It doesn’t feel like it, but Fall is here and cooler weather will eventually drop on the basin. In other places in California, that also means colorful changes to the trees and sweater weather. That sounds nice for those other places, but I think the desert has a great fall tradition: marching tarantulas.
It’s their mating season and the males are out and about looking for their life partner. The season typically starts around mid-September and goes through October. However the weather proves to be anything but typical as we are currently sweltering in summertime temperatures.
The tarantula spider may look scary but their bite isn’t poisonous to humans, and they have to really be provoked to get them to bare their fuzzy fangs. You may see more of them right now because males are leaving their solitary burrows and are marching through the Mojave desert to find the perfect mate and create a litter from anywhere to 500 to 1000 baby tarantulas.
Female tarantulas can have a long life – however males aren’t as lucky and usually don’t survive the mating season. If you see these peculiar arachnids rolling through your property – give them some space – they are just passing through. If one takes a wrong turn and gets into your home – you don’t have to kill them. Tarantulas snack on beetles and other insects, and even other spiders, but humans are never on the menu. They would appreciate you gently guiding them along with a broom and out the door so they can get back to more exciting and pressing business.
