capturing pedes in the wild

[rex_arachne]

what is the best way of catching wild pedes? what are the best type of habitats (forest type species) to look for them and the right method to handle/capture them?

 

[Galapoheros]

I go out away from the city and look under logs and rocks. I put stuff back as like I found it as best I can. The fun part's trying to get them in a container . Sometimes I've been fired up enough to just put my hand on top of them. That's not good though. One time I had an S. h. heros by the head but all it's legs were wrapped around my hand:? . I just stood there in the road. I didn't know how that was going to end but it worked out ok. I try to get them to crawl in a container or flip them in somehow.

 

[rex_arachne]

do you need to put moist paper towel/tissue in the transport container? which is better: coax 'em into a container or pick 'em up using a tong? can they bite through thick gloves?

 

[Gwegowee]

they might be able to bite through gloves but a pair of good Leather work gloves would probably help, even if they do bite through, they will probably pinch the leather passing your hand.

its really all about what your willing to do to get them... I prefer not handling them... and anything can be used to capture them... when I cought mine I used a paper fountain cup, he couldn't climb the sides. as long as its taller than he is long you'll be fine... no lid to the cup is needed, but is prefered, just incase the cup falls over.... for transportation nothing is really needed... they can survive dry weather but prefer wet. so basically when you get em home with you... dont leave it in the cup for a month.

Centipedes sortof scare me... due to what I was told when I was younger, so when I captured mine I trapped it with the cup... then slid a piece of paper under the cup and trapped pede... and then a piece of harder paper or cardboard (backing of a battery package) under that.... pick everything up at the same time and slowly turn the cup over.. and let the pede slide down the side. much like rehousing an aggressive/defensive tarantula.

when you decide your method of capture... the best thing is to know what they are going to do, and how fast can they do it? put yourself in their position... "a huge animal is about to try and eat you, what are you going to do about it?"

 

[rex_arachne]

great tips Galapoheros and Gwegowee! :worship:

 

[cacoseraph]

do you need to put moist paper towel/tissue in the transport container? which is better: coax 'em into a container or pick 'em up using a tong? can they bite through thick gloves?

one thing i had huge problems with when i first started bug hunting was that my backpack would get too hot and a lot of my captures would be dead by the time i got home. i fixed this by always shading my backpack with an umbrella.

i always moisten the container after i catch a bug. and you do need to add *something* be it papertowels or a good amount of grass... but you for sure need the padding

my main fear is this: two or three times so far, a centipede has managed to get free and run INTO my clothes. if it were to get into a glove and get smashed it is almost guaranteed to start biting... especially if it is a warm day! my fear of that scenario keeps me from using gloves. BUT i think more people use gloves than not, to keep their hands from getting all torn up while rock flipping

edit:
OH YEAH!!! and what gala and possibly others have said about putting things back after you flip them over is VERY IMPORTANT. if for no other reason than a selfish one, the more good hiding places you leave the better you chances are to find bugs the *next time* you go hunting. i have actually caught centipedes (different ones, of course) under the EXACT same object and have caught centipedes under hiding places that i made on previous trips to the same location! from a not selfish perspective, it would probably be like, "better" to not tear up and destroy the landscape just trying to find some bugs. depending on how badly a place is torn up, it can start erosion cycles that can ruin an area. granted, this is much more likely to result in places where many people are hunting up inverts for the export biz... but still possible on a very tiny scale

ALSO in my state (California, USA) it is actually illegal to destroy habitat when search for herps and you CAN get in trouble if a ranger catches you! by the definition given, just flipping fallen logs is actually illegal when searching for snakes, lizards, etc., even if you put them back! there very well could be similar laws in other places.

 

[Gwegowee]

one thing i had huge problems with when i first started bug hunting was that my backpack would get too hot and a lot of my captures would be dead...

... a centipede has managed to get free and run INTO my clothes....

...ALSO in my state (California, USA) it is actually illegal to destroy habitat when search for herps and you CAN get in trouble if a ranger catches you! by the definition given, just flipping fallen logs is actually illegal when searching for snakes, lizards, etc., even if you put them back! there very well could be similar laws in other places.

yeah... heat in the backpack would be a problem. I just cary the transporting enclosure by hand. but... if your catching more than one, this could become a problem....

Wow. centipede in the clothes... That would NOT be fun lol.

thats an interesting law...
here in New Mexico we have a law that says not to disturbe the wild period... less than 200 feet away from the highway that is (mainly for literers). so if you see a Carlsbad Green while driving to Carlsbad New Mexico, its illegal to pick it up. and state cops are actually able to give you a $200 fine for it. or even if you pick up a rock from the side of the road, they can give you a fine. moral of the story... dont pick up rocks or animals from the road... or atleast not in the presence of a cop.

