Posted: November 03 2006 at 9:48am | IP Logged

This is how i do it , i'm sure others have different methods which if they would like to show us then just add it on to this thread.

I'll start with spiderlings and little jobbies.

All you need for this is 4 pieces of toilet paper , a film pot and some bubble wrap

Take 2 pieces of toilet roll and lay one on top of the other then fold it in half length wise so it is roughly the same width as the height of the film pot. Then wrap the paper all the way around your finger and place it in the film pot. Take a single sheet of toilet paper , spray it so that it is damp then roll it into a ball and place it in the bottom of the film pot.

Now the tricky bit , getting the spider into the pot. To do this i use a paint brush and gently nudge the spider out of its old container into an empty film pot. I then put the film pot over the top of the one i'm sending it in and give it a quick tap so the spider drops into the bottom one and take another damp rolled up piece of toilet paper and place this over the top and put the lid on the pot.

I then wrap the film pot in bubble wrap and place it in a suitable sized box that has been packed with newspaper or bubble wrap and then add more onto the top of it so it is completely surrounded and cant rattle about. All thats left to do now is tape up the box , stick the address on it and take it to the post office

Posted: November 03 2006 at 10:24am | IP Logged

Now for the bigger ones , for this i use kitchen roll and a cricket tub.

To start i get a few pieces of kitchen roll on top of each other and fold it so that it is the same size as the bottom of the tub and put it in. I then get about 4 pieces of kitchen roll and fold them over length ways until they are as wide as the cricket tub is high and wrap it around the inside of the cricket tub.

Just like with the spiderlings i coax the spider out of its container and put it into an empty tub although this time i'm using 12" tweezers and a cricket tub as opposed to a paint brush and a film pot (i'd like to see someone try doing that with an angry adult H. schmidti ). Again i just turn the tub upside down over the other one and tap the side so the spider goes into the bottom one. I then place in some scrunched up kitchen roll around the spider so it doesn't rattle about and using the exact same method for covering the floor of the tub i put some kitchen roll over the top and put the lid on and tape it down.

The tub is then wrapped in bubble wrap and placed in a suitable sized box that is filled with newspaper or bubble wrap so the tub doesn't get rattled about and then i add more on top and tape up the box ready to be sent.

Posted: November 04 2006 at 12:24am | IP Logged

Cool Info. Thxs!!

Posted: November 08 2006 at 6:19pm | IP Logged

If they try to get out i find that by puting the lid on the tub and leaving them for a minute they will usually calm down and huddle up like the schmidti in the pics then i can add any extra toweling with minimum fuss.

The schmidti female was soon unpacked and put back in her home , she is too nice to get rid of. I deliberately chose her for this thread as i wanted to show that the method worked well even with bitey spiders (anytime i have seen a packing post it is always a docile species that is being used).

Posted: June 12 2007 at 4:14pm | IP Logged

I prefer the paper towelling, when it gets wet it's gross.

Nice thread! Thanks!

Posted: July 21 2007 at 3:14pm | IP Logged

This is a great post for the novice as well as the experienced T hobbyist who has never had to send a T out B4. This is STICKY material.

Thanks for the post!!!