Tarantulas on the loose in UK

Bolton - People are encouraged to be aware when outdoors, after two Chilean Rose tarantulas were found in Bolton, Greater Manchester.

The Telegraph reported that the first spider was found in a garden on the Oldhams Estate in Sharples. The young woman who found it called the RSPCA and they re-homed it at Smithills Open Farm. Three-and-a-half weeks later a woman about two miles away from where the fist arachnid was found noticed a tarantula sitting on her garden wall. She trapped it under a plant pot and contacted the RSPCA. “We advised her to keep it under the plant pot until we arrived,” said RSPCA inspector Derek Hampson, according to The Telegraph. “They can quite happily go a week without food, so it was quite content. "It got a bit aggressive when I picked it up. I wore safety goggles as these creatures can spit hairs which can blind you.” The second spider was taken to BugWorld in Liverpool. It is suspected that the two spiders came from the same place, as they were found in such close proximity. They were both 10 centimeters wide and are the same age. It is not known whether they are the only spiders which ended up loose, or if they are part of a larger batch. Hampson said there could be more out there, and people should contact the RSPCA if they spot any. Jenny Dobson, the BugWorld curator, said that tarantulas cannot live for long in the UK climate. Chilean Rose tarantulas are often kept as pets. They are sometimes set loose on purpose and sometimes accidentally escape. In 2006 a lab worker in Hampshire trapped a 15-centimeter tarantula under a glass when it joined him at his work place.