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What You Need to Know About Urticating Hairs

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What You Need to Know About Urticating Hairs

Old vs. New World Tarantulas

Tarantulas are generally split up into two different categories, based on the continent to which they are native. New World Tarantulas are found in North, Central and South America, and Old World Tarantulas are found in the eastern hemisphere throughout Asia and Africa. Old World tarantulas essentially lack any urticating hairs, although there’s anecdotal evidence that they instead possess stronger venom. Old World tarantulas seem to be more defensive, faster to flee, and more apt to show a threat pose in an attempt to intimidate compared to most New World species. There can always be exceptions to these rules, especially as tarantulas are still less studied than many other animals. 

A popular Old World species is the Goliath birdeater Theraphosa blondi.

New World tarantulas may not be as defensive or prone to bite, but they do possess setae, a type of hair, that they will kick up (urticate) when threatened. This is an effective defense mechanism because these hairs are extremely irritating to most of their predators like small mammals, reptiles, and birds. Tarantulas can temporarily blind their attacker and even make breathing difficult by kicking a cloud of hairs into the air directly at a predator’s eye level. Around 90% of New World species have these hairs. Some species, like Psalmopeous, do not possess them. Currently, there are 7 different types of urticating hairs and most New World species have at least one or even multiple. The amount, type, and location of urticating hair patches is one of the ways biologists can differentiate similar-looking species from one another. 

Urticating setae are usually found on the abdomen, but occasionally occur on the femura of the pedipalps. Different types of tarantulas have different setae or combinations of setae located on different areas on their abdomen. It is said that species of tarantulas in the Grammostola, Lasiodora, and Acanthoscurria genuses possess the most urticating setae on their bodies, but to different levels of effectiveness. The urticating setae of Grammostola species are typically harmless to humans and not very irritating at all. Tarantulas in the Acanthoscurria genus have hairs that are much more irritating and can cause severe itching and rashes. Not to be outdone, specimens with the genus of Theraphosa are known to have the most impactful urticating setae that can cause not only itching and rash, but burning sensations, bumps or blisters that can last for weeks. Breathing issues can occur if the hairs are inhaled.

Mexican Flame Knee Tarantula Brachypelma auratum with a bald spot from kicking off all their urticating setae.

In my experience, Theraphosa hairs are the most irritating, causing small bumps all over the affected area with two or three days of itching. To prevent this, I now wear rubber dishwashing gloves whenever I am working with Theraphosa species. Brachypelma species may not have hairs that are as irritating as Theraphosa species, but they more readily kick their hairs, sometimes seemingly for no reason. When I do get “haired” by a tarantula, it is usually a Brachypelma species. Luckily their effects only seem to bother me for a day at most. Washing your hands immediately after you get haired helps a lot for avoiding the uncomfortable side effects. These hairs are not always kicked into the air in self defensethey can also be used as passive deterrent. Some species will kick their hairs onto the webbing of their burrows and surrounding areas, even onto their egg sacs, in an attempt to ward off predators. 

Counter to the common belief that a person can build up a tolerance or immunity to urticating hairs, the reaction to urticating hairs usually becomes worse the more you are exposed to them. Hairs you found slightly irritating in the beginning can become extremely uncomfortable after years of repeated contact. This has left some people unable to stay in the same room as some of their favorite species that they have kept for decades, because the discomfort has become intolerable. That is why it is importantimperative evento be careful when rehousing or interacting with your tarantulas and take precautions like wearing gloves, eye protection, and even long sleeves when there is a chance you can come into contact with these setae. Being macho and saying they don’t bother you now may be true, but after years of that mindset, you may realize your resistance has turned into a sensitivity that could make keeping some of your favorite tarantulas very uncomfortable or even impossible. 

The Brazilian Red and White tarantula Nhandu chromatus has urticating hairs you want to avoid.

While researching tarantulas, it is common to come across descriptions of species stating different types of urticating hairs using the numbers 1-6, though they usually go into no further detail about what this means or what the differences are between the different types. In fact, there are actually 7 different types of hairs and some species have 2 different kinds of urticating setae. Let's break down the different types of hairs and explain what kind of tarantulas possess them.

Type I

These hairs are about 0.2-0.6mm and are embedded into the skin via a penetrating tip. They are found on many species of tarantulas except for the Grammostola species. They are also the only type of urticating hair possessed by the Nhandu carapoensis, the Proshapalopus amazonicus and Vitalious species. These hairs are not just effective when kicked into the air but these tarantulas will also kick them onto their webbing and around their burrows as they are effective at quickly warding off any creatures that come in contact with them.

