Downplaying urticating hairs

Marcostaco

Arachnobaron
Active Member
Joined
Aug 8, 2020
Messages
409
Agreed. I was the person who handled my stirmis molt and then rubbed my eyelid. Felt like a loose hair across my eye and I would forget and "brush it away", causing my eye to water slightly. Lasted a few days to a week. If i remember correctly, my eyelid looked a little puffy but not red or irritated.

Definitely varies between people and HOW they are applied, for lack of a better word. I am in no way downplaying them! Having hairs kicked at you would likely be a different story from having a few strays in an eyelid.

My recommendation: rather than not keeping a species, just use gloves, use long handled tongs, and always use caution.
I wear glasses so I think I have some sort of protection for the eyes. Never want to feel them on my eyes
 

RezonantVoid

Hollow Knight
Joined
Jan 7, 2018
Messages
1,354
So glad I live in a country with only dog killing OW's!!! At least they don't have ranged itch attacks! :troll:
 

liquidfluidity

Arachnoknight
Joined
Aug 12, 2020
Messages
193
Hairs are no joke. My sensitivity increased over the last year to the point that I rehomed 90% of my New Worlds. Now that my skin is tanning, I have quite a bit of scarring. If I can find the pic, I'll repost it. Pretty sure I have the pics on here already.

The final straw was the day I boxed up 8 adults for shipping. I wore gloves but had a t-shirt and shorts on. Once I was done packing up, I removed my gloves and like an idiot , picked up the rest of my supplies. The itch from multiple different spiders was beyond horrible.

Over the next few days, the issues worsened up by 10 fold. I looked like some type of drug addict from the look of my arms....

Anyway, take seriously! Wear your PPE 20220329_131836.jpg 20220329_131810.jpg 20220309_191516.jpg
 
Last edited:

joossa

Arachnobaron
Joined
Nov 21, 2020
Messages
333
Hairs are no joke. My sensitivity increased over the last year to the point that I rehomed 90% of my New Worlds. Now that my skin is tanning, I have quite a bit of scarring. If I can find the pic, I'll repost it. Pretty sure I have the pics on here already.

The final straw was the day I boxed up 8 adults for shipping. I wore gloves but had a t-shirt and shorts on. Once I was done packing up, I removed my gloves and like an idiot , picked up the rest of my supplies. The itch from multiple different spiders was beyond horrible.

Over the next few days, the issues worsened up by 10 fold. I looked like some type of drug addict from the look of my arms....

Anyway, take seriously! Wear your PPE View attachment 425748 View attachment 425749 View attachment 425750
What kind of NW species did you keep?
 

LucN

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Jan 22, 2009
Messages
315
Wow, those reactions are quite severe ! Safe to say that while most larger Tropical NWs are very enticing, I'm not so sure I'll get any after reading these reports. Even though I currently own Ts that don't flick hairs very often, I always observe the behavior of the animal while doing any type of maintenance. Very rarely do I completely remove the lids except when I'm taking a rare picture. I always use tongs when fishing out molts, place them in my cricket carrier, then flush them down the toilet. Afterwards, I rinse both cricket carrier and tongs with hot water to ensure no stray hairs remain. So far, so good. If a T is seen flicking while doing any type of maintenance, I close off the lid immediately and wait a few minutes to allow the hairs to settle down on the substrate. This may be overkill in caution, but I'd rather be safe than sorry.
 

DustyD

Arachnoknight
Joined
Apr 4, 2021
Messages
208
I have been lucky so far and no issues in the 18 months I have kept tarantulas. I have had allergies to varying degrees all my life , so I try to be careful, but I have been known to forget gloves and mask during maintenance. I do have a small air purifier in use off and on throughout the day.
 

Marcostaco

Arachnobaron
Active Member
Joined
Aug 8, 2020
Messages
409
I have been lucky so far and no issues in the 18 months I have kept tarantulas. I have had allergies to varying degrees all my life , so I try to be careful, but I have been known to forget gloves and mask during maintenance. I do have a small air purifier in use off and on throughout the day.
18 months is still very much early in the hobby. It took 7 years for me to have reactions to urticating hairs
 

Ratmosphere

Arachnoking
Joined
Aug 23, 2015
Messages
2,294
I dreaded every time I had to feed my Theraphosa stirmi. She would kick so many hairs on me that I would be red and itchy for hours.
 

Marcostaco

Arachnobaron
Active Member
Joined
Aug 8, 2020
Messages
409
I dreaded every time I had to feed my Theraphosa stirmi. She would kick so many hairs on me that I would be red and itchy for hours.
I barely have Ts that kick actually. I usually catch hairs from removing old molts.
 

viper69

ArachnoGod
Old Timer
Joined
Dec 8, 2006
Messages
17,851
Agreed. I was the person who handled my stirmis molt and then rubbed my eyelid. Felt like a loose hair across my eye and I would forget and "brush it away", causing my eye to water slightly. Lasted a few days to a week. If i remember correctly, my eyelid looked a little puffy but not red or irritated.

Definitely varies between people and HOW they are applied, for lack of a better word. I am in no way downplaying them! Having hairs kicked at you would likely be a different story from having a few strays in an eyelid.

My recommendation: rather than not keeping a species, just use gloves, use long handled tongs, and always use caution.
Be careful, setae in the medical literature for the eye is documented- maybe 1 or 2 cases I've read the articles. It's believed as the setae further penetrates into the eye there is potential for blindness.
 

DustyD

Arachnoknight
Joined
Apr 4, 2021
Messages
208
18 months is still very much early in the hobby. It took 7 years for me to have reactions to urticating hairs
Yeah that’s what I was thinking too, but I also thought that being susceptible to some allergens might make my system hypersensitive. I guess time will tell.
 

spideyspinneret78

Arachnoprince
Joined
Jul 19, 2019
Messages
1,253
I know someone who was being stupid and put their face right next to a T. stirmi's abdomen while trying to get a photo. Surprise! They breathed on the spider and it panicked, kicking hairs into the person's eyes. Over a decade later and they still have some tarantula hairs lodged in their cornea. I've had the misfortune of accidentally inhaling some hairs while getting rid of some used substrate. Thankfully I didn't have any severe reactions, but my mouth and throat itched incessantly for a few days. Very uncomfortable....and it could be dangerous if someone had a severe reaction. Mask up, wear goggles to protect your eyes, and wear gloves/ long sleeves, especially when working in Theraphosa and Pamphobeteus enclosures. It's no joke. You can also develop more severe reactions over time.
 

liquidfluidity

Arachnoknight
Joined
Aug 12, 2020
Messages
193
What kind of NW species did you keep?
Well, to be honest, the NWs I kept , are some of the nastiest. I have 5 Theraphosa, a N. chromatus, P. irminia, and a curly. And then A. avic, 2x Versicolors. Everything else is OW or true spiders.

The thing about my sensitivity is that it's so acute that all I need to do is feed or open the enclosure. None of my guys ever kick. Truth be known, the only kickers I've really had were Brachys....getting rid of those guys really hurt....😞
 

Lurtz

Arachnopeon
Joined
Oct 1, 2017
Messages
20
Definitely agree with this. Love my OWs but NWs scare me to death. I can deal with speed and defensiveness but hairs going everywhere are a completely pain. Had a T. Stirmi flick at me and it was the worst experience I’ve ever had with tarantulas.
 

Marcostaco

Arachnobaron
Active Member
Joined
Aug 8, 2020
Messages
409
Definitely agree with this. Love my OWs but NWs scare me to death. I can deal with speed and defensiveness but hairs going everywhere are a completely pain. Had a T. Stirmi flick at me and it was the worst experience I’ve ever had with tarantulas.
It was my signal to go get some long gloves
 
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