Texas Brown Tarantula

We lived in southern Arizona for 6 years. Insect pests troubled my garden and I know that spiders eat insects, so it seemed reasonable to introduce spiders into my garden. Not just any old spiders, what I had in mind were giant spiders, tarantulas, in fact. I figured big spiders would have big appetites and eat a lot of big insects.
In southern Arizona when the monsoon season starts in the summertime, tarantulas go on walk-about; literally thousands blacken the rural roads. I took a five gallon bucket and scooped up a bunch of the rascals, put a lid on the bucket, and when I got home, I dumped them in the garden to feast on insects.
Next morning I inspected the results, not a spider in sight! Apparently, they walked off in the night. I found one smashed in the street, but that was it.
Later, I learned why; it has to do with sex, procreation and all that stuff. It seems the females seldom venture more than a few feet from their underground burrow, but in mating season, they emit powerful pheromones. The males then go on walk-about in search of females. The guys I captured were all males looking for love, and my garden was the wrong place!
 
Timetrvlr said:
We lived in southern Arizona for 6 years. Insect pests troubled my garden and I know that spiders eat insects, so it seemed reasonable to introduce spiders into my garden. Not just any old spiders, what I had in mind were giant spiders, tarantulas, in fact. I figured big spiders would have big appetites and eat a lot of big insects.
In southern Arizona when the monsoon season starts in the summertime, tarantulas go on walk-about; literally thousands blacken the rural roads. I took a five gallon bucket and scooped up a bunch of the rascals, put a lid on the bucket, and when I got home, I dumped them in the garden to feast on insects.
Next morning I inspected the results, not a spider in sight! Apparently, they walked off in the night. I found one smashed in the street, but that was it.
Later, I learned why; it has to do with sex, procreation and all that stuff. It seems the females seldom venture more than a few feet from their underground burrow, but in mating season, they emit powerful pheromones. The males then go on walk-about in search of females. The guys I captured were all males looking for love, and my garden was the wrong place!
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I have had Tarantulas for pets a couple of times. They are gentle and interesting spiders. They love to eat crickets. It is amazing when they crawl out of their old skins as they grow.
 
Patio Life said:
I have had Tarantulas for pets a couple of times. They are gentle and interesting spiders. They love to eat crickets. It is amazing when they crawl out of their old skins as they grow.
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I've heard this a lot through the years. I saw the most beautiful one down near Concord CA, out in the country. It was a brown I think but looked a bit red, pretty. I stood back, but my little dog, on a leash, saw it before I did and she went right up sniffing it. Scared the beegeebies out of me and yanked her away but I notice it just kept a walking, like it knew she wasn't a threat or something. That's when I got to understanding them a bit better. It really is about education isn't it.
 


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