Cedar, and other things.

[CakeLore]

Hey all! I recently moved out of state, and didn't feel comfortable taking my Ts with me on a long cross country drive. My parents have been taking care of them all summer and now that the weather's getting cooler I'm going to have them shipped out. I do have a few concerns, however.

I live with my girlfriend and she likes to make incense (some out of cedar). I know cedar is bad (or deadly) for tarantulas and she said she's okay with not burning that one, but we're not sure if any other herbs can be dangerous when burned near them. If it's a total crapshoot they can go somewhere in the house beside the bedroom, but our room is the warmest in the winter so I was hoping to keep them there. She also brews some tea from cedar, would that be a serious concern as well? Finally if burning anything is a general concern, would taking preventative measures like keeping a thick towel on top of the cage to trap large particles be a sufficient precaution, or would burning anything have to entirely stop?

 

[Vanessa]

Pine and cedar contain phenol which is a natural insecticide so insects won't destroy the soft wood. It is very acidic as well which makes it harmful. I'm curious why you would burn cedar, because the phenols are dangerous for people too - especially when inhaled.
Cedar smoke would be one of the last things I would want to be inhaling myself... let alone the animals in my house. Just because it is natural, doesn't mean it isn't dangerous. Personally, I would choose something else to burn.

 

[Haksilence]

but we're not sure if any other herbs can be dangerous when burned near them

"Herbs" won't be harmful, but I don't know about other true herbs, but anything containing nicotine or phenol will be.
Basically you don't want to put anything into the air around invertebrates. If you MUST burn incense just keep it out if their room and they should be fine and don't be excessive

 

[Haksilence]

As far as cedar, just don't use it for anything. Regular pine/cedar chips are aromatic enough, burning it inside where there is essentially no ventilation IS hazardous to health. Making tea out if cedar won't hurt your animals.

 

[viper69]

No one has any scientific data on this. It's a total crapshoot. You might light up and find dead Ts or Ts affected permanently, you may not. It's you decision.

Cedar is a NO NO.

 

[CakeLore]

Thanks for the input everyone, and sorry for the delayed responses.

Pine and cedar contain phenol which is a natural insecticide so insects won't destroy the soft wood. It is very acidic as well which makes it harmful. I'm curious why you would burn cedar, because the phenols are dangerous for people too - especially when inhaled.
Cedar smoke would be one of the last things I would want to be inhaling myself... let alone the animals in my house. Just because it is natural, doesn't mean it isn't dangerous. Personally, I would choose something else to burn.

Right, plenty of natural things are very dangerous. We were burning it because it smells lovely, but upon following up with some research it seems like it's not very safe for people either so we'll stop that.

"Herbs" won't be harmful, but I don't know about other true herbs, but anything containing nicotine or phenol will be.
Basically you don't want to put anything into the air around invertebrates. If you MUST burn incense just keep it out if their room and they should be fine and don't be excessive

Neither of us smoke, so that shouldn't be an issue. She'll ocasionally dry things like sage or lavender from our garden and burn them so I wanted to make sure there aren't any other common herbs which contain chemicals that insects or arachnids might find really unpleasant.

No one has any scientific data on this. It's a total crapshoot. You might light up and find dead Ts or Ts affected permanently, you may not. It's you decision.

Cedar is a NO NO.

Given this and what some others have said, I might just buy a small space heater and keep them in the back room. I'd love to keep them in the living room where I could see them more often but our roommate's cat is pretty large and loves to eat bugs, and I'd worry he'd knock over the enclosures.

 

[Bugmom]

Given this and what some others have said, I might just buy a small space heater and keep them in the back room. I'd love to keep them in the living room where I could see them more often but our roommate's cat is pretty large and loves to eat bugs, and I'd worry he'd knock over the enclosures.

Unless your home has no heating, the space heater is probably overkill and could be harmful to your T's by dehydrating them. If the humans and that cat aren't cold, your tarantulas won't be, either.

 

[Haksilence]

Unless your home has no heating, the space heater is probably overkill and could be harmful to your T's by dehydrating them. If the humans and that cat aren't cold, your tarantulas won't be, either.

A space heater is one if the most highly advocated pieces of tarantula keeping hardware. It WILL NOT harm your animals. And keeping the animals in a room where you can maintain 80 degrees or so stimulates growth appetite and in a lot of cases, more closely replicates their natural habitat.