Spiders in cave tubing

[njcruiser2007]

Did anyone see spiders or other bugs in the caves when you were tubing? My friend is afraid of bugs and will freak out. Thanks for your help.

[cabrx]

No spiders, but did see some bats after the guide pointed them out ( my friend wanted to see them). So are so focused on the cave itself and the ride that you wouldn't even think of them.

 

The only thing is there is a long hike through the rain forsest I was too busy worrying about falling in the mud to look for bugs.

[driftwood]

I rather hope no one missed the three-page spread, "Backcountry Belize," in the Sunday New York Times Travel Section on Sunday, October 21, 2007 (Pages 1 and 8-9). On page nine the author, Dwight Garner, writes, "Bats hang within reach overhead; the guides point out cave markings and large cave spiders. It is a memorable day . . . ."

 

Read the whole thing yourself! http://travel.nytimes.com/2007/10/21/travel/21Belize.html?ref=travel

 

While it is true I guess that Mr. Garner is a New Yorker and has perhaps never seen a spider before, "large" is not a particularly descriptive adjective for our purposes, and might prove to be discouraging to the tourist trade. Had he said "eight-inch cave spiders," or even "twelve-inch tarantulas," I might have sat up in my inner tube and taken notice; my wife is notoriously not fond of spiders, even spiders not large enough to be detected by the human eye; but she has read the article and did not begin screaming at any point, so (if the water is not too cold in January) we may yet be floating down the lazy river under thousands or millions of sleeping arthropods. I may well ask our guide NOT to point them out--to my wife--, but more likely I will be trying to get photographs of them as we coast along.

 

My Dad was an artist, an abstract expressionist in oils professionally; but as an amateur he was a great naturalist, and that--rather than his genius in art--descended to me. So while I am not cheerfully contemplating spiders landing on me as they roll over in their sleep, my experience in caves--and with spiders--is such that I believe that it will be difficult if not impossible for most people to detect their presence, and that the spiders themselves have no plans for leaving a secure cave wall to annoy humans in any way, shape or form--or size. I don't even trust the city boy Dwight Garner to know the difference between a spider and a Daddy Longlegs. I have yet to meet a single spider that even wanted to get his feet wet--and he, unlike us, is at risk on eight different accounts.

 

The bugs I will be focusing on--and I recommend you do, too--are mosquitoes. Take that DEET formula repellent with you when you go! Caves are cool and dark, and there is plenty of water available. These elements--and juicy tourists--make the tropics Mosquito Heaven! :rolleyes: And of course the feel and odor of the spray may calm your friend's fears . . . .

[rxrph]

I just returned from Belize (10/18) on the Legend. This was my second time cavetubing and had a GREAT experience.

 

Did not see any spiders on either trip and the only bats were high in the holes of the cave's (caverns really) ceiling and soundly sleeping.

 

No one complained of mosquito bites but use repellent as a precaution.

 

Unique experience that shouldn't be missed!

[nybumpkin]

I rather hope no one missed the three-page spread, "Backcountry Belize," in the Sunday New York Times Travel Section on Sunday, October 21, 2007 (Pages 1 and 8-9). On page nine the author, Dwight Garner, writes, "Bats hang within reach overhead; the guides point out cave markings and large cave spiders. It is a memorable day . . . ."While it is true I guess that Mr. Garner is a New Yorker and has perhaps never seen a spider before, "large" is not a particularly descriptive adjective for our purposes, and might prove to be discouraging to the tourist trade. Had he said "eight-inch cave spiders," or even "twelve-inch tarantulas," I might have sat up in my inner tube and taken notice; my wife is notoriously not fond of spiders, even spiders not large enough to be detected by the human eye; but she has read the article and did not begin screaming at any point, so (if the water is not too cold in January) we may yet be floating down the lazy river under thousands or millions of sleeping arthropods. I may well ask our guide NOT to point them out--to my wife--, but more likely I will be trying to get photographs of them as we coast along.

LOL - We're doing the cave tubing in February. I read the NY Times article and immediately thought of our 7 YO, who really wanted us to book a snorkeling excursion in Belize rather than cave tubing. You see, he's not a big fan of bats, ever since he left his bedroom window (w/o screen) open and ended up with a bat in his room this past summer! (Picture this kid running down the stairs yelling "Bat...Bat...BAT...BAT!!...BAT!!!" with said bat in hot pursuit.) Now, to add insult to injury, we're adding spiders to the equation. And he saw the second Harry Potter movie with the mutant spiders.:eek: I think I'll ask our guide not to point them out either.;)

[defaultet]

On a recent trip I saw a tarantula nest, bats (of course), termites (ate some), and a spider that was about 2 1/2 long (but with a very small body).

 

That being said I probably wouldn't have seen any of those things if they weren't pointed out to me. If it is just a few of you with one guide I would have your friend stay out of earshot of the guide. I suppose, of course, that you can ask the operator not to point such things out, but to me that seems to negate the entire purpose of going in the first place (seeing and experiencing new things)

 

At any rate the spider I saw did not look any more threatening than a Daddy Long Legs.

[asader83]

I was terrified of the idea of cave tubing, so much that I nearly bailed out. I think I was more nervous about water critters than I was bats or spiders, but still....

 

Either way, I am SO GLAD that I psyched myself into going. It was a very cool experience. I didn't see any spiders, nothing bit my butt, and was pointed out some bat caves/holes inside the caves, and it was icky or scary.

 

This all coming from someone who hasn't seen her basement in months because "spiders live down there."

 

Go, and have a blast!

