I. General Facts about Daddy Longlegs

Daddy longlegs/harvestmen (Opiliones) spiders eat a wide variety of foods, including aphids, caterpillars, beetles, flies, mites, small slugs, snails, earthworms, spiders, other harvestmen, decaying plant and animal matter, bird droppings and fungi.

When faced with predators (among the most common of which are birds), a daddy longlegs spider releases a stinking odor. Interestingly, the average daddy longlegs molts every ten days or so. It splits open its body case, or exoskeleton, then takes about twenty minutes to drag its long legs from their old casings.

II. Are Daddy Longlegs Pests?

They’re not really pests per se, mainly because their numbers don’t usually post a threat to everyday human life, and they’re also quite harmless.

In fact, there are even some species of daddy longlegs that are going extinct. Some troglobitic (cave dwelling) Opiliones have now even been considered endangered since their home caves are in or near cities where pollution and development of the land alter the cave habitat. Others species are threatened by the invasion of non-native fire ants.

III. Bites from Daddy Longlegs

You don’t need to be afraid of daddy longlegs because they have no venom at all. There have been stories that the harvestman is the most venomous animal in the world. This is not true. Its fangs are actually too small to bite humans and are not dangerous. In fact, none of the known species have venom glands or fangs.

The size of its mouth varies by species, but even those with relatively large jaws hardly ever bite humans or other large creatures, even in self-defense. The few known cases of actual bites did not involve venom and had no lasting effect.

IV. Basic Daddy Longlegs Infestation Control

There are over a hundred daddy longlegs species in North America alone. There’s a smaller-bodied, longer-legged form of daddy longlegs, and a larger-bodied, shorter-legged one. The small-bodied, long-legged one is the male, and the other, the female. Regardless of gender, though, this spider can be dealt with using of any of the following:

* Bug Repellant: A substance applied to skin, clothing, or other surfaces that discourages insects (and arthropods in general) from landing or climbing on that surface; something like Off! Lotion, Off! Deep Woods, DEET Insect Repellant and the like.

* Mothballs: Mothballs are small balls of chemical pesticide and deodorant, used when storing clothing and other articles susceptible to damage from mold or moth larvae (especially clothes moths like Tineola bisselliella). If it can work for moths, then it should work just as well for repelling daddy longlegs.

* The Classic Water and Soap Trap: A clean, dust-free environment means disturbed habitat for the harvestmen. Many homeowners use a nylon stocking over a broom head to remove both the harvestmen and their webs.

Vacuuming on a regular basis is also recommended. Having your doors and windows checked and sealed properly, as well as your door and window screens, is always a good idea. Also, weather-stripping can be a quick fix, while caulking cracks and holes in your foundation or on the outside of your house can’t hurt, either.

The best way to bid farewell to daddy longlegs is to dust and vacuum your way to a cleaner attic and ceiling on a regular basis. Clean away the cobwebs and drive those daddies from your home by destroying theirs.

V. Exterminating Daddy Longlegs

Daddy longlegs do not really do harm to humans. They can be unsightly, though, and for aesthetic reasons, many choose to do away with them. Here are a couple of ways to do this:

* Most commercial aerosol insect sprays will do the trick. These substances (or mixture of substances) have been effectively used for preventing, controlling, or lessening the damage caused by many a pest for many generations.

Simply put, if it’s effective enough to humble the resilient cockroach, then the spindly-legged harvestman stands no chance whatsoever. Just to give you an idea, you can use Raid, Baygon or Bug-A-Tak to make your house longlegs-free.

* Boric acid has been used by pest control professionals for a while now, and is usually used on ground-dwelling pests like cockroaches, silverfish, earwigs, ants, and other flightless insects, sometimes even on spiders and bees. If you’re thinking about killing some harvestmen, this is a tried and tested way to do it.

There you have it – ways to help you cope with daddy longlegs infestation. Considering that they’re innocuous, aren’t poisonous, keep out of your way most of the time and eat all the real pests in your home (flies, mosquitoes, mites, and the like), you just might think twice, though, before you completely exterminate these spiders from your house.