This results from the spider's defensive behavior against its vertebrate enemies. When confronted, the spider will rub its hind legs over its body, brushing off irritating hairs into an enemy's eyes. These hairs are replaced during each successive moult. Range and Habitat Common to the local desert and low-elevation chaparral habitats, tarantulas can also be found in many of the city's undeveloped canyons. They are not normally encountered during the day and generally remain hidden in abandoned rodent burrows or other suitable tunnels that they line with silk.
Tarantulas become active in the late afternoon from spring through fall.
Like most other spiders, tarantulas are considered beneficial predators who feed on many invertebrates including sowbugs, pillbugs, insects, and even other spiders. Their prey is grabbed and crushed in the tarantula's powerful fangs. Owing to the tarantula's reduced oral opening, or 'mouth,' it secretes digestive enzymes through its fangs to dissolve the prey externally. The spider then sucks the liquefied meal back up through its small mouth and into its digestive system. The mating and egg laying of tarantulas occur in the fall, with 200 or more eggs hatching the following spring.