Must be Spring, the tarantulas are out.

[Bookworm]

Saw the first tarantula of the year today, somewhat earlier than usual.

Come mid-May, it'll be mating season, and the area will be crawling with them.....
pun intended....

[Mk42gunner]

We don't have those here, yet. Thirty five years ago I could say the same thing about armadillos.

I saw a few white irises blooming today and thought it was awful early for them too.

Robert

[jim147]

I interrupted a group of water snakes mating on the bank by the shop this afternoon seems too early.

[winelover]

In North Central Arkansas, we usually see them mostly in the Fall.....during mating season. Males have a rusty red spot on their back.

Attachment 193492


Winelover

[54bore]

I am glad we dont have them here!

[jmort]

Tarantulas are not a problem. Had many around my houses. Now ticks, chiggers, Deer flys, wasps, hornets, brown recluse, black widows, scorpions and poisonous snakes, I could live without those.

[Bookworm]

I agree, tarantulas look ugly and mean, but really don't cause problems.

Brown recluse (fiddlebacks) and black widows are far more dangerous, and incidentally far smaller.

[marlin39a]

Tarantula's are very docile. Slowly put your hand to the ground, and they will crawl up your arm. Yes, I've done it several times.

[3leggedturtle]

I'd take tarantulas over fire ants any day.

[johnson1942]

snakes are out here, saw a big one in the garden plot.

[gatortommy]

I'll trade you some mosquitoes for a few tarantulas.

[Blackwater]

Here in Ga., it's not tarantulas, but mosquitos that flourish in springtime. And we've long been noted for our population of these devlish bloodsuckers. My house is next to a little "branch" that's mainly a drainage for big rains, and is only really running after big rains. But it's aplenty to keep the mosquito population up at a high level. Now, we have these devlishly silent little black ones that you can't hear, and can't even feel when they light on you, but DARN! Those things itch like crazy! And you're already bit and itching before you notice them! I just HATE these devlish things! I think I'd much sooner deal with big spiders, and I have a fairly mild case of arachnaphobia! I just HATE things that can "sneak up" on you unnoticed! We have a lot of black widow spiders here, but except for woodpiles, they usually keep where one's hands don't often probe. Brown recluses, too, and they venture out more than the black widows. I have a hard time telling them from the big wolf spiders. The river has a huge population of those.

A friend of mine up in N. Ga. was a Viet Nam vet who spent most of his time in the boonies there, and he absolutely HATES any kind of bugs! He learned that in VN, where he'd often have to sit or lay stock dead still and let the bugs eat on him while nearby VC passed close by. He will NEVER get over his hatred for bugs of any kind. And the more I get bit, the more I sympathize with him. Every place on earth has its hazzards, and that's just ours here. One learns to deal with them as best as one can, or else move to some place with different hazzards, I guess? That's all I've been able to figure about it, at least.

[DLCTEX]

Tarantulas don't do any harm, just give you the willies.

[3band53]

Spiders, eight legged freaks of nature that have evil in their minds (if they have such). I hate spiders and any kind of arachnids. One of the worst is the vinagrone, looks like a scorpion crossed with a tarantula on steroids.