Type II

Type II hairs are a little larger measuring between 0.5-1.5mm and are also embedded with a penetrating tip. This type of hair is exclusive to Avicularia spp., Pachistopelma spp. and Iridopelma species. They are not kicked into the air as a cloud, but instead they are transferred by direct contact. So when your Avicularia is rubbing its abdomen on you, it may look cute and like a sign of affection, but your spider is actually trying to rub urticating hairs on you.

Type III

Type III hairs are around the same size as Type II, measuring 0.3-1.8mm and are also embedded by a penetrating tip. These setae are known as the most effective (read: most irritating or itchy) type of urticating hairs to vertebrates and invertebrates alike. They can be found on species in genuses like Nhandu, Megaphoboema, and Brachypelma, among others. 

Type IV

These hairs are much finer than the previous urticating setae, usually measuring around 0.06-0.2mm with a pointed tip. These hairs are most commonly found on species like those in the Grammostola and Euathlus genus. They are very irritating to small animals, but are among the least irritating to humans. 

Type V

 These hairs are much shorter and lighter than other types of urticating setae. This means that they can’t penetrate the skin, and instead get embedded into a person’s pores. Also unlike the previous setae found on the abdomen, these hairs are found on the femura of the pedipalps and are exclusive to the Ephebopus genus.

Type VI

Type 6 hairs are relatively rare, found in the Hemirrhagus species, and are also embedded in a person’s pores.

Type VII

These are the most recently discovered urticating hairs described by Galvis and Perez-Miles in 2016. They are exclusive to a Colombian tarantula in the Kankuamo genus and are different from other types of hairs as they have a small patch of reversed barbs near the tip and small main barbs extending the length of the setae.

What Happens if You Come Into Contact with Urticating Hairs

Even though most people are worried about the venom of the tarantula, concern and attention should really be paid to urticating hairs. This seemingly innocuous defense mechanism is often overlooked or even joked about among tarantula keepers, but if you have ever been on the receiving end of urticating setae, you know how irritating the reaction can be. This is why it is important not to place tarantulas on your face, have them around your eyes or noses, and why you definitely should never put them in your mouth...no matter how cool you think the picture may be and how many likes it may get you on Instagram. Urticating hairs in the eye can cause temporary blindness and may require medical treatment. Getting hairs in your mouth or throat could cause swelling making it hard to talk, eat or even breathe and the consequences could be even worse if they get in your lungs.

In all my years of keeping tarantulas, I have found no home remedy that can alleviate the discomfort of getting these hairs on your skin. I have tried ice packs, warm compresses, calamine lotion, duct tape, hot candle wax, and about any other suggestions you can commonly find on message boards and Facebook groups. The only thing to provide the slightest relief has been ibuprofen, benadryl and a prescription steroid anti itch cream my doctor prescribed. For the most part, you just have to ride it out and wait for your body to heal itself. It is best to avoid getting hair on your skin in the first place by taking preventative measures like wearing gloves, long sleeves, eye protection and even a face mask depending on the species you are interacting with and your sensitivity. It is also a good idea to turn off any fans and close the windows when working with species with particularly irritating hairs to avoid getting those hairs blown on you. 

The good news is, that with a little common sense and preparation, it is very easy to avoid getting urticated hairs on your skin. Wearing nitrile gloves when rehousing your tarantula, especially when disposing of old substrate, will help you avoid most contact. Wearing long sleeves and safety glasses can also be very helpful with avoiding urticating setae on your arms or in your eyes. It is important to remember to wash your hands with soap and warm water after working with any New World species. Don’t forget that any urticating hairs that get on your clothes can easily transfer back to your skin, so carefully remove any clothing and wash before wearing it again. Tarantulas will kick their hairs for seemingly no reason sometimes, but unless your hand is very close to their abdomen, usually you won’t get many, if any, on your skin. The large amount of issues come from people handling their tarantula or letting their spider crawl around on them. There are also a lot of instances of people scooping out old substrate from a tarantula enclosure coming into contact with hair the spider had kicked down around their burrow. So stay mindful and take the necessary precautions and you will have little to no problems avoiding those itchy urticating hairs.

You can see the two orange spots on the abdomen of this dwarf tarantula. Instead of one patch of urticating hairs in the middle, this Bistropelma species has one small patch on each side of their abdomen.

Related videos:

Top 10 Tarantulas with the WORST Urticating hairs:

What You Need to Know About Urticating Hairs:

THE CURE? How To Treat Urticating Hairs: 

Information courtesy of Tarantula Collective.

  • Josh Halter

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