Unless you suffer from Arachnophobia, there is really no reason to worry about Tarantulas. My dictionary reads, "No person has ever died of a tarantula bite."

Tarantulas are hairy spiders that live in warm areas around the world, with the greatest concentration in South America. Of the approximately 300 species of Tarantulas, the largest is the Pseudotherathosa apophysis with a leg span of over 12 inches (33 centimeters), the smallest the Acanthopelma annae, a fingernail-sized tarantula just recently identified in Belize by Steve Reichling, Ph.D., Assistant Curator of Reptiles at the Memphis Zoo (Tennessee, USA).

Tarantulas are meat eaters. Depending on their size they enjoy anything from grasshoppers and beetles to other spiders, frogs, lizards and even small snakes and birds. A Tarantula kills its prey using venomous fangs, injecting a chemical that dissolves the flesh. Or they crush their prey using their strong mouthparts.

They are hairy animals with a two-part body and very strong jaws, eight hairy legs with two claws at the end of each. The hair on their body and legs are sensitive to touch, temperature, and smell. These hairy spiders live in underground burrows, on the ground, in trees, in thatch roofing or anywhere there is a crack or a cut. Some live up to thirty years of age.

Having a house in the jungles of Belize, I am aware of the always valid rule never to put my fingers or feet anywhere where I cannot see what they are going to touch. Always beware of the looming danger of spiders (or scorpions and snakes). And despite the fact that the bite of a tarantula is not potentially lethal, I always felt that in my best interest, I avoid any body contact with them.

Just recently, it was during a visit by my mother in law, we had just finished dinner when a shadow on the floor caught my eye and sure enough there was a large tarantula, about seven inches, with long light brown legs crawling just past my feet (in closed shoes) heading towards my husband's feet that were exposed in flip-flop sandals.

I jumped up and called out, "Tarantula!" and sure enough I got everybody's attention quickly. Looking around my eye caught a large piece of floor tile leaning against the wall, a leftover from a recent bathroom refurbishing. As I dropped the tile on top of the tarantula I realized, "that must be that species they recently discovered here in Belize (Crypsidromus gutzkei), recognizable by its red belly and metallic gold legs." And there the tile went crushing down, but when it hit, it just landed there on top of that strong animal, laying there at an angle indicating that whatever was underneath, was not to be crushed that easily. And I have to admit, although I am very excited about the variety of species and animals that abound in the jungles of Belize, in my own dining room, I do consider them my personal enemies. So without hesitation I stepped on top of that tile, doing what I had to do...