Daddy Longlegs (Harvestmen) Spider Identification
Protect your home or business from daddy longlegs by learning techniques for identification and control.
Treatment
How do I get rid of daddy longlegs?
What You Can Do
Since harvestmen are beneficial predators, control measures are usually unnecessary. Should they be found inside your home, remove them with a vacuum or broom. If control is necessary, seek the assistance of your pest management professional.
What Orkin Does
Your local Orkin Pro is trained to help manage daddy longlegs and similar pests. Since every building or home is different, your Orkin Pro will design a unique spider treatment program for your situation.
Orkin can provide the right solution to keep daddy longlegs in their place and out of your home or business.
Frequently Asked Questions
Behavior, Diet & Habits
Understanding Daddy Longlegs
Appearance
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Size: They measure 5/16 of an inch in length
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Color: They are usually brown or grayish in color.
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Body: Harvestmen have one body segment, two eyes, and eight legs. Their second pair of legs are longer than the others and function as their smell and taste sense organs.
Behavior & Diet
They have many names such as harvest spiders, shepherd spiders, and grandfather graybeards. Their proper common names are daddy longlegs, harvestmen, or opilionids. These organisms are called harvestmen because they are often seen in large numbers in the fall around harvest time. During the fall, their populations may briefly cluster together. Unlike spiders, they do not create silk webs.
Harvestmen primarily search for food at night. They use their mouthparts to hold their prey while they feed on them. In fact, these mouthparts are very similar to crabs. You may also find tiny brown spots where they feed which can be fecal deposits. They produce a strong odor that repels most predators to use as protection.
Habitat
Outdoors, harvestmen prefer to live in damp, shaded areas such as on trees, under eaves, and underneath logs and rocks. It is rare to see harvestmen in home living spaces. If they make their way indoors, they hide in areas including:
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Basements
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Crawlspaces
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Garages
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Sheds
Lifespan
In northern portions of their range, harvestmen live for only one year, while in the south they may live up to two years.