How Serious Are Daddy Long Leg Spider Bites

Contrary to urban legends and popular beliefs that daddy long legs deliver the most powerful venom in the world, no actual scientific evidence exists to support this claim. Some insect and arachnid species are often mistaken for daddy longlegs spiders, including cellar spiders and crane flies.

Harvestmen, for example, do not possess venom glands and cellar spiders’ fangs are too short to deliver an effective bite to humans. Harvestmen can be guilty of assaulting your olfactory senses, in addition to scaring people and animals with their bizarre ability to cluster together to defend themselves against predators. True daddy long legs or harvestmen excrete chemicals that put off a distinctly, unpleasant odor from special glands in their bodies. In a large group, it creates a much more pronounced effect than individuals would, in a collaborative defense against larger predators.