Hair removal

[mwh9]

This just occurred to me while reading another thread. Would it be possible to remove the ulcerating hairs that one may have been inflicted with using some type of tape? Something like duct tape or packing tape placed on the skin then pulled off quickly. I'm sure it would pull our hair off too but for someone that it really bothers this might be the lesser of the two evils. I think that maybe I should add that it is always better to avoid this happening in the first place. I have never had any experience with this as my Brachypelma vagans is very calm and the Theraphosa blondi doesn't bother with the hair thing, it just turns on a dime and bites.

 

[Buckwheat]

Just don't put one's self in the position to get doused with uriticating bristles in the first place. Tarantulas use this as a defense when they feel threatened. Don't put them under that stress and you shouldn't have a problem with tactical bristles.

 

[IguanaMama]

I know!!!! We could arrange a meeting with the manufacturers of NAIR, the chemical hair remover for women's legs underarms and legs and well, whereever, and see if they will manufacture a special formulary for tarantulas. :clap: :clap:

Or, if you are bothered by the hairs so much, you can keep old world tarantulas only, or not keep tarantulas at all, plenty of other interesting pets around. Why torture the poor little beasties.

 

[lizmotobike]

i have used duct tape to remove the urticating hairs on my arms and hands. better than nothing. it is much easier to go to pep boys and get gloves. like in a doctors office.

i don't think you meant this, but i would like to state the obvious, never use tape on the T!

 

[metallica]

wasn't it Perez-Miles who removed (used a razor) the urticating hairs of some tarantulas for an experiment?

 

[Stan Schultz]

i have used duct tape to remove the urticating hairs on my arms and hands. better than nothing. ...

The problem is that the tape only removes the bristles (not HAIR! Tarantulas do not possess hair!) very spottily. That is, it misses a lot. But you are correct, "better than nothing."

... it is much easier to go to pep boys and get gloves. like in a doctors office. ...

What you mean is surgeon's or examination gloves. These are also available at most medical supply stores. They come in several sizes (in North America: small, medium, large and extra large). Places like Wal-Mart and paint stores also sell them but they usually only stock medium. Most guys are going to need the extra large. They cost about $10 for a box of 100. The gloves are "ambidextrous." Any glove will fit either hand.

They commonly come in either latex or vinyl. Both will work. Some people are allergic to latex.

... i don't think you meant this, but i would like to state the obvious, never use tape on the T! ...

Glad you pointed that out because I can easily imagine one of our more challenged enthusiasts ..............

Lastly, the bristles of T. blondi and T. apophysis will easily penetrate all of these gloves, even if you double the gloves on your hands (as surgeons commonly do). For these giant tarantulas with harpoon bristles you'll need to use household style dish washing gloves.

 

[IguanaMama]

OMG I thought you meant removing the hairs on the tarantula sorry!!!!! (I've read stranger....)

 

[Syngyne]

wasn't it Perez-Miles who removed (used a razor) the urticating hairs of some tarantulas for an experiment?

How did he remove them without removing some of the regular setae in the process?

And if you say "very carefully" I am going to poke you in the eye over the internet.

 

[Derrick]

I am a man.....so using any kind of tape to remove urticationg hairs from anywhere on my body would absolutely suck A$$. I dont think the tape would care which hairs it removed. I would rather itch for a while...although the hairs dont seem to affect me much. I have even gotten a full whiff of my B. Boehmis hairs and it did nothing but give a very slight itch for a minute or so and made me sneeze. Even if you used the tape....wouldnt it just rip the urticating hair and leave the part of the hair broken off inside your skin?? If you want to have Ts then deal with a bit of itching or a rash for a few days.....IMO!!! Its a fair trade.

To me.....bald spots on your T means it is getting stressed a bit too much. Especially if it has just molted!

 

[Buckwheat]

The biggest thing not mentioned[probably because it is so obvious]is don't even take a remote chance of getting any of these tactical bristles in your eyes! this could lead to problems that you don't even want to think about, including blindness? more than likely possible.

 

[metallica]

How did he remove them without removing some of the regular setae in the process?

And if you say "very carefully" I am going to poke you in the eye over the internet.

i assume he did remove some regular setae.

 

[Syngyne]

Wouldn't that be partially blinding the tarantula?

 

[Moltar]

Personally, i know the demeanor of most of my t's to know which ones will hair under normal caretaking procedures, and that would be the B smithi. All the others either run and hide, just don't care or try to eat my face. When doing maintenance i wear a thick long sleeve shirt and latex gloves. I feed and water using long tongs and a turkey baster. If i'm not wearing those gloves and i get haired, i IMMEDIATELY stop what i'm doing and go gently wash with warm water and/or apply packing tape to the affected area depending on the situation. This pause is necessary anyway because as soon as she flicks basically the entire 10gal tank is full of floating hairs. They need the time to settle to the floor of the tank.

 

[mitchell123]

Just buy african and/or australian and some haplopelma.

 

[dtknow]

Perhaps swabbing a tarantulas abdomen gently with a cloth or something would remove many of the urticating hairs. But I think if your tarantulas urticating hairs are a prblem it will be throwing them all over before you get the chance to do this procedure.

 

[JPD]

I have been "haired" many a time by many different species. Usually, I do nothing and just suffer, however tonight, I decided to rub vinegar on the affected area and it seemed to do the trick.
Not sure it is simply that I did not get hit that bad but I will try this again in the future and see if it is effective

 

[mwh9]

This is for everyone that didn't carefully read my original post. Not only could you rip the T's hair off with tape, you could pull out their fangs and wait, wait, what else was it that people don't like about them. Let's see, big, hairy, long legged, that;s it, we'll chop off about half the length of each leg. I'm sure that there were a few other things too. What the hell were you thinking? I hope that your excuse was that it was just that early. :wall:

 

[ghost6303]

well if we arent thinking about the well being of the spider, which most of these posts dont, you could always "paint" the abdomen with some clear nail polish. this would eliminate the hairs from being thrown. you would have to re-apply after each molt and leave the T in an open space while it dries as to not suffocate it with those fumes.

never seen a flourescent pink and blue rosea before have you? lol

 

[JPD]

This is for everyone that didn't carefully read my original post. Not only could you rip the T's hair off with tape, you could pull out their fangs and wait, wait, what else was it that people don't like about them. Let's see, big, hairy, long legged, that;s it, we'll chop off about half the length of each leg. I'm sure that there were a few other things too. What the hell were you thinking? I hope that your excuse was that it was just that early. :wall:

Allllriiighhhttty then.....:?

 

[ghost6303]

sooo... this was a joke? might have been funny if you... nope nevermind i cant see any way this would be considered funny. people ask retarded questions all the time, just thought you were another person with sub-80 IQ. or perhapse your last post was just trying to cover up the fact that you were serious after everyone thought you were stupid. now that would be funny.