 

[cacoseraph]

yeah, we have anti-road hunting laws and laws against using a light as a lure for anything other than inverts

 

[Galapoheros]

edit:
OH YEAH!!! and what gala and possibly others have said about putting things back after you flip them over is VERY IMPORTANT. if for no other reason than a selfish one, the more good hiding places you leave the better you chances are to find bugs the *next time* you go hunting. i have actually caught centipedes (different ones, of course) under the EXACT same object and have caught centipedes under hiding places that i made on previous trips to the same location! from a not selfish perspective, it would probably be like, "better" to not tear up and destroy the landscape just trying to find some bugs. depending on how badly a place is torn up, it can start erosion cycles that can ruin an area. granted, this is much more likely to result in places where many people are hunting up inverts for the export biz... but still possible on a very tiny scale

ALSO in my state (California, USA) it is actually illegal to destroy habitat when search for herps and you CAN get in trouble if a ranger catches you! by the definition given, just flipping fallen logs is actually illegal when searching for snakes, lizards, etc., even if you put them back! there very well could be similar laws in other places.

YEA!....what you said! Ha, that should make sense to people. I've turned over the same rocks twice in one day before. It's a good habit to put them back. It's technically illegal here in Texas to hunt in parks and disturb the habitat. You can take inverts off the road though. But, you're not supposed to road hunt in your car. I haven't looked at the laws lately but the Parks and Wildlife pamphlet says you can't hunt "vertebrate" animals from you car. So, you can play with that a little if you get caught road hunting inverts in Tx. I see their point. They turn the other way if you are in an area with almost no traffic. It's only a safety issue. You can look on the side of the road for herps and bugs legally. Border Patrol has even given me tips about where they have seen pedes and Ts. Sometimes I get out of my car with a good flashlight and walk with traffic so I don't shine a light in on coming traffic. I was told to do that by the P and wldlife dept. With day hunting and heat, I use a small backpack with 3 or so containers in it. I keep it out of the sun when I've got something. When the sun is to my back, I flip the backpack around and it becomes a frontpack for a while. Man I've heard NOT to look for stuff in Mex. But one of the Border Patrol told me he used to look in Mexico (he was from Mexico). I mentioned the fines I'd heard of if you get caught and he said, "Ah, just give them $20 and they will let you keep looking . I wouldn't do it. I'm not worried about the stuff I'm interested in being over collected. It's not a real popular interest and the stuff has a very wide range and produce many offspring. I just do it for fun really. I've let a lot of stuff go. I basically like my collection the way it is now with a few exotic exceptions :drool: . Good luck hunting!

 

[Stylopidae]

I always carry WAY more containers with me than I need. I'd rather have to sort through containers than let something go.

 

[cacoseraph]

I always carry WAY more containers with me than I need. I'd rather have to sort through containers than let something go.

yeah, having to either decide what i want to dump real quick OR lose the one cuz i don't have a free container is NOT a situation i want to put myself in!

of course, i think the Bug Hunt Gods know when you bring a lot of containers and tell the bugs to leave... but that is probably for another thread =P

oh, and p.s. the 2-3 times a pede made it into my clothes i never got bit... i was a little worried about it, but it turned out fine

 

[Galapoheros]

I always carry WAY more containers with me than I need. I'd rather have to sort through containers than let something go.

Dude! You hit 1000!, hehe. I've had to let stuff go because I didn't bring enough containers. Hasn't happened often. Either that or I cut a day hunt short. I willingly let stuff go when I get allot of babies. It's no big deal to me because I feel loaded up enough with the local stuff I'm interested in right now. Anything I find around here now doesn't do much for me to bring it home unless it's exceptional in some kind of way, like size or color. But there are still a couple of things in w tx that...well, I will take what I can get of them! I found another mitey pede by the way. I dropped it in a hypo therapy chamber. I can see them attacking the vamp mites:drool: . I'm really glad that prob is solved. Hope I don't get that nematod prob though.

 

[Python]

what is the best way of catching wild pedes? what are the best type of habitats (forest type species) to look for them and the right method to handle/capture them?

One method you can use to catch them works pretty well and you don't even have to be there. Just get a gallon milk jug or something that they can't get out of and bury till the top of it is at ground level. Then put a rack or board or something over it to cover it up and they will crawl under it looking for shelter. Once they crawl in they can't crawl out again. Just check it often so that anything that falls in there doesn't die. If you use something with a lid you don't even have to bring any containers with you. Just dig it out and carry them in the trap. I don't know what the laws say about "trapping" bugs or if it's even something that you think would be worth trying. Just my 2 cents.