Is Kicking hairs over rated?

Darth Molt

Arachnosquire
Joined
Feb 3, 2019
Messages
105
I’ve seen people on YouTube (exotic lair) hold Ts while they are kicking hairs and it doesn’t seem it faze him. So my question is. When a T kicks hairs is it dangerous to humans? Of course you don’t want it in your eyes but over all is it not that bad? Thanks Peeps :)
 

Vanisher

Arachnoking
Old Timer
Joined
Oct 2, 2004
Messages
2,533
Urticating hairs can be irritating to the degree that "one has to sell the tarantula!" Happened to me with a T blondie female! I reacted so badly that i had to sell the tarantula! And if one get urticating hairs, specially from T blondi in ones eye, one can get blind! So they can be dangerous in some sense! Deadly NO, but dangerous YES!
 

Minty

@londontarantulas
Joined
Feb 2, 2018
Messages
488
I’ve yet to be hit by hairs (to my knowledge), but I wouldn’t say they’re overrated. There’s plenty of evidence about how hairs affect people.
 

Vanessa

Grammostola Groupie
Joined
Mar 12, 2016
Messages
2,423
Sometimes there is a delay in the irritation, it doesn't always happen immediately. I'm sure that Exotics Lair guy wouldn't say anything if he had been woken up in the middle of the night itching for the next two weeks. Just because he doesn't immediately react to it, or let on about it, doesn't mean he didn't pay for it later.
They do affect people differently as well and many report that the irritation gets worse with repeated exposure. I know that even opening my Pamphobeteus enclosures makes me feel slight prickling on my hands, but that is the only species that I have an immediate reaction to. Sometimes it isn't until I wash my hands under warm/hot water that I can feel that I've been exposed to them. I very rarely get haired by any of mine - most of the irritation comes from the hairs that they distribute throughout their enclosures, or if I absentmindedly touch something that was in their enclosures.
I always keep antihistamines in the house and take a couple every day for a couple of days as soon as I feel the irritation. That normally causes it to pass fairly quickly. I always wear rubber gloves when cleaning water dishes, empty enclosures, or hides.
They can be brutal and their effects are not exaggerated at all. Those who have no reaction are in the minority and are very lucky.
 
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Paul1126

Arachnoangel
Joined
Jun 14, 2017
Messages
818
Yes they are overrated if they bother you don't a get a SP with hairs
 

cold blood

Moderator
Staff member
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Jan 19, 2014
Messages
13,223
Yeah, flicking won't faze anyone in the short term...they're hairs, not bullets....The reaction from hairs is far from instantaneous, it can take a good bit to even notice.
 

lostbrane

Arachnobaron
Joined
Jul 8, 2018
Messages
517
They can definitely do some damage/cause a lot of irritation:

940581F9-FE53-43C5-8988-DA1C9E257D88.jpeg

ACD9D688-037B-48FD-ABF0-8CA38C0EA1FD.jpeg

This case is a bit of an abnormality, in that it was 100% my fault. I had just gotten a T. stirmi, and it had a bald abdomen. Because it was late/I was in a rush to get everything together I didn’t stop to think. So when I took it’s old cork tube out to split it in half for a hide, I basically dug the setae into my own hand. It was a lot more swollen/bumpy last week so it’s calmed down quite a bit. (The scab was from me trying to drain a blister that formed in that spot, so that wasn’t caused by the setae). I started feeing prickling pain about 2 hours later. Yeah, not one of my finest moments...

As you can see though I have a lot of hives or well whatever you would call those little allergic reaction blisters, all over my fingers and that portion of palm.

I’m probably more sensitive than others (when I first attempted keeping I did handle my tarantulas, and the few times I handled my L. klugi my hand would slightly swell). So, I can only imagine what would happen if I breathed it in, etc.

The biggest kicker is that I do manual labor for a job and so any time I tried to twist something etc. my hand would swell up which was something I could deal with but it wasn’t very fun.

