The bite is severely painful and often requires hospitalisation and pain killers. Most Tarantulas are sluggish, and will not bite unless provoked. However, the bites of Tarantulas can be quite painful since the fangs are large and can pierce the skin of the victim. Many Tarantulas have a dense covering of stinging hairs on the abdomen to protect them from enemies. These hairs can cause skin irritation for humans.
Tarantulas usually live in burrows in the ground.
These burrows may be dug by the spider or abandoned by rodents. The tunnels are lined with silk and form a webbed rim at the entrance that conceals it. The females deposit 500 to 1000 eggs in a silken egg sac and guard it for 6 to 7 weeks. The young spiders remain in the burrow for some time after hatching and then disperse by crawling in all directions. Tarantulas do not occur in colonies because they do eat each other.