The tarantula is one of the most recognized spider and it’s probably one of the most feared. They’re known for being hairy and VERY large.

There are over 900 species of tarantulas around the world and about four dozen of those species live here in North America. Most tarantulas found in the United States are brown and believe it or not, harmless. The bite of a tarantula from around California is comparable to a wasp or bee sting. What to do if bitten by a tarantula?

In addition to their infamous fangs, most tarantulas living in both North and South America also have urticating hairs which are more often than not used as a first line of defense. These hairs contain a mild venom that is irritating to sensitive areas.

Tarantulas are most active at night so chances are, you wont see these arachnids walking   around the yard or house by day. You may however, find their burrows (picture to the right) in your yard.

The first sign you have tarantulas nesting in your house is finding one of their silken tube tent nests. The nests can be found in dark corners of storage closets, cabinets and the attic as well as storage boxes and any storage areas in the garage.

If you’ve located a tarantula nest, the best thing is to call a professional to remove the spiders, any eggs and its web. No one wants tarantulas in the house, but they may be beneficial outside. Tarantulas and other spiders help keep other insect populations down.

Did you know tarantulas can live up to 30 years in the wild?

Sorry for the short hiatus (okay several months) but we are back AND you’ll start seeing posts more often than just once a week.

Way back in January we wrote a post about black widow spiders; these black and red bodied spiders are probably the first to come to mind when poisonous insects are mentioned but the brown recluse spider is another poisonous spider that is common in the U.S., especially in the Midwest.

But don’t worry Californians, there are no brown recluse spider populations in California. This is contrary to popular belief…there have been sightings of the arachnids in the state but it is believed they were transported here from the Midwest via people relocating to the state. While there are 100 species of recluse spiders, only a handful can be found in California, and like I mentioned before, the brown recluse is not one of them. Species of recluse spiders found in parts of California include: Desert recluse, Chilean recluse, Russell’s recluse, Martha’s recluse, Baja recluse and the Arizona recluse.

Think you found a brown recluse spider? Here’s a great visual of how to indentify and even misidentify the brown recluse spider. One way to identify any recluse spider is by looking at their eyes. Most spiders have eight eyes arranged in two rows of four but recluses have six eyes arranged in three pairs.

All species of recluse spiders are poisonous (venomous) and are known for their necrotic bite (early death of living cells and tissues). But, most species of recluse spiders are considered pretty laid back…with the exception of the Chilean recluse.

Did you know that recluse is actually from the Latin word recludere which means “sequester?” This name is very appropriate from the recluse family of spider because they love to hide in tree bark, wood piles and even behind picture frames on the wall when in houses.