On The Topic of Urticating Hairs

[MainMann]

Hello!
So i was just wondering and would love to hear stories and facts on the topic of urticating hairs. In your experience, what is the "effective radius" of a Ts urticating hairs when they do decide to kick them off? I've heard that theraphosa and nhandu has TERRIBLE hairs, what other species' hairs pack a punch? And how are your reactions when you do get haired?

Thank you in advance, Maman

 

[Ungoliant]

In your experience, what is the "effective radius" of a Ts urticating hairs when they do decide to kick them off? I've heard that theraphosa and nhandu has TERRIBLE hairs, what other species' hairs pack a punch? And how are your reactions when you do get haired?

If my hands are within a couple of inches of my Acanthoscurria geniculata when he throws "confetti," I itch for a couple of weeks. (The rash usually appears about 24 hours later as little red bumps that itch like crazy.)

If I'm being smart and not lazy, I wear gloves before doing anything that might set him off, like retrieving his beloved water dish for cleaning.

Immediately using tape to remove some of the hairs from the affected area (followed by thorough washing) can help mitigate the effects. Once the rash has appeared, I find that running hot water across the area (as hot as I can stand without burning my skin) can halt the cycle of itching for a while.

 

[krequiem]

If my hands are within a couple of inches of my Acanthoscurria geniculata when he throws "confetti," I itch for a couple of weeks. (The rash usually appears about 24 hours later as little red bumps that itch like crazy.)

If I'm being smart and not lazy, I wear gloves before doing anything that might set him off, like retrieving his beloved water dish for cleaning.

Immediately using tape to remove some of the hairs from the affected area (followed by thorough washing) can help mitigate the effects. Once the rash has appeared, I find that running hot water across the area (as hot as I can stand without burning my skin) can halt the cycle of itching for a while.

Someone on another thread discussing the hairs (don't remember where, sorry) said that the little red bumps are contact dermatitis and respond well to corticosteroid cream to cut down on the itching. I haven't tried it though, as none of my guys have haired me yet.

 

[Predacons5]

I've had no reaction when one of my Phormictopus kicked hairs. It's a rather large 2" specimen too. Kicked hairs twice about a few seconds apart. I'd say my right hand was maybe 2" - 3" away from the kicked hairs. My head was about 2 feet away. After it kicked hairs, I kept my hand away from it for a minute. Washed my hands afterwards and didn't touch any part of my face for a few hours. It has been 2 days already. Nothing.

No reaction to Chromatopelma cyaneopubescens kicking hairs too. It's been a little over a month since this happened. One of my girls kicked hairs with the lid of the container half open. When I saw it kick hairs, I left the lid closed and came back to it when it settled down a bit.

I don't have any Nhandu spp. or Theraphosa spp., I can't tell you about those.

If you have any concerns, you can wear a pair of gloves or a pair of safety goggles (or if you wear glasses, you can use these too).

 

[moricollins]

I had some that flicked hairs a lot but I never really reacted to them. I was pretty lucky.

If you find that they really affect you turn you can wear long sleeves and gloves to help prevent contact with the urticating hairs

 

[cold blood]

Its all about exposure. Often new keepers overlook the potential of hairs because for a good bit many have no reaction....i was in this group back in the day.

Repeated exposure however, increases your bodys reaction....and whatever species you get the most exposure to is often the worst.

For me avics are by far the worst...i blister like poison ivy exposure...luckily they dont flick, so its re housing and unpacking where i need to be careful.

Ive never been haired significantly by Nhandu despite having a lot of them...they dont bother me....about the only others that can really get me are Lasiodora and T. ockerti.

Point is, that what you react to is often unique to the keeper and often exacerbated by repeated exposure.

Took me nearly a decade to react much, now im significantly more wary around flickers.

