BASSETERRE St. Kitts – Tarantulas are a frightening species that many of us here in St. Kitts do not bother to worry about as they are not flourishing in the Federation. Or are they?
Carl Browne, a new resident of John England Village, St. Peters came home after work on the morning of September 2 to find a little creature seemingly in a state of slumber on his veranda. This creature was none other than a tarantula.
“I came home at 7:45 a.m. and found the Tarantula on my veranda; it looked like it was sleeping so I ran for a jar and scooped it up into it. I am used to seeing them now so I was not afraid of it,” Browne said.
Browne said that he has been living in St. Peters for about two months now and he has been seeing them since he first moved there.
He also said that in speaking with his neighbours he learned that they have been seeing them around for a very long time.
He said that they are usually seen at nights and very early at mornings, and it is his belief that they reside in an empty plot of land that is situated next to his house.
“Most of the time when you see them, they are coming from that direction. I had someone come and clear off some of the tall grass and bushes that were clogging up the land and we started seeing a lot more of them, so I believe that it is off of that land they are coming from,” he explained.
In one instance, he explained that one evening last month his neighbour got out of a vehicle and almost immediately, a Tarantula leaped on her and ran up her foot. Browne said he ran to her assistance after hearing her scream.
When asked what his plans for the arachnid was, Browne said that he was going to take it to either the Health Department or the Agriculture Department to show them and seek some assistance in getting rid of them.
In a related incident, two ladies, while visiting a deceased relative at the Springfield Cemetery one day, came across a tarantula while pulling away some weeds that had grown over that particular resting place.
“My sister and I were visiting the final resting place of our mom, and while my sister was pulling at some weeds that were over the grave, a tarantula ran out and disappeared in a bulk of the weeds almost immediately. At first we were not 100 percent sure it was a tarantula as I was always of the opinion that those types of creatures are not in St. Kitts.”
“We called one of the groundsmen to come and try to catch it for us to examine but by the time he got to where we were it was gone. It was then that he told us that they are flourishing in that area because he and his co-workers see them all the time.
He said that all they do is squash them as soon as they are seen to avoid being bitten since they are not certain how dangerous they are,” the lady explained.
SKNVibes contacted the Agriculture Department and spoke to Acting Director, Al Edwards who said that about one month ago, someone brought a tarantula to the Department, informing them of their existence here.
He said that he assumed there might have been an outbreak as the one brought in resembled that of a female. He said he took the arachnid and preserved it for further examination.
At this moment, Edwards said that the Agriculture Department is trying to obtain some sort of chemical to control the sudden outbreak.
He also said that scorpions are another species that are in the Federation for some time that many persons are not aware of but their population has remained small.
Tarantulas are said to be a group of hairy and often very large arachnids(spiders) belonging to the family Theraphosidae, of which approximately 900 species have been identified.
According to the National Geographic website, the tarantula's appearance is worse than its bite as its venom is weaker than that of a honeybee and, though painful, is virtually harmless to humans.
Wikipedia, also states that no tarantula has been known to have a bite that is deadly to humans but in general, the effects of the bites of all kinds of tarantula are not well known.
It however states that bites by some species are reported to be very painful and to produce intense spasms that may recur over a period of several days. It goes on to say that the venom by the African tarantula, Pelinobius muticus (which strongly resembles the one caught by Browne), causes sharp pain, strong hallucinations, and the place of the bite remains itchy for days.
The website also explains that in all cases, it is prudent to seek medical aid when bitten because other proteins are included when a toxin is injected from the bite and some individuals may suffer severe symptoms due to an allergic reaction rather than in reaction to the venom. The allergic effects can be life-threatening so great caution is advised when these spiders are spotted.
Just last year the Federation’s eyes were opened to the existence of the Black Widow Spider in the twin island, and a few questions including if there were any more such arachnids in the Federation, were left in the minds of many.
One question has definitely been answered – there are more arachnids of such nature here but these questions now apply, “from where did they originate, how did they get here, and are there any more similar arachnids in the Federation?”