[Bradford79]

Yes, I saw a rather good sized tarantula on the tubing walk, it was on the side of the trail. That shouldn't be a reason not to do the excursion though as it is pretty fun. There is nothing there that is actually going to do harm to you or your friend unless you try messing with it.

[jmaze]

Speaking of the walk to get to the cave tubing, what do you wear? I don't want to get bit on the foot by anything while walking there and yet I don't want to wear pants and shoes while tubing. Would be rather uncomfortable.:D

[Ltvscout]

Yes, I saw a rather good sized tarantula on the tubing walk, it was on the side of the trail.

Cool! My son will love that. We didn't see any tarantula's when we went tubing with Yhony in '06, but we did see some bats and spiders in the cave. We wouldn't have seen them if they weren't pointed out. Oh, and we ate some termites too. They taste minty!

[Cammie]

We took water shoes when we went cave tubing. It worked out really well.

[hogtyde88]

Speaking of the walk to get to the cave tubing, what do you wear? I don't want to get bit on the foot by anything while walking there and yet I don't want to wear pants and shoes while tubing. Would be rather uncomfortable.:D

 

You will need something with a decent sole, you'll walk on gravel at times. I wore teva type sandals and my wife wore water shoes, we both did fine.

[shark&minnow]

As I remember the caves were pretty big. We were never close to the walls or to whatever may have been living on them. I love wild life and didn't see any on our cave tube except the mosquitos! At the end of the trip the guys in the parking area chased a big iguana up a tree and caught it for us to see up close, that was cool.

[halos]

Just got back from cave tubing myself. It was fabulous!!

I came to Belize all prepared with the best bug spray I could buy, didn't even use it...to be honest, I have had more issues with bugs (mosquitos) here in Maine than I did in Belize...maybe because it's November and dry season there or something?? I don't know...maybe I'm just really lucky, but I didn't see any bugs excpet during the trek through the jungle to the spot where you get in the water with the tubes, there were those very cool leaf carrying ants. I do think someone said they were bit by one, but out of a very large group, that was the only 'bite' incident. There wasn't even one mosquito buzzing outside or inside of the caves...didn't see any spiders either. That's probably because I would have LOVED to have spotted a tarantula...from a nice distance, that is. Maybe they only show up when they smell fear :p )

[OttoCal]

we saw at least 4 different types of bats in Belize, and they were all cool. Some tiny, some huge. Also saw some ginormous spiders, but not really creepy ones. They were pointed out to us on a jungle hike, we would have missed them entirely otherwise. Our guide found a tarantuala hole, but couldn't get him to come out.

 

With the exception of the mosquitoes, the bugs are probably more afraid of you than you are of them. Or at least not very interested in you anyway.

The monkeys, on the other hand... well, let's just say we know why you should wear a hat in the jungle- and it's not always for sun protection...:cool:

[mo3011]

Hi everyone,

 

I have been reading all these posts on cave tubing.... We are going in March.... I have never been before and am somewhat nervous about this. My 16 year old daughter wants to go in the worst way.... any advice?

 

I am not very active....44 yr old.... will I survive the excursion?. In the description, it says it involves fairly strenuous demanding physical activity..... Also, how long does it take?..... how long is the whole excursion? can you go whenever you want? and what happens when you are all done with the caves, where do you end up?.....

 

Thanks everyone for all your advice.... anything you can offer is appreciated.... also,,,, do you have to be able to swim????

 

Maria

[lyssa13]

The only bugs I noticed, were of course the ones I was allergic to - red ants.

 

A couple of years back I was on the cave tubing excursion with RCCL and was walking along through the rainforest and felt my feet start to burn.

 

My brother had to carry me the rest of the way through the rainforest so I wouldn't step on any more (a couple other people had been bit, but I was the only one allergic). Once we got into the water, the cold water of the river actually stopped my foot from swelling. Unfortunately - by the time we got back to the ship my entire leg was swollen and I had to pay a nice visit to the ship's doctor when I got back for an IV of cortisone.

 

So, next month when I visit Belize I am bringing my benadryl and vinegar with me cave tubing so I can stop any reaction before it starts. If you are allergic - beware of the Belizean Red Ants! :mad:

[driftwood]

. . . these are not United States domestic fire ants, which some of you may be used to, but fire ants that we call "imported fire ants" when they are found in the United States. So it is better not to be bitten if possible. Here is a little information from the Internet:

 

"Fire Ant Stings. Fire ants are notorious for their stinging behavior. When a fire ant mound is accidentally disturbed, hundreds of ants rapidly attack the invader. They bite with their powerful jaws, while arching their backs and stabbing with a stinger located in their rear abdomen. The wound from a fire ant sting forms a red welt, about twice the size of a normal freckle. The next day a white blister forms. If the blister is popped or broken open, an infection and scarring can occur. The most common symptom, other than the burning pain when stung, is a mild itch that usually lasts a few days.

To minimize the risk of being attacked:

• Watch for and avoid fire ant mounds. Nests are usually dome-shaped mounds of soil, sometimes as large as a meter across and 0.5 meter in height. Unlike most ant mounds, the mound or nest has no opening in the center. In sandy soils mounds are flatter and less visible. Many of the fire ant mounds in developed areas . . . are of this smaller, flatter variety.

• Wear protective clothing during outdoor activities (e.g., shoes or boots, pant legs tucked into socks). [Not so easy when cavetubing, eh?]

• Use insect repellent on clothing and footwear."

 

Most of us, unlike the unfortunate but beautiful Lyssa, are not going to be allergic to the stings, but none of us will want to experience them. This is a good excursion on which to practice paying attention to your guide. :rolleyes: