flushing T's from burrows

[BILLY143CAMACHO]

I read that flushing with water and a little petroleum would make a tarantula come out it's burrow. I tried it and it worked but it was also dead within half hour.

Has anyone tried a different system for collecting T's besides digging them up or collecting at night with flashlight?

I would greatly appreciate any suggestions or recomendations.

regards,
Bill

 

[Vys]

Em..it should perhaps have struck you as possible risk of deadliness, with that oil-mixture?

But no, sorry, I don't have any such tips.

 

[Weapon-X]

re

i've heard that simply using a long peice of grass will work, move it around on the web or in the burrow like an insect struggling, i think that rick west was talking that method one night said it works like a charm, yeah gas would definetly kill the spider even if it did'nt it would probaly have bad long term effects from it.

 

[pategirl]

I read somewhere that plain water would do it, and I think it would be a wiser choice than using petroleum based products.

 

[Lasiodora]

I've used plain old water to get them to come out. Pour it down the burrow quickly and the T will come up to the surface. It may not go up farther than the entrance, but that is far enough if you want a good pic.
Mike

 

[MrT]

Originally posted by BILLY143CAMACHO
I read that flushing with water and a little petroleum would make a tarantula come out it's burrow. I tried it and it worked but it was also dead within half hour.

Has anyone tried a different system for collecting T's besides digging them up or collecting at night with flashlight?

I would greatly appreciate any suggestions or recomendations.

regards,
Bill

Bill,
Where did you read this info.?
Whoever wrote it should be flushed out with gas ( petroleum ).

Anyway, just use plain water. It does'nt take much. Just pour it in and as soon as the T knows the flood is coming, it will head for the exit. Like Lasiodora says, it may stop at the edge of its burrow. So if you put a thin wire in the borrow before you flood it, you can use it too get the T to come the rest of the way out. Curl the end of the wire so it wont stab the T.
You already know not to take more than a couple T's in any one area, right?

Good luck,
Ernie

 

[Faunya]

I think The Tarantula Keeper's Guide (Schultz & Schultz) describes this technique in detail, and they even have a couple of photos to help explain the technique...I'd suggest pulling that ol' book out if you have it, and if not, either get it, or loiter at your nearest pet store for a few minutes....

-Faunya

 

[Arachnopuppy]

Warning: This looks like hate mail and it's probably is...

What the hell????? I don't want to sound harsh to anyone or anything, but what the heck were you thinking? Where the heck did you read that information? Even then, did you stop to think? Petroleum is toxic even to human beings. It really doesn't take even a single brain molecule to reallize that petroleum would do great damage to an enviromentally sensitive creature such as a tarantula. Even if you forget about the tarantula, think of the damages you would do to their habitat. Goodness sakes. I'd never thought I would live to find out such cruelty and inconsideration exist. My final question is why would you want to dig up tarantulas when you don't even respect them or their habitat? You like poking them around to see how they react? Even if I know a good way to get them out of their burrows, I would never trust the information to someone like you.

Here is a suggestion, do a little more research and do a lot of thinking before you try something else without any consideration for the animal. Good grief.

 

[Martin H.]

Hi,

for all who can't imagine this, just smell at fresh wildcaught Theraphosa blondis ... and with some you will smell petroleum! =:-(
With this method, not only the one specimen is taken from the wild and risked to be killed by the petroleum, it will also do a big demage to the enviromental: the burrow isn't useable for other specimens or species for years, petroleum will pollute the ground and the water, ....

It's really sad, what people do in greed to get cheap T. blondis and Co.! =:-(
Think about it next time when you buy a big WC T. blondi – it might be one which was caught with the help of petroleum!

all the best,
Martin

 

[Vys]

It seems that whenever we really try to do something good for the environment, or try to do something that shouldn't be hurtful to it, we botch it and greed and blind eyes and numbed senses take over to unconsciously leave the only mark we know how to that we were here.

 

[whoami?]

Ah yes, nothing changes behaviour as well as a guilt trip.

 

[Vys]

*shrug*, Guilt can do it, if it's persistent enough. Guilt should lead to enlightement though. If you feel guilty, you can either turn a blind back, or do your best to improve the situation.

I do not, however, know who your remark was aimed at whoami? .

 

[whoami?]

Originally posted by Vys
*shrug*, Guilt can do it, if it's persistent enough. Guilt should lead to enlightement though. If you feel guilty, you can either turn a blind back, or do your best to improve the situation.

I do not, however, know who your remark was aimed at whoami? .

Wasn't aimed at you. You weren't the one laying on a guilt trip.

 

[Lasiodora]

Re: Warning: This looks like hate mail and it's probably is...

Originally posted by lam
What the hell????? I don't want to sound harsh to anyone or anything, but what the heck were you thinking? Where the heck did you read that information? Even then, did you stop to think? Petroleum is toxic even to human beings. It really doesn't take even a single brain molecule to reallize that petroleum would do great damage to an enviromentally sensitive creature such as a tarantula. Even if you forget about the tarantula, think of the damages you would do to their habitat. Goodness sakes. I'd never thought I would live to find out such cruelty and inconsideration exist. My final question is why would you want to dig up tarantulas when you don't even respect them or their habitat? You like poking them around to see how they react? Even if I know a good way to get them out of their burrows, I would never trust the information to someone like you.

Here is a suggestion, do a little more research and do a lot of thinking before you try something else without any consideration for the animal. Good grief.

It could have been an honest mistake (wrong information and all that). Blowing up at someone will accomplish nothing. Correcting the mistake and pointing the person in the right direction is always better. At least he did not continue using this technique and had the common sense to ask for a safer way to do it.
Mike

 

[Lasiodora]

Re: Re: flushing T's from burrows

Originally posted by monantony
Bill
The water-only method works well, provided the soil allows the burrow to fill up to the top. When we were in Carlsbad we would probe the burrow mouth to see which way it slanted, then position a shovel about 12" back from the mouth.Fill with water and when the spider breaks the surface , use a good clean fast motion to cut off the spiders retreat. ANY hesitation and you can end up with 2 pieces
It helps for a friend to have his foot on the shovel ready to go...
What kind of terrestrial T's do you have in P.R.?
Tony

I've always used a twig. When the spider is at the surface I wedge the stick behind the entrance and push it through the soil. This blocks the T's from doubling back and you don't risk unnecesarilly injuring the spider.
Mike

 

[Arachnopuppy]

Ok, I apologize for blowing up like that. I still stand by the fact that there are certain things only common sense is enough to give a "warning: danger" alert in a person's brain. Nobody needs an expert to tell him/her that petroleum is toxic to living things. I can only think of 2 exeptions: that the person does not care about the animal, or any living being at all, enough to even consider any possibility regarding combining toxic chemicals and living things, or that the person is extremely impulsive to a level that he/she would literally jumps off a cliff when someone says "you will become an angel if you jump off a cliff now" and then asks "why are both my arms and legs broken?" after landing 'safely' at the bottom of the cliff. You can argue all you want, but the fact remains that I would never trust anyone that have demonstrated the lack of common sense to something as obvious as this. I am an idiot and even I know that petroleum is harmful to anything that is alive, by definition.