How to find and capture a Tarantula in Animal Crossing: New Horizons

If you want to complete your Museum in Animal Crossing: New Horizons or want to make a lot of cash from a single bug capture, then you’ll probably be searching for a Tarantula sooner or later.

The pesky hairy Spider is notorious in Animal Crossing games for being incredibly hard to find and capture, and it returns in New Horizons in full force. Granted, it is a little bit easier to find this time and spawns quite regularly on the island in comparison to previous games.

Still, how exactly do you find and capture this creature on your quest to complete the Creaturepedia?

First, make sure you are playing during the right time of the month. A Tarantula will only spawn in your word during January, February, March, April, November, and December. Then make sure you are playing the game at a specific time during those months from 7pm till 4am. Yep, it spawns late at night, so prepare to be pulling an allnighter to get it.

Should you reach the criteria, you have just completed the easiest part about getting a Tarantula. Congrats! Now let’s get to the hard part. Just because you are playing the game during the correct time does not mean a Tarantula will spawn. It is incredibly rare and hard to come across the creature.

Our advice is to circle around the entire map walking. And we say walking as Running will alert the Tarantula and make it run after you, knocking you out if it touches you. While walking, be sure to also have your Net out at all times.

If you don’t find one, enter a building and then exit it. This will reset the outside of your world. Repeat this process until you find one walking around and stop. Hold the A button with your Net out to walk slowly and approach the Tarantula. As soon as it looks at you and lifts its front two legs to defend itself. Stop walking! Wait for it to drop its legs, get a little bit closer towards it, and as soon as it lifts its legs, stop again.

Repeat this process until you are in reaching distance for your Net to capture it and let it fly and you should be able to finally catch one and add it to your Museum, House, or Collection.