So, for me anyways, I definitely steer clear of any tarantula that's kicking...
 

Nightstalker47

Arachnoking
Joined
Jul 2, 2016
Messages
2,612
They can definitely do some damage/cause a lot of irritation:

View attachment 299752

View attachment 299753

This case is a bit of an abnormality, in that it was 100% my fault. I had just gotten a T. stirmi, and it had a bald abdomen. Because it was late/I was in a rush to get everything together I didn’t stop to think. So when I took it’s old cork tube out to split it in half for a hide, I basically dug the setae into my own hand. It was a lot more swollen/bumpy last week so it’s calmed down quite a bit. (The scab was from me trying to drain a blister that formed in that spot, so that wasn’t caused by the setae). I started feeing prickling pain about 2 hours later. Yeah, not one of my finest moments...

As you can see though I have a lot of hives or well whatever you would call those little allergic reaction blisters, all over my fingers and that portion of palm.

I’m probably more sensitive than others (when I first attempted keeping I did handle my tarantulas, and the few times I handled my L. klugi my hand would slightly swell). So, I can only imagine what would happen if I breathed it in, etc.

The biggest kicker is that I do manual labor for a job and so any time I tried to twist something etc. my hand would swell up which was something I could deal with but it wasn’t very fun.

So, for me anyways, I definitely steer clear of any tarantula that's kicking...
Yikes, that's one of the worst cases I have seen.
 

Tenebrarius

Arachnoangel
Joined
Sep 8, 2018
Messages
912
They can definitely do some damage/cause a lot of irritation:

View attachment 299752

View attachment 299753

This case is a bit of an abnormality, in that it was 100% my fault. I had just gotten a T. stirmi, and it had a bald abdomen. Because it was late/I was in a rush to get everything together I didn’t stop to think. So when I took it’s old cork tube out to split it in half for a hide, I basically dug the setae into my own hand. It was a lot more swollen/bumpy last week so it’s calmed down quite a bit. (The scab was from me trying to drain a blister that formed in that spot, so that wasn’t caused by the setae). I started feeing prickling pain about 2 hours later. Yeah, not one of my finest moments...

As you can see though I have a lot of hives or well whatever you would call those little allergic reaction blisters, all over my fingers and that portion of palm.

I’m probably more sensitive than others (when I first attempted keeping I did handle my tarantulas, and the few times I handled my L. klugi my hand would slightly swell). So, I can only imagine what would happen if I breathed it in, etc.

The biggest kicker is that I do manual labor for a job and so any time I tried to twist something etc. my hand would swell up which was something I could deal with but it wasn’t very fun.

So, for me anyways, I definitely steer clear of any tarantula that's kicking...
yes I too once thought it would be fun to handle a T, I just find not handling them to be the logical and obvious conclusion. I do however admit to getting lazy during transfers :rolleyes:
 
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Chris LXXIX

ArachnoGod
Joined
Dec 25, 2014
Messages
5,845
I’ve seen people on YouTube (exotic lair) hold Ts while they are kicking hairs and it doesn’t seem it faze him. So my question is. When a T kicks hairs is it dangerous to humans? Of course you don’t want it in your eyes but over all is it not that bad? Thanks Peeps :)
1) Those that, no matter, decide to handle a venomous animal (no matter which kind of venomous animal) are freaking idiots. It's ok, they can do that, but I have the right to call them idiots :bored:

2) Unless someone is particularly sensitive to some Theraphosidae species setae (btw, a thing 'you' can't know prior... for that there's people that are more sensible to 'genic' and Nhandu spp. setae and not Theraphosa spp. ones - viewed since historically as the "worst") and unless those setae manage to reach the eyes/mouth etc, yeah... the whole thing is definitely overhyped, I wonder if today mans are still 'Mans', sometimes.

For that a little of 'itch' and 'red' never killed no one.
 