 

[Gnarled Gnome]

My first ever time holding a tarantula was before the internet as we think of it today, and I had no knowledge or way of learning about urticating hairs. The T. was a Brachypelma hamorii, and I made the mistake of "petting" its abdomen. No problem... until an hour later when my palms felt like I had grabbed a handful of nettles. Stinging, burning, redness... it went on for days. For a while I thought I was allergic to tarantulas. Thankfully I later learned of the hairs and kicked myself for being so dumb.

 

[MainMann]

If my hands are within a couple of inches of my Acanthoscurria geniculata when he throws "confetti," I itch for a couple of weeks. (The rash usually appears about 24 hours later as little red bumps that itch like crazy.)

If I'm being smart and not lazy, I wear gloves before doing anything that might set him off, like retrieving his beloved water dish for cleaning.

Immediately using tape to remove some of the hairs from the affected area (followed by thorough washing) can help mitigate the effects. Once the rash has appeared, I find that running hot water across the area (as hot as I can stand without burning my skin) can halt the cycle of itching for a while.

Tape and warm water seems to help me too when dealing with hairs. My boehmei and my vagans are massive hair kickers, but I always keep a fair amount of distance as i can when working with them by using really long tongs (call me overly wary, but better safe than itchy). Though i did once get badly haired by my LP during her rehouse, and my wrist itched and blistered for a week! These hairs are not to be taken lightly imo

I've had no reaction when one of my Phormictopus kicked hairs. It's a rather large 2" specimen too. Kicked hairs twice about a few seconds apart. I'd say my right hand was maybe 2" - 3" away from the kicked hairs. My head was about 2 feet away. After it kicked hairs, I kept my hand away from it for a minute. Washed my hands afterwards and didn't touch any part of my face for a few hours. It has been 2 days already. Nothing.

No reaction to Chromatopelma cyaneopubescens kicking hairs too. It's been a little over a month since this happened. One of my girls kicked hairs with the lid of the container half open. When I saw it kick hairs, I left the lid closed and came back to it when it settled down a bit.

I don't have any Nhandu spp. or Theraphosa spp., I can't tell you about those.

If you have any concerns, you can wear a pair of gloves or a pair of safety goggles (or if you wear glasses, you can use these too).

I always wear a parachute jacket when dealing with hair kickers with particularly strong hairs. Though I've never been haired by a Nhandu, stories from people who have been haired by them are enough to make me take that extra precaution. Lasiodora hairs are also quite strong in my experience, so wearing jackets and glasses are a great measure of protection.

I had some that flicked hairs a lot but I never really reacted to them. I was pretty lucky.

If you find that they really affect you turn you can wear long sleeves and gloves to help prevent contact with the urticating hairs

So far i wouldn't consider myself too sensitive against urticating hairs, but as someone stated that you can become more reactive by getting more and more exposure to those hairs, i try my best to protect myself and avoid those hairs!

Its all about exposure. Often new keepers overlook the potential of hairs because for a good bit many have no reaction....i was in this group back in the day.

Repeated exposure however, increases your bodys reaction....and whatever species you get the most exposure to is often the worst.

For me avics are by far the worst...i blister like poison ivy exposure...luckily they dont flick, so its re housing and unpacking where i need to be careful.

Ive never been haired significantly by Nhandu despite having a lot of them...they dont bother me....about the only others that can really get me are Lasiodora and T. ockerti.

Point is, that what you react to is often unique to the keeper and often exacerbated by repeated exposure.

Took me nearly a decade to react much, now im significantly more wary around flickers.

Oh i see! I didn't know that repeated exposure could actually make you react worse to the hairs! Better safe than horribly itchy is why i wear jackets when dealing with spp with particularly bad hairs. And same as you, Lasiodora hairs really pack a punch for me as well!

My first ever time holding a tarantula was before the internet as we think of it today, and I had no knowledge or way of learning about urticating hairs. The T. was a Brachypelma hamorii, and I made the mistake of "petting" its abdomen. No problem... until an hour later when my palms felt like I had grabbed a handful of nettles. Stinging, burning, redness... it went on for days. For a while I thought I was allergic to tarantulas. Thankfully I later learned of the hairs and kicked myself for being so dumb.

