Thought I'd get that out of the way. COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- Entomologists say spiders are so prevalent that you're never more than three feet away from one, anywhere you go. That realization may cause some residents of Colorado Springs to be even more jittery. Tarantulas have been spotted in several neighborhoods in the south end of the city as mating season for the venomous spiders begins. | HOT SPIDER SEX! (that'll drive up the hit counter) |
While tarantulas usually prefer more wide-open, arid conditions farther south of Colorado Springs where they can easily spot prey, the warm, dry weather in recent years may be pushing them farther north when they look for mates, said Jerry Prisk, plant and pest management technician at the Colorado State University Cooperative Extension. "Until a few years ago, I never heard of people seeing them, even on the south side of town," he said.| "If only Bush had signed Kyoto....." |
Ginny Hall found one of the spiders, with its imposing fangs, on her front doorstep when returning home late one night last week. "She called me on my cell phone and said, 'Come out here and get this thing out of my way,'" said her husband, Patrick Hall. | Was that before or after she started screaming? |
He removed the spider with a plastic container and took it to a different area, which Prisk said is a good idea. | Smashing it with a shovel would be my response. |
Tarantula venom is not poisonous to humans and the spiders are slow to bite, he said. "It's one of those beneficial spiders that only eats live insects," Prisk said. "If we kill all the good guys, we're left with all the bad guys that are a nuisance and a pain." | You mean like, oh I don't know, GIANT VENOMOUS SPIDERS!!! |
| Correction, Steve, they're HORNY giant venomous spiders. Sleep tight! |
Mating season continues through November. |
