Need to Know the Truth About Tarantulas

[VJS]

There are many types of tarantulas in the world, - none have been known to have a bite that is deadly to humans. Unless you mess with them, they just try to get out of your way. I've only seen them when the sun is down, your chances to see one during the day are pretty minimal.

 

[cjewell]

On the topic of scary stuff, jungles and riviers - anybody ever encounter a Croc in DR? If, where?

 

[TP666]

Yesterday there was a scorpion in my bathroom. Killed him on the spot. That's 4 I've seen here. Tarantulas I see all the time. In Mexico 10% of homes have them in their homes as pets. Here Dominicans and Mexicans kill Praying Mantis. They both say that they kill Horses. DUH

 

[belgiank]

On the topic of scary stuff, jungles and riviers - anybody ever encounter a Croc in DR? If, where?

Plenty of those on Pedro Clisante, and some are quite pretty, but wait till they get their teeth in you

 

[LindseyKaufman]

Don't kill tarantulas. They are an important part of our eco system. They eat mosquitoes and other insects. A large tarantula is 35 years old. They are typically shy critters. They will not attack unless aggravated. If you see one and are scared sh##less, just walk (or run) away. Been there, done that.

Lindsey

 

[AnnaC]

Ok, so do any of these things bite and make you dead? The creatures of this world don't worry me much unless they bite and make me dead.

 

[cjewell]

Don't kill tarantulas. They are an important part of our eco system. They eat mosquitoes and other insects. A large tarantula is 35 years old. They are typically shy critters. They will not attack unless aggravated. If you see one and are scared sh##less, just walk (or run) away. Been there, done that.

Lindsey

I am not worried about seeing one - I have seen one when I was living down there, put a bowl on it and got the pool guy to take it outside --- I want to avoid going anywhere that has the volume that, that blogger described.

 

[Rattus_Rattus]

Ok, so do any of these things bite and make you dead? The creatures of this world don't worry me much unless they bite and make me dead.

As long as you are not allergic, you should be very safe.

 

[Xavier_Onassis]

I thought that "jungle" had become sort of a taboo word, and we were supposed to replace it with "rain forest".

Savages live in jungles. Tribal peoples inhabit rain forests.

 

[trucker]

I live in the country and we get them all the time. Two in the house last week after a rain. They eat bugs and even baby mice. I put them in the garden an stable where I keep grain for my cow. They won't bite you if you don't step on them. We always shake out our shoes and clothes. Found one in my tool box once. They have big teeth.

 

[Naked_Snake]

Yes but what is considered jungle in DR??

Los Haitises National Park could be described as one.

 

[malko]

The " religious manta" sting hard, very hard. Hate the huge centipeds too, been told they sting very hard and the poison packs a huge whack. In my campo they say dont kill a centiped by walking on it cos ure feet will hurt for days ( yes even with shoes on !!!! ) I ve never tried colin is better and safer......

Its very "rain forest"/jungle type here but never seen any tarantula here. Snakes yes, big spiders, yes but never a tarantula.

 

[La Rubia]

Kharma dictates that you stop worrying about this in advance. I had a friend who was afraid of spiders come visit me, and of course they come out in force for his visit. Phobias can be conquered, but not by obsessing about them. The more we assure you there won't be a problem, the more likely you are to have that exact problem. Those that don't have spider phobias tend not to notice them.

"Jungle" when referring to the DR is certainly a gringo term. There isn't a tropical jungle with a canopy, understory, and all those creatures inside ala Amazon.

Enjoy Jarabacoa, and just brush off the spider and keep going. And certainly you know there's always someone willing to come to the aid of a frightened gringa.

 

[dv8]

i have been several times to the "jungle" and trust me, in DR it's not what you believe it to be humans are seen and heard from far away and no forest creature wants to be seen in our disreputable company. you are really unlikely to see a tarantula on a tourist outing, less for that harmless, bored to death specimen to accompany fat gringos in photos. been to jarabacoa, constanza and the mountains few times, on excursions, in farms, visiting messy storage places. not even a sight of little eight legged cuties. you are perfectly safe. enjoy your time in DR and stop thinking about spiders.

 

[Chennifer]

We've only been here for little over 3 months, and my husband caught a cacata in our bathroom, on the second floor, in santo domingo. I've seen a few dead on the roads here (we live close to a river with lots of green, so they seem to like it there) But like dv8 said they'e probably more afraid of us than we of them, and I think I've heard the only time they actually try to enter someones house is when it rains?

I'd be more scared of centipedes, a really big one bit me 4 times in Cabrera (I was asleep and woke up screaming) and I was sick for days. But I think we just had bad luck with that one...

I've read in several places that there is rainforest in the DR but I've never seen one before so I wouldn't know how to judge that...

 

[Hillbilly]

NOTE to OP: There is no way in Hell that there were 10 tarantulas walking across a ceiling!! Those were just spiders. Tarantulas are very solitary creatures.

PLEASE do NOT Kill Them...Put a wastebasket over them, slide a paper or folder under and take it outside. Along with snakes they are part of Nature's Clean Up Squad. They eat lots of pests.

As for centipedes, oh Yeah! Squoosh them to death. No, do not think that dead they can't bite, it is a reaction. HOWEVER, like most of our nasties (Black Widow Spiders, Centipedes and Scorpions) these creatures like dark, dank places (like your shoes or dirty clothes piles) Black Widows like solid structures, dark places, like wood piles, underground registers, places like that.

Just be careful..It is their country after all.


HB

 

[pelaut]

Tarantulas are quite common here. They live in holes in old logs, in the ground and crevices in your house.
Their bite is poisonous only from the southern South American species — Tierra del Fuego.

Taratulas are our friends. They eat our enemies, mosquito larvae, etc.
They lay up to 500 eggs at a time.
They live up to 25 years, and they are trainable as pets. You keep them in an aquarium (herpa-tarium or some such), and feed them lettuce and water, then take them out to do tricks on the table when dining with friends.

Tarantulas are neat. I read up on them the day I threw by bathrobe on and discovered one hiding in the robe's armpit. I didn't die, and I made a new friend.

 

[dv8]

that reminds me how a visiting friend panicked that there was a giant spider in her room. armed in flashlights we checked under the bed and there was one of those common brown coloured spiders, maybe a size of 5 peso coin, with legs and all. while the friend was encouraging us to kill it with fire we put the poor thing on a piece of paper and threw it outside the window.
i think when we see things we dislike and are scared of our imagination makes it worse that it really is.

 

[pelaut]

dv8: Those eight legged brown house spiders (so they're called), like geckos and chameleons, eat larvae of ants, mosquitos and roaches. I grew up in south Florida where it was considered a crime to toss a "house spider" out of the house.

 

[dv8]

it was either out or dead because of my friend they do not bother me at all...