Well everyone makes those dumb newbie mistakes, like me putting my 3cm vagans in a HUGE enclo. Until i finally read about it and placed him in a suitable enclosure. But i couldn't imagine how big of an inconvenience getting haired on the palms would be!

 

[SteveIDDQD]

Had a single hair from my T.blondi on the inside of one finger. Was text book dermatitis, except there was just one "lump" and it went away after a few hours rather than lasting days. When I moved my LP to a new enclosure, I got some itching from moving the old cork bark and water dish, but again it lasted a few hours and wasn't that bad.

I'm sure its well known that the hairs are a mechanical irritant (small barbs on the hairs), and not a chemical reaction (some kind of chemical on the hairs)? If that is the case, I find it hard to believe that you could build up a worse reaction to it over time... But I have no solid info to back that up, just a thought I have.

 

[Brachyfan]

This guy I knew had a Brachypelma Hamorii that was a little hair kicker. The dude would handle the t all the time and would threat display on his arm. Then sure enough a little cloud of hairs would follow. I got haired once and didn't realize and for 3 days I was trying to scratch my tattoos off!

Don't know why he had to handle the t every day? Or not know the first thing about T's? "It's butt is itchy!". He also thought his T was dying so he euthanized it. It was molting!!

Always research a new animal!

Just to clarify... that guy had some screws loose and I don't associate with him no more!

 

[MainMann]

Had a single hair from my T.blondi on the inside of one finger. Was text book dermatitis, except there was just one "lump" and it went away after a few hours rather than lasting days. When I moved my LP to a new enclosure, I got some itching from moving the old cork bark and water dish, but again it lasted a few hours and wasn't that bad.

I'm sure its well known that the hairs are a mechanical irritant (small barbs on the hairs), and not a chemical reaction (some kind of chemical on the hairs)? If that is the case, I find it hard to believe that you could build up a worse reaction to it over time... But I have no solid info to back that up, just a thought I have.

Oh they are a mechanical irritant and not a chemical one? Didn't know that! I thought they were sorta similar to some caterpillars who have really2 itchy hairs. And i guess the logic of it is true, if it were a mechanical irritant then exposure over time wouldn't really have a different effect.

This guy I knew had a Brachypelma Hamorii that was a little hair kicker. The dude would handle the t all the time and would threat display on his arm. Then sure enough a little cloud of hairs would follow. I got haired once and didn't realize and for 3 days I was trying to scratch my tattoos off!

Don't know why he had to handle the t every day? Or not know the first thing about T's? "It's butt is itchy!". He also thought his T was dying so he euthanized it. It was molting!!

Always research a new animal!

That sounds terrible! A shame people rush to buy an animal they don't know anything about

 

[Brachyfan]

Hey MainMann. Don't know if you have seen this post but it describes the 5 types of urticating hairs.

https://www.reptileforums.co.uk/forums/spiders-inverts/537077-urticating-hair.html

 

[AphonopelmaTX]

Hey MainMann. Don't know if you have seen this post but it describes the 5 types of urticating hairs.

https://www.reptileforums.co.uk/forums/spiders-inverts/537077-urticating-hair.html

There are 7 types. The post you linked to lists 6.

 

[Tommydragon10]

I've been lucky and never had the issue with spider hairs. My brother had the unlucky experience of holding my Chilean rose when she decided to kick not once, not twice, but 3 times in the time it took to put her in her cage. His hands swelled and blistered. It was a horrible reaction.

 

[Ellenantula]

Tape and warm water seems to help me too when dealing with hairs.

