My newest hobby is watching the cellar spiders in the corner of my garage.
I let them stay because they kill the flies. Every now and then I destroy their very messy webs.
They are harmless spiders, with extremely long legs and are often called Daddy Long legs, even though they're not really Daddy Long Legs.
Real Daddy Long Legs are Harvestmen and not spiders. They lack the ability to bite and a segmented body and they don't spin webs. My garage spiders certainly have long legs but they are Cellar spiders.
Cellar spiders live up to two years, have segmented bodies and extremely long legs that they can sacrifice to predators, to save themselves.
Cellar spiders can bite but you probably would not even feel it.
They are very good at killing and eating all sorts of bad insects from silver fish to other spiders to house flies. They inject venom into their often silk wrapped prey, that liquifies the victims innards. Then the spiders suck out the liquified juice. Yum, eh?
That's why I let a few of them stay, to do a job, rid the garage of any flies.
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| I think the one on the left is having breakfast |
I read about flies too. (Know your enemy). Circling flies are generally males trying to protect a territory until a female flies through. House flies live up to 30 days. Their territories are generally rectangular, not circular. They orient using a light, a stain, something hanging.... They take off when startled backwards, so if you're swatting at one, aim slightly behind the fly.
Flies sleep, so to speak, no eyelids so they can't close their eyes, a few hours at night. Keeping them awake will tire them and make them easier to eliminate. Unless they have a food source and warm environment, they die off in October or November, as they are cold blooded. Eggs and larvae left behind in manure piles, decaying organics, trash....these form the next generation.
I don't kill house spiders, either, because they are good at catching those pesky flies. We have a small web by the front door that has three dead flies presently. I'm not sure if I have seen cellar spiders or just thought they were daddy long legs.
ReplyDeleteI consider them my employees. They work for rent. And do a needed job.
DeleteNow, perhaps what I thought were daddy long leg spiders here may not be. We've always called them that and I've never heard of cellar flies.
ReplyDeleteThat's a good job you are rid of the dryer, and the unwanted chair.
Well, cellar spiders, actually, not flies. i always called these cellar spiders daddy long legs too, until I decided to learn about their natural history and found out these are cellar spiders not true daddy long legs.
DeleteInteresting nature facts. Good job getting rid of the dryer.
ReplyDeleteYeah it was about time, on the dryer, although I knew they wanted it for awhile. Just a matter of when they had time to come get it, with their truck.
DeleteGlad to hear they're beneficial spiders.
ReplyDeleteThey even kill black widow spiders and wolf spiders.
DeleteIn the past decade I have learned to love the bees-- of all types. The wasps, yellow jackets, and hornets not so much. I've also learned to be more tolerant of spiders for the reasons you gave. I don't mind them at all outside, except when I walk into a giant unseen web. Inside? Sorry.
ReplyDeleteHow nice of you to search for a person needing that clothes dryer. ~hugs~ The thought of keeping flies awake at night made me giggle. You need to come up with ways to do it, like you 'found' the meaning of peachy dory. lol Be well, my dear.
ReplyDeleteI don't mind them in my basement, but unfortunately the ceilings in my house are quite low, so my house spiders are just above eye level. Sadly, I do a spider sweep weekly, and try not to let it go longer than that so they don't have little spiderlings. I very rarely have spiders in the cat rooms, but I still have to note that I do a spider sweep weekly, as the law now says I need to have a "pest control protocol." But the basement is basically the spiders' domain. If I have someone in for maintenance I do a basic web sweep so they aren't running into them, but that's only a few times per year. While I don't particular like having a house spider drop on me, for some reason, like daddy longlegs, they don't give me the "Yikes!" reaction I involuntarily get with wolf and orb spiders. It must be something genetic. Love the spider pics!
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