Do You Know The Truth About Daddy Longlegs In Virginia

Most people have seen them before: those peculiar-looking, spider-like creatures with long, spindly legs splayed out across your wall or bopping around your property. Although daddy longlegs are harmless to people, having an abundance of them in your home could make you uneasy. At Albemarle Termite & Pest Control, we offer quality pest control in Virginia to effectively eliminate daddy longlegs in and around your house. Read on to learn more about these interesting arachnids and how you can prevent them from making themselves comfortable inside your residence.

Are Daddy Longlegs Poisonous?

Daddy longlegs pose no harm to humans or animals other than looking creepy with their wispy-thin limbs. They don’t have fangs, injectable toxins, venom glands, or other means for chemically subduing their prey. They’re gawky-looking, gentle, social bugs that like to hang out in large groups. Daddy longlegs has a broad diet that consists of other insects, dead or alive, rotting vegetation, and bird droppings. Contact your local pest control to remove daddy longlegs if you see an abundance of them in or around your home.

Daddy Longlegs Risk Life To Survive

Daddy longlegs are the most versatile and adaptable of all creatures classified as arachnids. They traverse using eight stilt-like legs designed to detach from their bodies if a predator grabs ahold of one. These critters are known for deliberately dropping a few legs in their lifetime to escape perilous situations. Scientists believe that daddy longlegs feels no pain with a detached leg due to the automatic nature of this defense mechanism. It’s an autotomy process, the voluntary release of a body part. And in case you were wondering, no new legs grow in to replace the detached ones. The daddy longlegs learns to get around on the legs it has left and can be back to their average speed in less than a day.    

Five Fun Facts About Daddy Longlegs Spiders

Daddy longlegs in Virginia are the least of your worries out of all the pests you can encounter. These harmless arachnids don’t spread disease or inflict harm. They’re beneficial to your garden as they act as a natural pest control agent, feeding on everything from fungus, worms, snails, insects, spiders, and harmful insects. Check out this list of five other fascinating factoids about daddy longlegs:

1. Daddy longlegs are not spiders.
2. Their legs do not grow back once detached.
3. They don’t move that much, spending most of the day immobile.
4. They groom themselves, tending to one leg at a time. 
5. They play dead to ward off predators, excreting a vile odor.

Daddy longlegs inhabit every continent except for Antarctica. They are also more closely related to scorpions and have only one pair of eyes.  

Spider Prevention For Virginia Residents

Even though daddy longlegs can benefit your garden, it can still be a little unsettling to find them in large numbers on your property. Consider enlisting professional pest control services to control their populations and make your outdoor living spaces comfortable again. They can educate you on the particular pests that invade your property while delivering effective pest management to control them.

At Albemarle Termite & Pest Control, we provide the most effective home pest control solutions to successfully manage your problem with daddy longlegs in Virginia with lasting results. Our treatments are safe for you and your family, and we can develop a plan that specifically meets your needs. Get in touch with us today to schedule your free, no-obligation inspection.