“Daddy long legs” can mean three different animals, and what you feed depends on which one you have. A true daddy long legs spider (cellar spider) eats small flies, fruit flies, and tiny crickets. A harvestman, which is not a spider, eats small insects, dead bugs, and plant matter. A crane fly, a harmless flying insect, mostly does not eat at all as an adult.
Which “Daddy Long Legs” Do You Have?
- Cellar spider (Pholcidae): a true spider with a small round body, very thin legs, and a loose, messy web in basements and corners. It hangs upside down.
- Harvestman (Opiliones): not a spider. Its body looks like a single oval, with two eyes on a bump and no silk.
- Crane fly: an insect that looks like a giant mosquito, with wings.
Feeding a Cellar Spider
Cellar spiders are happy to eat small live insects.
- Flightless fruit flies, small houseflies, gnats, and small moths.
- Pinhead crickets for larger spiders.
- Other small spiders, which they also hunt in the wild.
Drop one or two insects into or near the web every few days. The spider will wrap them in silk before feeding. Remove old prey, and lightly mist one corner for water.
Feeding a Harvestman
Harvestmen are scavengers and small predators. In nature they eat aphids, small insects, mites, dead insects, fungi, and plant juices. They have no venom and cannot bite hard, so they are harmless to people. They are tricky to keep in captivity, so most people are better off leaving them outside.
Should You Keep One?
A cellar spider in a corner of your home will clean up flies and mosquitoes for free. If you want to keep one as a pet, give it a clean, ventilated container with a place to hang a web. Do not handle it, since the legs are fragile, and a harvestman may drop a leg if grabbed.
Are They Dangerous?
No. The popular claim that daddy long legs are the most venomous spiders in the world but cannot bite is a myth, and there is no evidence that cellar spiders are dangerous to people. Harvestmen have no venom at all.
Learn more: what daddy long legs eat and what to feed a house spider.
Bottom Line
Feed a cellar spider small live flies and gnats, and leave harvestmen to find their own food outdoors. Work out which animal you have first, then pick the food.
