The white tip at the rare of spider abdomen is visible. If these spiders were indeed deadly poisonous but couldn't bite humans, then the only way we would know that they are poisonous is by milking them and injecting the venom into humans.Ī photo of a Pholcus phalangioides that has immobilises a whitetail spider (Lampona cylindrata) by wrapping it in silk.Ī whitetail spider (Lampona murina) wrapped in silk. There is no reference to any pholcid spider biting a human and causing any detrimental reaction. The myth is incorrect at least in making claims that have no basis in known facts. There is an often-repeated urban myth that states ‘the daddy longlegs is the most poisonous spider in the world, but it can’t bite you because its fangs are too small’. When a victim is trapped in the web it immobilises it by wrapping it in silk, not like other spiders that use venom. These webs are constructed in dark and damp recesses, in caves, under rocks and loose bark, abandoned mammal burrows in undisturbed areas in buildings and cellars, hence the common name "cellar spiders". However, Pholcids are also quite commonly found in warm, dry places, such as household windows. They hang inverted in messy, irregular, tangled webs. Pholcids are fragile spiders, the slender body being 2–10 mm in length with very long legs which may be up to 50 mm long. Pholcids are web-weaving spiders and are distributed worldwide and were accidentally introduced to New Zealand. Unlike other eight-legged house friends (say, jumping spiders which also happen to be predators of cellar spiders), cellar spiders tend to set up residence in a spot in your home and stay put. The Daddy long legs are an introduced spider during the early European colonial period. We can help you to get rid of annoying and invasive cellar spiders by helping to prevent them from entering into your home in the first place.Īt Spencer Pest Services our pros will partner with you to create a pest control program to exclude cellar spiders and the insects and spiders that they dine on from your home all the while treating and eliminating any current pest problems you may be experiencing.Īvailable throughout the Upstate of South Carolina, North Carolina and northern Georgia, please contact us today to learn more about our home pest control services.Common Name: Daddy Long Legs, Granddaddy long-legs spider, Daddy long-legs spider, Daddy long-legger, Cellar spider, Vibrating spider, Daddy longlegs spider. A fun fact about cellar spiders is that they hang upside down in their webs and when they are bothered they shake their webs aggressively. This means that in addition to lots of spiders living in your home a cellar spider invasion means that there will be lots of clusters of unsightly spider webs as well. They are often found invading barns, sheds, garages, basements, crawl spaces, underneath of sinks, and in root cellars.Ĭellar spiders can become a big problem inside of homes and other buildings because they like to live close to each other. Why do I have a cellar spider problem?Ĭellar spiders gravitate to environments that are both damp and dark. Pholcids are web-weaving spiders and are distributed worldwide and were accidentally introduced to New Zealand. Pholcids are fragile spiders, the slender body being 210 mm in length with very long legs which may be up to 50 mm long. While cellar spider venom isn’t a threat to us, it is a threat to other spider species, including venomous spiders like the brown recluse spider and the black widow spider. The Daddy long legs are an introduced spider during the early European colonial period. Luckily this is completely false and while they are venomous, the venom is not strong enough to affect a person and they pose no medical threat to people.
![long body cellar spider up close long body cellar spider up close](https://activepestcontrol.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/cellar-spider-600x600.jpg)
There is an old urban legend associated with cellar spiders, it states that their venom is the most deadly in the world but their fangs are too short to be able to bite and inject it into a person. Some species of cellar spiders are very common in homes, especially in garages, basements, and cellars, hence the common name.
![long body cellar spider up close long body cellar spider up close](https://bugguide.net/images/cache/KRT/ZXR/KRTZXRDZ6R6LMZDLSZVL7ZUL3LYZYLJZHZTZQRULRZUL7ZBL6RTLZZWLZZTL0ZCLERQHQZCLXZQH7Z9L7ZQHIZWLLZ.jpg)
They are sometimes referred to as daddy long legs spiders, which are quite different and unrelated.
![long body cellar spider up close long body cellar spider up close](https://fthmb.tqn.com/8cc_H6qsliI03YRcG6TZxABAG0E=/768x0/filters:no_upscale()/5436401-PPT-56a51f915f9b58b7d0daf035.jpg)
However, their mouthparts are small and are not strong enough to pierce the skin of a person. Cellar spiders are inconspicuous, harmless, fragile spiders with extremely long, thin legs. Cellar spiders have the potential to bite if they are being directly handled or feel threatened.