Tarantula mating season is underway across California and you're likely to see the large, hairy spiders in hilly, grassy, and rocky parts of the Bay Area like Mount Diablo or Mount Hamilton.
Between late summer and the first frost of the year, male tarantulas come out of their burrows seeking a mate, according to Seth Adams, conservation director for Save Mount Diablo. The Walnut Creek-based nonprofit works to protect and restore the land and the creatures that live and around Mount Diablo.
"They look pretty scary, but in fact they're soft and gentle," Adams said. "We're way more of a threat to them than they are to us. Even if they did bite you, it's the same as about a sting of a wasp. They have got huge fangs."
Oakland resident Jessica Christian grew up in Sunol, where tarantulas were a common sighting between September and October.
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Whether you love or fear them, the best course of action experts said is to protect the tarantulas, especially from drivers.
"If you see a tarantula, pull your car over and just sort of urge the tarantula to finish crossing the road before someone else comes along," Adams said. "I do that quite a bit."
The East Bay Regional Park District is offering its annual tarantula hiking tours in October to see the spiders in the wild.
