Daddy Long Leggers

[BXmark]

Help! It's the attack of the Daddy Lond Leggers!
We seem to be overrun with the critters. As I type here there are 5 on the window screen outside. We can't sit out on the porch without the things running all over us. Anyone know why we are overrun with the things?

 

[StoneHeartFarm]

Uhm... because all the Lady bugs left for the summer? /w3tcompact/icons/crazy.gif Sorry, couldn't resist.

Probably just the weather. It's been a freaky couple of years. Or, it could just be part of a regular cycle.

Not alot of help, I know. But at least they're not black widows. Might try some spider repellant. Moths balls might work, or (I saw one guy actually do this), take some bleach and lay a stripe all around your house. There is also supposed to be an herb that keeps spiders out of your house, you just hang bunches of it around. Course, it might keep YOU out too /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif. I'll wrack my brain pan for awhile and see if I can remember what it is.

SHF

 

[Bird]

We always seem to have just a few of those critters, but not many. However, I'd love to swap you my grasshoppers for your spiders./w3tcompact/icons/crazy.gif

Bird

 

[RichZ]

BX, as SHF said mothballs will repell daddy longlegs. However, other than their appearance, daddy long legs are harmless, and are actually beneficial. They are not actually spiders, but are related to spiders, and eat small insects, so they're actually good to have around. Like Bird said, they're better than grasshoppers.
Where are you located? That might give us a clue as to why their numbers have increased.

Rich

 

[StoneHeartFarm]

Hey Bird,

Are you guys getting the Lady Bugs down there? The blasted things keep wanting to over winter here. (I understand its an asian import lady bug). They hang in the corners in clusters and come in in swarms. The other thing we get are "oakworms" which is not their real name, but what we call them locally. About every 7 years they run a cycle and you can't go near the trees. (Unless you LIKE big ugly worms falling down the back of your shirt.) There are millions of the stupid things. It's not uncommon to fill a coffee can with the sweepings off the porch. I've gone fishing and spent more time brushing the darn oakworms off me than I spent drowning crawlers. /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

SHF

 

[Bird]

SHF, the only time I ever notice the Lady Bugs is in the garden and they're supposed to be beneficial. We always have a few each year, but actually not as many as I'd like to have. And I don't know what you're talking about with the oakworms, so I don't guess we have them.

Bird

 

[skent]

Seems like in the spring or fall they have been unbelieveable here (Maryland) They end up literally covering the sunny side of the house, end up in your cars, trucks, everywhere. Seems like the last 5 or 6 years have been worse than normal.

Steve

 

[StoneHeartFarm]

Remembered the herb. Sage is supposed to keep bugs out of your house. BUT, you gotta burn it.

Weather patterns across the country have been changing. Last winter everyone here kept saying it was more like a "real" Michigan winter. I guess they forgot that the snow is supposed to start in November and keep falling until March. Not turn into ice rain in January and stay like that until April. Haven't seen a real Michigan winter here since the early 80's.

Weather changes can make lots of different bugs pop up. I just keep waiting for the new stuff to show. Our DNR has been watching closely because we get a lot of bugs in on shipments to the grocery stores. They're afraid something will decide it's warm enough to live here. Around the turn of the Century, Michigan had a problem with Malaria. Somebody came back from South America with it and they found out it could live here. Took them a few years to get rid of it. DNR doesn't want an instant replay.

SHF

 

[RichZ]

Hey, Steve! Why don't you try using the oakworms as bait?/w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

Rich

 

[MarkV]

We have had tons of Lady Bugs here in Georgia the last few years. I heard that they were introduced to eat some little critters that were killing pine tree crops. Anyone know if that is true?

MarkV