Incense/ essential oils

[littlejay]

I’m curious as to wether or not anyone knows if essential oils or incense is toxic or can irritate tarantulas?
I couldn’t seem to find much research done on it aside from some scents being good for keeping bugs away, but I just want to burn incense in my room or have a diffuser going without irritating my baby.

 

[Poonjab]

I wouldn’t do it.

 

[Smotzer]

I burn incense all the time and never had a single problem. Never even really second guessed it either. I mean maybe don’t burn citronella in your house, but that just sounds awful to begin with

 

[viper69]

Not worth the risk

Who knows maybe such oils etc are the result DKS

Or such oils mellow out Asian Ts to have the disposition of H chilensis

 

[Smotzer]

Not worth the risk

Who knows maybe such oils etc are the result DKS

Or such oils mellow out Asian Ts to have the disposition of H chilensis

I know nothing about oils....but incense I’ve not had a single incident resembling any sort of dyskinesia possibly resulting from incense in any T I’ve ever owned and I have burned incense regularly the whole time. But who knows about oils

 

[winter]

My wife constantly has essential oil diffusers going in our home. So far, our marine tank, frogs, tarantulas, scorpions are all doing okay. Your mileage may vary.

 

[justamber]

I burn incense and tons of candles and have never had an issue. Never tried oils though. I know some oils are put in things specifically to keep bugs away so I'd probably try and stay away from those, but I honestly don't know for sure.

 

[Marlana]

I’m honestly not sure. If you do I’d take precautions like washing your hands before feeding or touching the enclosure at all. I do out of habit now.

I’ve read stories of people using flea meds on their cat/dog, petting them...not washing their hands and in turn killing their T. Which opened my eyes to just how toxic random things we don’t even think twice about can be. This is obviously way different but I wash my hands now before doing anything with my inverts just in case.

 

[Smotzer]

I’ve read stories of people using flea meds on their cat/dog, petting them...not washing their hands and in turn killing their T. Which opened my eyes to just how toxic random things we don’t even think twice about can be.

Flea meds aren’t random they’re a pesticide. They’re designed to kill certain invertebrates so it’s not really a surprise they are harmful to tarantulas as well.

 

[Marlana]

Flea meds aren’t random they’re a pesticide. They’re designed to kill certain invertebrates so it’s not really a surprise they are harmful to tarantulas as well.

True. I was talking more about petting an animal and then transferring it to your T. I wouldn’t think twice about petting an animal. But I volunteer at my humane society so everyone might not be around animals as much as me . I’m just saying it opened my eyes to how easy it is to transfer toxins.

 

[dman13760]

I would imagine many essential oils would seriously irritate/kill a T. I have battled ants in my kitchen using various oils as an alternative to chemical-laden pesticides. They HATE, and avoid, oils like lemon grass, eucalyptus, and tea tree oil; when then oils make direct contact with the ants, it often kills them

 

[Jesse607]

My wife burns different types of Indian incense about 5 times a week. This has been going on since we got married 4 years ago and she moved in. No issues.

 

[littlejay]

My wife constantly has essential oil diffusers going in our home. So far, our marine tank, frogs, tarantulas, scorpions are all doing okay. Your mileage may vary.

I only ever keep mine going for maybe an hour, 2 max just to give my a room a nice subtle scent but I don’t want whoever comes over to be punched in the face by a wall of lavender when they enter ahah I’ll have to look into what irritates tarantulas and hedgehogs to keep them both at ease!

I would imagine many essential oils would seriously irritate/kill a T. I have battled ants in my kitchen using various oils as an alternative to chemical-laden pesticides. They HATE, and avoid, oils like lemon grass, eucalyptus, and tea tree oil; when then oils make direct contact with the ants, it often kills them

Oh man, I’ve gotten so many packs of essential oils that include eucalyptus especially, occasionally the lemon grass but because of the eucalyptus and cats thing, I never used them aha I also force my mom to do some investigating before using essential oils because we have a cat, a dog, tarantula and hedgehog in the house and I don’t want to put my babies in harms way

Oh man, I’ve gotten so many packs of essential oils that include eucalyptus especially, occasionally the lemon grass but because of the eucalyptus and cats thing, I never used them aha I also force my mom to do some investigating before using essential oils because we have a cat, a dog, tarantula and hedgehog in the house and I don’t want to put my babies in harms way

^ would also like to include I’m not a huge fan of lemon grass in a diffuser. My friends mum used it in hers once at their house and I got the worst headache of my life, I try to go by rule of thumb, if it irritates me, it irritates my pets

I’m honestly not sure. If you do I’d take precautions like washing your hands before feeding or touching the enclosure at all. I do out of habit now.

I’ve read stories of people using flea meds on their cat/dog, petting them...not washing their hands and in turn killing their T. Which opened my eyes to just how toxic random things we don’t even think twice about can be. This is obviously way different but I wash my hands now before doing anything with my inverts just in case.

I’ll keep this in mind! Currently I don’t handle my T as he/she is only a juvenile and I’d like to wait until I feel comfortable enough to handle Coco aha. When I was about 10, I got a rose hair named Bubbles, and for 10, I was pretty ballsy. Knew nothing of tarantulas, I put her on my chest all the time and held her almost the second I’d get home until I went to bed ahah

I burn incense and tons of candles and have never had an issue. Never tried oils though. I know some oils are put in things specifically to keep bugs away so I'd probably try and stay away from those, but I honestly don't know for sure.

The oils I could see being less of an issue for the most part but the incense is what I’m crazy worried about because of the smoke, I’ve been avoiding that since I got either of my tarantulas (I had 2 but unfortunately, one met his demise).

 

[rusted180]

I’m curious as to wether or not anyone knows if essential oils or incense is toxic or can irritate tarantulas?
I couldn’t seem to find much research done on it aside from some scents being good for keeping bugs away, but I just want to burn incense in my room or have a diffuser going without irritating my baby.

I wouldn't do it.... my wife runs a business for Doterra so she's a total expert in all those oils... she made a mixture in placement of our store bought bug spray which was highly toxic... and it works just as well without the harmful fumes... i was surprised at the ingredients she used... one of the 3 was peppermint, which was the most important part for the bug spray.. the other two i forgot... but it was oils from plants that i didnt expect to be toxic for bugs/spiders....

i made sure that she doesnt defuse anything near the spiders... could kill them...

also, Tom moran had a podcast episode that mentioned that he used to burn incense all the time in his younger days while watching horror flicks and that it never bothered his G. Rosea. That same T is still alive 20+ years later... I dont think he burns around them presently..

hope that helps.

 

[bellesova]

I wouldn't risk it personally, as you never know what really goes into shop made incense/oils. It may be possible if you make your own resin incense and are sure to use nothing harmful, but I'd still do it in a different room.

 

[freedomisle]

I’m curious as to wether or not anyone knows if essential oils or incense is toxic or can irritate tarantulas?
I couldn’t seem to find much research done on it aside from some scents being good for keeping bugs away, but I just want to burn incense in my room or have a diffuser going without irritating my baby.

Never. I made that mistake and never again. I used an incense stick and one of my tarantulas now has DKS. Only one of my tarantulas was affected, however I feel responsible, could have been totally avoided. I am now OCD about fumes of any sort, such as sprays or perfumes being in the same room as my tarantulas. Don't learn the hard way like I did.

Also the DKS tarantula is still alive, successfully molted, however I have to assist in the feeding as her motor functions are still erratic.