after doing some shipping research:

[Nerri1029]

Here's what I found when doing some research on shipping .

FED EX
Live Animals and Ornamental Marine Life (Including Live Fish)

FedEx Express does not accept live-animal shipments as part of its regular-scheduled service and does not transport household pets such as dogs, cats, birds and hamsters. FedEx Express may accept certain shipments of live animals such as horses, livestock and zoo animals (to and from zoo locations only) on an exception basis if approved and coordinated by the FedEx Live Animal Desk (call 1.800.405.9052).

If approved by FedEx, we may accept non-venomous reptiles, amphibians, live/tropical fish and beneficial insects on an exception basis under the following conditions:


Shipments must be from a business to a business (from a breeder to a pet store, for example).
The shipper must have its packaging tested and pre-approved by FedEx Packaging Design and Development for the type of animal being shipped. Call 1.800.633.7019 for assistance. It is the responsibility of the shipper to adequately package shipments for all temperature extremes and handling conditions.

Contact your FedEx account executive for details and additional requirements.

UPS

Live Animals
UPS provides service on a limited basis for packages containing some types of live animals. (The term "animal" as used herein refers to anything living, except plants.) UPS will only accept packages containing live animals for shipment within the United States. Live animals may be shipped only pursuant to the restrictions and conditions set forth on ups.com regarding Shipping Live Animals. Any package conatining a live animal will be considered a perishable commodity and will be accepted for transportation soley at the shipper's risk for any damage or loss ariosing from the perishable nature ot the item. UPS shall not be liable for any special, incidental or consequential damages. Access http://www.ups.com/content/us/en/res...es/animal.html or contact UPS for information regarding live animals.

so under prohibited I found:

Prohibited Live Animals

Live Animals that are prohibited from being shipped and are not accepted for transportation include, but are not limited to:


Any poisonous, venomous or threatening animal
Any Threatened or Endangered species
Arachnids (All): Examples: mites, scorpions, spiders, ticks
Birds (All)
Crocodiles (All): Examples: alligators, caimans, gavials
Mammals (All)
Obnoxious Insects: Examples: flies, locusts, mosquitoes, roaches, termites, weevils
Snakes (All): venomous and non-venomous

and then from DHL

http://www.dhl-usa.com/resources/Prohibited_Restricted_Commodities.pdf

soo ?????????
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[TheDarkFinder]

ok so if you want to follow the rule then use USPS.

Get there Special handling.

http://www.usps.com/send/waystosendmail/extraservices/specialhandlingservice.htm

It is 7 bucks extra but you can ship almost anything live with it. From bees to chickens.

 

[Flagg]

I don't know anything about shipping tarantulas, but I do know that FedEx is the only courier you can use to legally ship snakes. And then only if you follow their process and get certified to do so, as outlined above. I assume they may use the same process for tarantulas.

The only other legal option is an airline cargo carrier such as Delta Dash.

 

[Sheazy]

I could be off base here...but I think that is exactly why no one I have ever purchased from marks the box as "live animals", or anything similar, cause it is a no-no to ship them. No reason to raise suspicion about it and have it flagged by the shipper...then loose your pet.

 

[cacoseraph]

USPS specifically bans sending tarantulas. full stop. Michael Jacobi (i think! one of the dealer dudes, at any rate) did a lot of by the book back and forthing with them and it came down to not being reasonable for employees to differentiate OW/NW and know about setae and venom and speed and what not


you can potentially send scorps, but there are lots of restrictions and 99% of us wouldn't qualify

It is 7 bucks extra but you can ship almost anything live with it. From bees to chickens.

negative. it is not from bees *to* chickens. it is bees, chicks (under two days old), and a few other animals that are on their exceptions list to the no live shipping rule.


essentially there is no legal way, discovered thus far, to ship our pet bugs in the US. even cockroaches require permits to go from state to state


edit:
Nerri, the parser chewed up your DHL link

 

[Sheazy]

essentially there is no legal way, discovered thus far, to ship our pet bugs in the US. even cockroaches require permits to go from state to state

That is what I thought, so basically...the hush, hush shipping method. Dont ask...dont tell...lol.

 

[cacoseraph]

That is what I thought, so basically...the hush, hush shipping method. Dont ask...dont tell...lol.

yes. shhhh

 

[cacoseraph]

the most legally defensible way (and it would pretty much be mitigating legal damage) would be to ship something legal (like a blanket or whatever) and have it accidentily contaminated with bugs. sometimes the law does actually look less harshly on accidental violations... so professed ignorance *is* an excuse. heh.