The daddy longlegs Nelima paessleri is abundant in Kenai Peninsula forests. It commonly enters crawl spaces in the fall. (Photo by Matt Bowser/UWFWS)

The daddy longlegs Nelima paessleri is abundant in Kenai Peninsula forests. It commonly enters crawl spaces in the fall. (Photo by Matt Bowser/UWFWS)

Refuge Notebook: Daddy longlegs of home, garden and mountains

Editor’s note: This article was originally published in 2005. It is republished with some updates.

Fall is the time of year when, like them or not, we have to deal with daddy longlegs. As the weather cools, they seem to magically materialize around and in our homes, sometimes in alarming numbers.

They can be a nuisance in this way, but whether or not the offending animals should be immediately squished, ignored or gently transferred back to the garden should be considered.

The name daddy longlegs is sometimes used for crane flies or some long-legged spiders, but here I am referring to the familiar spindly-legged arthropods of the order Opiliones. These are not spiders, but like spiders, mites and scorpions, they have eight legs and they are arachnids.

Spiders and daddy longlegs can easily be distinguished by the shapes of their bodies — the body of a spider is divided into two main parts separated by a narrow constriction; the body of a daddy longlegs appears to be one broadly oval part. Females, especially when full of eggs, are stouter than the smaller-bodied, longer-legged males.

Daddy longlegs have neither fangs nor venom, so they cannot bite people. Instead, they have tiny pincers that they use for grabbing and cutting up their food. These are much too small to be harmful to people, at least in our Alaska species of daddy longlegs.

Most daddy longlegs are generalist scavengers and predators, eager to eat just about any kind of minute animal. Some also eat small amounts of vegetable matter. Most of them hide by day and prowl about at night. They repel potential predators by exuding foul-smelling, distasteful secretions from their scent glands.

We have several kinds of daddy longlegs on the Kenai, each with different habits. The daddy longlegs most often noticed by people is Phalangium opilio. This is the large, mottled gray to brownish variety that is often abundant in gardens, driveways and yards. They are often active out in the open during the day.

Like the cockroach, the house fly and the silverfish, Phalangium is associated with humans in many parts of the world. It is native to the Old World and is probably introduced in Alaska. It is not a pest, though.

In the garden, it is a beneficial animal, eating many small, soft-bodied pests including aphids, caterpillars, grubs and slugs.

Mitopus morio is a native daddy longlegs similar to Phalangium. In our area it seems to prefer to hunt and scavenge in wetlands rather than around houses.

Nelima paessleri is the daddy longlegs that can gather in the thousands in crawl spaces, basements and well houses. They are mostly burgundy to red-brown with banded legs. Nelima is found in much of the boreal forest, where they live secretive lives until the fall, when they seek out warm, damp nooks to spend the winter.

No one knows for sure, though, why daddy longlegs gather into dense aggregations. The most likely reason is a principle called amplification, where a signal becomes more potent or “louder” by concentration.

In this case, the odor given off by a single Nelima when disturbed may not be especially noticeable and might not deter a hungry predator, but the stench given off by a mass of a thousand upset daddy longlegs could not be ignored and would repel all but the most desperate of predators.

In rocky places, in the mountains and on beaches, Leptobunus borealis can be found by day in rock outcrops and under driftwood, stones and debris. They hunt at night. They are small, mottled gray, relatively short-legged daddy longlegs.

Perhaps the most interesting daddy longlegs in our area is Sabacon occidentalis, a delicate, spiny predator with a unique way to capture its prey. Its lanky pedipalps (the appendages which are shaped like pincers in scorpions) are covered in sticky spines. Sabacon whips out its sticky pedipalps to capture springtails, its preferred prey.

The household varieties of daddy longlegs are plentiful on the Kenai, so squishing a few should not harm any population. It is wiser, though, to let them live outside the home and devour pests.

A daddy long-legs found in the house may be caught by herding it into a butter dish or simply picking it up, then releasing it in the garden. A mass of Nelima already in the crawl space may be left alone so that they can exit in the spring. Entrance of daddy longlegs into the home is best prevented by a well sealed structure.

Matt Bowser serves as a Fish and Wildlife Biologist at Kenai National Wildlife Refuge. This article appeared originally in the Refuge Notebook of October 14, 2005. To find more Refuge Notebook Articles go to https://www.fws.gov/kenai-refuge-notebook or find us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/kenainationalwildliferefuge

Sabocon occidentalis captures springtails using its sticky pedipalps. (Photo by Matt Bowser/USFWS)

Sabocon occidentalis captures springtails using its sticky pedipalps. (Photo by Matt Bowser/USFWS)

More in Sports

Kylie Northington of Nikiski JV brings the ball up against Ninilchik's Audry Herndon at the Keith Presley Memorial Tournament on Friday, February 14, 2025, at Ninilchik School in Ninilchik, Alaska. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)
Friday hoops roundup: Ninilchik girls, boys both win at Presley tourney

The Ninilchik girls and boys basketball teams both separated themselves from the… Continue reading

Soldotna's Kenai Lepule (55) was one of the players of the game at the Division II state championship at Colony High School in Palmer, Alaska, on October 26, 2024. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)
SoHi’s Lepule to play football at Eastern New Mexico University

Soldotna senior Kenai Lepule signed in early February at play football at… Continue reading

tease
Thursday hoops roundup: Presley tourney gets going in Ninilchik

The Tok girls, Ninilchik boys, and Unalaska girls and boys picked up… Continue reading

Martin Flores skis into the finish to win the 40-kilometer Double Tour while carrying an Alaska flag during the Tour of Tsalteshi at Tsalteshi Trails near Soldotna, Alaska, on Sunday, Feb. 18, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Tour of Tsalteshi race canceled

There will still be a ski event at the Tsalteshi’s trailhead on Kalifornsky Beach Road.

Allie Ostrander is presented her award by Stacia Rustad at the Alaska High School Hall of Fame's Class of 2023 induction ceremony on Sunday, May 7, 2023, at The Lakefront Hotel in Anchorage, Alaska. (Screenshot)
Ostrander records fastest Alaska half marathon

Anchorage’s Chris Clark had the previous record with her time of 1:15:27 in 2000.

tease
Wednesday hoops: Unalaska girls, Ninilchik boys pick up conference wins

The Unalaska girls and Ninilchik boys picked up Southern Conference victories Wednesday… Continue reading

Nikiski's Lynn Deveer drives on Homer's Henry Wedvik and Einar Pederson on Tuesday, February 11, 2025, at Nikiski Middle-High School in Nikiski, Alaska. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)
Tuesday: Nikiski girls, Homer boys notch conference wins

The Nikiski girls and Homer boys basketball teams picked up Peninsula Conference… Continue reading

Soldotna’s Tania Boonstra sets out from the start on Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025 at the Lookout Mountain Cross-Country Ski Trails in Homer, Alaska. Boonstra, a junior, earned the title of Skimeister for the third year in a row at this weekend’s regional meet. (Chloe Pleznac/Homer News)
Colony’s girls, boys sweep Region III ski meet

SoHi’s Boonstra wins 3rd straight Skimeister

Most Read