Goopyguy56

Arachnoangel
Joined
Nov 16, 2017
Messages
830
I have become more sensitive to urticating hairs over time. At first it was a slight annoyance. Now, I get blisters. Not too bad but I will probably wear gloves soon. I don't handle but I get blisters when just doing regular maintenance and such.
 

Darth Molt

Arachnosquire
Joined
Feb 3, 2019
Messages
105
Wow that is crazy! thanks for telling us your experience I had no idea they actually did damage let alone swelling I’ve never handled a T Nor do I want to thank Jesus :)
They can definitely do some damage/cause a lot of irritation:

View attachment 299752

View attachment 299753

This case is a bit of an abnormality, in that it was 100% my fault. I had just gotten a T. stirmi, and it had a bald abdomen. Because it was late/I was in a rush to get everything together I didn’t stop to think. So when I took it’s old cork tube out to split it in half for a hide, I basically dug the setae into my own hand. It was a lot more swollen/bumpy last week so it’s calmed down quite a bit. (The scab was from me trying to drain a blister that formed in that spot, so that wasn’t caused by the setae). I started feeing prickling pain about 2 hours later. Yeah, not one of my finest moments...

As you can see though I have a lot of hives or well whatever you would call those little allergic reaction blisters, all over my fingers and that portion of palm.

I’m probably more sensitive than others (when I first attempted keeping I did handle my tarantulas, and the few times I handled my L. klugi my hand would slightly swell). So, I can only imagine what would happen if I breathed it in, etc.

The biggest kicker is that I do manual labor for a job and so any time I tried to twist something etc. my hand would swell up which was something I could deal with but it wasn’t very fun.

So, for me anyways, I definitely steer clear of any tarantula that's kicking...[
 

The Grym Reaper

Arachnoreaper
Joined
Jul 19, 2016
Messages
4,835
I’ve seen people on YouTube (exotic lair) hold Ts while they are kicking hairs and it doesn’t seem it faze him.
I don't think I've watched much of him at all tbh, I've seen vids pop up on YT but the thumbnails and some of the titles on his vids are often facepalm-worthy enough for me to not want to bother.

Anyway, to cut a long story short, handling = :(

So my question is. When a T kicks hairs is it dangerous to humans? Of course you don’t want it in your eyes but over all is it not that bad?
If they get in your eyes they can potentially blind you, you don't really want to breathe them in either.

As for skin reactions to getting haired, it can vary from nothing at all to mild itching to full-on hives, reactions aren't always instantaneous either. Everybody reacts differently to different genera/species and you can also develop reactions with repeated exposure, some people aren't even phased by Theraphosa hairs whereas others can't even keep Brachypelma.

I currently only react to Acanthoscurria/Nhandu/Lasiodora/Phormictopus hairs, Lasiodora hairs are by far the worst out of those four but I only really end up with itching and redness (the same reaction I have to loft insulation) and the worst of that goes after a good scrub/hot shower.
 

Arachnophoric

Arachnoangel
Joined
Aug 29, 2016
Messages
947
Thankfully most of my Ts aren't kickers, and I use more caution with the ones that are known to have nasty setae if I need to mess with their enclosure; perhaps overkill, but when I had to fix something in my stirmi's enclosure I wore long sleeves, a pair of medical grade gloves, had my mouth covered with a face mask and wore a pair of goggles to protect my eyes. I try to wear gloves any time I'm cleaning out old enclosures of my NWs as I know your reactions to hairs just get worse over time, and though I haven't had issues yet I really don't want to risk it. You hear about people who can't keep NW species with urticating hairs because of how bad their reactions get, and that'd just crush me if I had to part with over half of my collection over something like that.

So no, urticating hairs are not "overrated".
 

EtienneN

Arachno-enigma
Joined
Jul 15, 2017
Messages
1,038
It depends on the genus, really. For example, I have like no reaction to Grammostola setae but Brachy setae really makes me itch. They are something to avoid if possible since repeated exposure can intensify the rash over time, but simply “getting haired” once or twice isn’t the end of the world.
 
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