This habit makes the daddy longlegs rather unpopular with gardeners who can find their flying invasion leaves bare patches of grass. You might have heard people saying that daddy longlegs are venomous, or — an even more popular rumour — that they are one of the most deadly insects on earth, they just haven't learned how to transmit their poison yet.
Luckily, this is just a myth. It's true that they cannot bite, but the venomous rumour is likely to have been due to its confusion with certain species of spiders.
The adult daddy longlegs is a brown, long-bodied insect, with translucent wings and very long legs, which easily fall off if handled. They can range in length from mm and the legs are typically several times as long as their body. Daddy longlegs prefer damp climates, and breed in the soil amongst grassy areas. This means they can often be found in garden lawns, though they prefer more sodden grassland. You should avoid killing daddy longlegs, not only because there are alternative ways to move them along without harming them, but they also prey on smaller insects and so work to our advantage when it comes to insect control.
Here are three ways of making your indoor space less hospitable for daddy longlegs:. As mentioned above, daddy longlegs look for a damp environment to mate and lay their larvae, so ensuring your garden is well-trimmed, consistently mowed and cleared of leaf debris is a good way of helping to keep the flying insects at bay.
The second pair of legs are the longest and are used as a sensory structure similar to the way insects use their antennae. Female daddy-longlegs lay their eggs in soil, under stones, or cracks in wood. The eggs are laid in the autumn and hatch in the spring. In the northern areas of the United States, daddy-longlegs live for only one year.
In South Carolina and the rest of the southeast, daddy-longlegs can overwinter as adults and live for up to two years. Daddy-longlegs are generally beneficial. They have a very broad diet that includes spiders and insects, including plant pests such as aphids. Daddy-longlegs also scavenge for dead insects and will eat bird droppings.
In the fall, they can become a nuisance when they congregate in large clusters on trees and homes, usually around eves and windows. Additionally they can be found in damp crawl spaces, unfinished basements, and garages.
Rarely are daddy-longlegs encountered inside finished, living spaces of homes. Since daddy-longlegs are beneficial predators and scavengers in nature, control should only be performed when absolutely necessary. The clustering behavior only occurs during the fall and for only a brief period of time. Daddy-longlegs do not damage structures when they cluster. If control is necessary, due to a large number of daddy-longlegs that is considered unpleasant, insecticide sprays labeled for exterior use on spiders can also be applied directly to daddy-longlegs found outdoors.
However, in nearly all situations, chemical control is not necessary. Most daddy-longlegs can be removed from structures with a vacuum or broom. Donald A. Recently, however, it was shown that the tiny fangs about 0. Most reputable sources, including the University of California, Riverside , still say that this species would never be considered as harmful to humans.
However, in the unlikely event of a bite from this species, a positive identification of the spider by an expert should be made and medical attention sought if any reaction persists for more than a short time. The Australian Museum respects and acknowledges the Gadigal people as the First Peoples and Traditional Custodians of the land and waterways on which the Museum stands. Image credit: gadigal yilimung shield made by Uncle Charles Chicka Madden.
This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. Learn more. Introduction The cosmopolitan Daddy-long-legs Spider belongs to a group known as the tangle-web spiders. Identification Daddy-long-legs spiders are easily recognised by their extremely long, skinny legs and small body. Habitat Daddy-long-legs Spiders are found in most urban areas, in particular houses.
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