Tarantulas. You like 'em, come get 'em

[daveshoot]

Normally we get about one tarantula a year, somewhere around the house, in the fall.

We have had 5 in the last week, two from the attic.

If you're in the "they're so cute, let them go" school of thought, look elsewhere. Now. We do not want to hear it.

#1 was on the main entrance door when we came home at night.
#2 was on the outside wall just around the corner from main entrance.
#3 fell from the bathroom air vent while momma was on the toilet. It landed next to the sink. It was pretty big. This did not play out well.
#4 was about 18" from my face when I went up in the attic to finish a hot and nasty wiring project up there, and I do not mean the kind of hot and nasty that our lowest common denominator will interpret.
#5 was on the eave above the main entrance door in the eave about 9 feet up. That would be 3 m if you're a communist, or something.

These have all been within a one week span. I have killed them all with the kid's shovel. Go mourn for your little friends. I am fixin' to kill a whole lot more.

I have been in California long enough to know "they are wonderful and misunderstood little animals", much like pit bulls, but without the charm. However, I am generally ok with well-mannered pitbulls, but to coin the phrase, I am tired of all these m*#+#*rf@*+$g hairy ***** spiders in this m*#+#*rf@*+$g house. Momma is ready for restraints and tranks.

What's up, and what stops them? The first local pest control outfit we called was a) incredulous and b) unhelpful. I don't mind calling professionals but these people are geared to ants or something. I want an airstrike.

 

[Jstpssng]

Do they make good fertiliser?

Sorry, that's the only good use that I can see for a spider that big.... (Unless it's a Spyder- )

 

[Buckgnarly]

It's posts like this that make me feel all warm inside during those LONG, COLD Winters up here!

 

[murphy1244]

Yes you need some chemical warfare!

 

[daveshoot]

Gentleman, I am from Michigan. Noting your various locations, I can assure you I am of the same mindset. A few inches of snow and a fortnight of sub-zero, and this post would be unnecessary. But here we, and they, are.

Some shovel snow, some shovel tarantulas, but this is freakin' abnormal.

The local mother Gaia types will tell you how they control other pest insects. I was and am overrun with pest insects. Nothing I can't live with, but they were just as bad before and will just as bad after these nasty buggers are gone. They aren't controlling beans except the wife.

She is ready to shoot blindly into the ceiling with a Big Gun and that would not be very Kalifornian, although she is a native. I was thinking there would be a kindler, gentler way, like flamethrowers or cyanide. Perhaps some Southwestern types will have an opinion or experience.

I went to the really good local hardware that knows everything. The old guy there that knows everything about everything, who can tell you how to do every little repair and kill every little weed, reacted incredulously. "Tarantulas! I'd bomb the attic." And he walked away, mumbling, "bomb the attic, bomb the attic." It was like a scene from Jaws.

 

[Jstpssng]

Gentleman, I am from Michigan. Noting your various locations, I can assure you I am of the same mindset. A few inches of snow and a fortnight of sub-zero, and this post would be unnecessary. But here we, and they, are.

Some shovel snow, some shovel tarantulas, but this is freakin' abnormal.

The local mother Gaia types will tell you how they control other pest insects. I was and am overrun with pest insects. Nothing I can't live with, but they were just as bad before and will just as bad after these nasty buggers are gone. They aren't controlling beans except the wife.

She is ready to shoot blindly into the ceiling with a Big Gun and that would not be very Kalifornian, although she is a native. I was thinking there would be a kindler, gentler way, like flamethrowers or cyanide. Perhaps some Southwestern types will have an opinion or experience.

I went to the really good local hardware that knows everything. The old guy there that knows everything about everything, who can tell you how to do every little repair and kill every little weed, reacted incredulously. "Tarantulas! I'd bomb the attic." And he walked away, mumbling, "bomb the attic, bomb the attic." It was like a scene from Jaws.

Well, not knowing what it's like out there, but two thoughts keep colliding.
1) The old guy probably knows hus stuff, and
2) Isn't Arnie (aka, Terminator) looking for work?

 

[daveshoot]

Isn't Arnie (aka, Terminator) looking for work?

Yes, he was fired (fi-uhed). I believe he is looking for a new housekeeper.

If I wanted them to have driver's licenses and vote, he'd be the man. I just want them gone, in real life.

 

[ragkar]

Last birthday, at her request, I gave my girlfriend a five inch tarantula bedded
in Lucite. She has a phobia against spiders and hopes that it will help her
overcome her fear of the little ones found around here.

 

[Wagtail]

No need Mate, we're doing just fine down here with our friendly Huntsman spiders. Heck, I even name the ones that come in the house, they go away after a few days.

This one's George, he chilled out in my bedroom for about a week. It was fun to see where he'd wander to on a given day.



(about the size of the palm of your hand, including the legs)

 

[jinman]

Hey Dave, I'll trade you my scorpions for your tarantulas. We've killed four scorpions in our house this week. I can't guarantee that my wife would agree, but I kinda like tarantulas. We normally see a few every year, sometimes crossing the road and sometimes in our house. I think the roadrunners keep their population down. We have lots of them too.