This.
I'm a huge fan of using duct tape (gorilla tape) first to remove any urticating hairs from my hands/arms and then I just wash well. Cortaid-type creams help. I find I am more sensitive to urticating hairs as time goes on. I don't think I've ever been deliberately haired; it's usually just an issue when I am doing maintenance in a NW terrestrial enclosure (my hands in enclosure while pet rock just sits there). Mine tend to spread their hairs around their lair and I just happen to get some on my hands. I should use tongs, I suppose; but I am sort of 'hands-on' with NW terrestrials. Easier to just reach in to remove a water dish than treat the enclosure like a leper colony or like a cobra's den, I guess.
Real life vs recommended safe-practice alert.

 

[MainMann]

Hey MainMann. Don't know if you have seen this post but it describes the 5 types of urticating hairs.

https://www.reptileforums.co.uk/forums/spiders-inverts/537077-urticating-hair.html

Thank you dude! will def check it out!

I've been lucky and never had the issue with spider hairs. My brother had the unlucky experience of holding my Chilean rose when she decided to kick not once, not twice, but 3 times in the time it took to put her in her cage. His hands swelled and blistered. It was a horrible reaction.

Sounds horrible! really shows why some people prefer bolty/defensive old worlds rather than the "calmer" new worlds, those hairs really can be a massive pain!

This.
I'm a huge fan of using duct tape (gorilla tape) first to remove any urticating hairs from my hands/arms and then I just wash well. Cortaid-type creams help. I find I am more sensitive to urticating hairs as time goes on. I don't think I've ever been deliberately haired; it's usually just an issue when I am doing maintenance in a NW terrestrial enclosure (my hands in enclosure while pet rock just sits there). Mine tend to spread their hairs around their lair and I just happen to get some on my hands. I should use tongs, I suppose; but I am sort of 'hands-on' with NW terrestrials. Easier to just reach in to remove a water dish than treat the enclosure like a leper colony or like a cobra's lair, I guess.
Real life vs recommended safe-practice alert.

Warm water after the tape is enough for me because i'm lazy to find/apply cream but i do use tongs even with my new worlds, mostly to avoid those hairs, but also partly because i'm a little paranoid, better safe than sorry!

 

[Tommydragon10]

Sounds horrible! really shows why some people prefer bolty/defensive old worlds rather than the "calmer" new worlds, those hairs really can be a massive pain!

The issue is I'm big on holding my pets. I don't want to be attacked

 

[Gnarled Gnome]

I'm sure its well known that the hairs are a mechanical irritant (small barbs on the hairs), and not a chemical reaction (some kind of chemical on the hairs)? If that is the case, I find it hard to believe that you could build up a worse reaction to it over time...

The hair is a mechanical irritant, but people can still build up sensitivity to it like with any repeated exposure that leads to acute reaction. The most common example is food allergies that develop over time. The fact that the hairs cause microscopic injury and possible subcutaneous scarring only accentuate the issue. There are probably bacteria at work to some extent as well. In the wild I'm sure one or two hairings is enough to turn off any predator. But humans are persistent creatures, so we get the increasing reaction. We just refuse to learn...

 

[viper69]

For me avics are by far the worst...i blister like poison ivy exposure

That's interesting. They don't bother me, that's partly why I keep this genus more than others. But Brachy's bad news for me, my GBB- not good at all.

 

[MainMann]

The hair is a mechanical irritant, but people can still build up sensitivity to it like with any repeated exposure that leads to acute reaction. The most common example is food allergies that develop over time. The fact that the hairs cause microscopic injury and possible subcutaneous scarring only accentuate the issue. There are probably bacteria at work to some extent as well. In the wild I'm sure one or two hairings is enough to turn off any predator. But humans are persistent creatures, so we get the increasing reaction. We just refuse to learn...

Ah I see, thanks on the info on how repeated exposure can lead to increased sensitivity! My knowledge on that is very limited lol, thank you!

The issue is I'm big on holding my pets. I don't want to be attacked

Yup, sometimes I'm dumb founded by people who handle their old worlds, I'm not keen on handling at all though. So fast, defensive old worlds are no probs for me!