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PostPosted: Thu May 05, 2005 8:21 am 
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Joined: Sun Mar 16, 2003 9:19 pm
Posts: 8
Location: Bridgeport,TEXAS
A person I know sent me the below, and I've googled to see if I could find an answer...but came up 'fairly' dry....so I thought I'd ask here and see if anyone here may have a good solution :wink: . I do know that trantulas are beneficial, but, I do understand her concern for her child and cat (both may want to play with the tarantula...and that 'could' be fatal...possibly!)

Thanks in advance for any Natural solution(s)

DJ (North Central [Bridgeport] Texas)
TheNaturalWay101@yahoo.com


Hi DJ,
I'm a member of the [snip] group, and I know that you have a lot of
natural remedies for things. I also know that you recommend The Dirt
Doctor. I just checked his web site and didn't find what I'm looking
for, so I thought I'd see what you might know. I'm also in North
Texas (Plano). Last weekend, my husband discovered the second
tarantula we've seen in our backyard. This is a worst possible
scenario for me!! I am deathly petrified of them, and I don't want
them anywhere near my toddler son or my cat, either. Do you know of
any way to get rid of them, or a way to encourage them to move on? I
don't know if we're doing something that makes a good home for them
or not, and I haven't found any good information on it. The alley
behind our house borders two large open fields, so I know it may be
difficult to get rid of them. Do you have any information on this?
Thanks so much for any help you can give me! I feel like I'm on Fear
Factor, and I would quit at this stunt!! Thanks again!


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PostPosted: Thu May 05, 2005 2:49 pm 
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Joined: Mon Mar 17, 2003 9:06 am
Posts: 358
Location: Midlothian,TEXAS
from Arizona State U

Tarantulas are scary looking creatures but are actually very shy creatures that really want nothing to do with humans. There are no tarantulas in the United States that are considered dangerous to humans. You are in more danger from fainting and hitting your head than you are from the bite of a desert tarantula.

http://chainreaction.asu.edu/desert/digin/fangsting.htm


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PostPosted: Thu May 05, 2005 7:49 pm 
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Joined: Sun Mar 16, 2003 9:19 pm
Posts: 8
Location: Bridgeport,TEXAS
Yes, I realize and know this...and so does this lady...BUT, try telling that to a toddler playing in the back yard who wants to PLAY (or try to) with it! She is looking for something NATURAL to put in/around her fence line to 'deter' them from coming 'into' her yard...so the child won't try to play with it...OK :wink:

A TODDLER will not understand 'DON'T touch or play' with them. By NATURE, toddlers ARE curious, and want to play with them.....which is a NO-NO.

DJ


kbrew wrote:
from Arizona State U

Tarantulas are scary looking creatures but are actually very shy creatures that really want nothing to do with humans. There are no tarantulas in the United States that are considered dangerous to humans. You are in more danger from fainting and hitting your head than you are from the bite of a desert tarantula.

http://chainreaction.asu.edu/desert/digin/fangsting.htm


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 Post subject: Poor Tarantula
PostPosted: Thu May 05, 2005 8:57 pm 
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Joined: Wed May 21, 2003 5:33 pm
Posts: 829
Location: Dallas,TX
You can make the tarantula feel unwelcome by finding out where it lives and collapsing its home. Kind of like knocking down the wasp nest...
Their prey is obviously in her yard, and the lair (underground or beneath some structure in the soil) shouldn't be so hard to find. After all, isn't "destructio of habitat" the most often sited reason for wildlife relocating? Or they could trap it and get it out in the empty fields. It mght not want to go to all the effort to make the journey back.

Can't say I'd hate to have one in MY back yard, but then again my Yorkie might come out on the short end of that stick. So far he seems to learn quickly to leave the "boogers" alone.

Uh...not to criticize but really, a toddler shouldn't be out in the yard alone anyway. Just an observation here.
Kathe


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PostPosted: Thu May 05, 2005 9:20 pm 
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Joined: Mon Mar 17, 2003 9:06 am
Posts: 358
Location: Midlothian,TEXAS
Paradise wrote:
Yes, I realize and know this...and so does this lady...BUT, try telling that to a toddler playing in the back yard who wants to PLAY (or try to) with it!

I was just responding to your comment that it could be fatal. It has been my experience that toddlers have a built in caution when it comes to certain creatures. And if they did happen to want to play with it, it would do no harm. Dogs, as well, are in no danger whatsoever.

They are absolutely harmless, and as you said, very beneficial. So to me, it's just not something to worry about. To get rid of them you have to get rid of their prey, as Kathe said. That is a difficult thing to do unless you want to just nuke the yard with toxins.


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PostPosted: Tue Jun 10, 2008 3:29 pm 
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Joined: Wed Jul 02, 2003 8:09 pm
Posts: 1917
Location: Fort Worth,TEXAS
There is another easy and obvious answer to this tarantula "problem." As a park ranger for many years, it has been my experience that if you teach people about the thing they fear, they can come to appreciate, or at least, respect it. Tarantulas are a good candidate for this kind of interpretive approach.

That child is no longer a toddler, but regardless of the age, the smart parent would make that tarantula hole a special feature in the yard. I still occasionally do flashlight tours with my children, and we go looking for the spiders and other night-time critters (they're teenagers now). Occasionally I get a tour request when they have friends staying over. :)

Alas, I haven't been able to teach my dogs to leave critters alone, so I rescue what I can, and block access to others.

Northwesterner


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