the enclosure then i cant see any real problems.

Bristles + Eyes = Bad. How easy is it to avoid getting the bristles in your face and eyes? Is it as simple as keeping the spider away from your face or is it a case of simply being unlucky and it could happen to anyone no matter how careful.

If and when any of my spiders kick bristles I just close the tub lid. This then keeps them mostly confined to inside of the tub, of course a few will escape into the air but unless your face is inches away from the spiders abdomen then there is generally no problems.
As for being unlucky, I have been keeping tarantulas since 1980 and have several hundred at the moment. I have been 'flicked' easily over several hundred times but as of yet I havent had any bristles make contact with my eyes.
There is a very good article in the latest BTS journal about this subject.

[Luke Scott]

Hello I myself have have a b smithi absolutely amazing and sweet with their hair they affect me quiet a bit but are easily avoided if I wash my hands after and use gloves with them getting into the air just don't put your face over the enclosure and there won't be an issue the hairs will be all over the enclosure so ensure when u do cleaning to be careful I've picked up the water bowl and got hair on me and with the face just stand back and keep your face away and just extend your arms and u will be ok

[Paul Larke]

Thanks for the advice. That puts my mind at rest. Looking forward to getting my first T. Now I only have to convince my wife!

[Stanley A. Schultz]

Dealing with the urticating bristles is actually rather easy. Just keep in mind that tarantulas shed their bristles about like a cat or dog sheds its hair. While you won't actually be able to see the bristles, there will be a "fall out zone" around the cage, and everything inside the cage will eventually be covered with a light dusting of them.

1) Rinse your hands frequently.

2) Move slowly and deliberately around the tarantula and the cage. NO, you don't have to mimic some sort of robot! But quick, jerky moments will lift the bristles into the air and the resulting air currents will float them around the room.

3) Rinse your hands frequently.

4) Wipe the cage and the area around the cage with a damp cloth every now and again. In our spider room with 1,000+ tarantulas, the shelving was lucky to get this twice a year. With one tarantula in a private home, once a week wouldn't be a bad idea.

5) Rinse your hands frequently.

6) Never sneeze or cough into the cage! (Duh!)

7) NEVER TOUCH YOUR FACE OR EYES AFTER DEALING WITH ANYTHING FROM INSIDE THE TARANTULA'S CAGE OR EVEN FROM THE TABLETOP OR SHELF ON WHICH IT SETS UNTIL YOU WASH YOUR HANDS!


If your son begins to develop unusual rashes your first suspect should be the tarantula.

You must be extremely careful that your son DOES NOT get at the cage! Tarantulas and babies DO NOT MIX. At least not without intensive, adult supervision. Is there anyplace in your home where you can place the tarantula and where the baby can't get to? For at least the next several years?



Enjoy your little 8-legged wonder-pet!

[Craig Mackay]

There's not really anyway of knowing if you (or your son) will be affected by the hairs until you are exposed but I would suggest that if you have any pre-existing skin conditions then they probably wouldn't help. Everyone else has given good ways to avoid the hairs but a method that hasn't been mentioned is to give a quick spray of water over the top of the tank as you are opening it. Being so small, the hairs are incredibly light and very efficient at getting airborne. If the spider scatters hairs around the enclosure (which it likely will, particularly around it's retreat) as soon as you open the lid and the air moves they will become airborne. A fine mist of water over the top of the tank will weight the hairs down and send them back down. If you are concerned about the hairs a Brachypelma species might not be the best choice as they are quite keen to flick hairs when disturbed. Calmer choices which are easy enough to get hold off are Grammostola, North American Aphonopelma, Euathlus or Paraphysa. There are new world species which lack urticating hairs but it stands to reason that they are usually either small and speedy or large and aggressive.

I wouldn't worry too much though. If they were that bad and impossible to deal with there wouldn't be so many people keeping them. Perhaps you know someone who already has tarantulas or a local pet shop that might allow you to get a little closer to one to see how you react?

[Paul Larke]

If you are concerned about the hairs a Brachypelma species might not be the best choice as they are quite keen to flick hairs when disturbed. Calmer choices which are easy enough to get hold off are Grammostola, North American Aphonopelma, Euathlus or Paraphysa.

Any thoughts on Aphonopelma Chalcodes?

[Stephen jordan]

I just keep old worlds and do away with urticating hairs all together, Pro's and con's to either really! I never really got affected by urticating hair but as Pete has already said it can build up over time. Last week I got nailed by urticating hairs and it was a double dose from a Brachypelma smithi and then a Lasiodora parahybana and it was awful for 24 hours. I'll stick to the old worlds I think. Only spider with hairs I have is a female Avic amazonica and she doesnt kick, she would rather lift her backside and poo on me. Old worlds are not for everyone though. Just keep your face away and lid back on tub if they kick right away and you should be fine. One problem though that you may encounter is if you insist on handling the spider then there isnt really any escape from the hairs!

[Craig Mackay]

Any thoughts on Aphonopelma Chalcodes?

Nice calm spiders which reach a nice size and are undemanding to care for. They're very slow growing but for the most part it's wild caught adult females that are generally for sale. There are also a lot of undescribed American Aphonopelma species. It's worth looking at sp. New River, sp. Flagstaff Orange, sp. Paysoni etc too.