Spiders in aviary?

[Kali]

I keep getting daddy long legs spiders in the outdoor aviarys.:mad:

Even brushing them out every day without disturbing the nesting boxes I can,t seem to get rid of them.

I know some birds eat spiders. One of our hens (in bygone days) ate a huge redback spider (very poisonous ) and I expected it to keel over and die, but it just looked around for more.

I was wondering if daddy long legs would be a problem to lovebirds.

Kali:mad:

[#1ThaiBoxer]

I'm not sure but daddy longlegs are the most poisonous spiders around. They are even more poisonous than black widow spiders. the only reason we dont hear about them being dangerous is that they can't bite so they aren't capable of spreading their poison around and they dont contain very much of it. I'm not sure if lovebirds can die from those.

[jknezek]

Actually, daddy longlegs are relatively benign. They can bite, but they have very, very small teeth that cannot penetrate most animals' skin. It's designed to penetrate only through small bugs' exoskeleton. I do believe they are poisonous to small bugs, and might be poisonous if you could milk the venom in any massive quantities, but generally it is a myth that they are dangerous to anything but very small bugs.

Anyone else watch Mythbusters on the Discovery Channel? Poisonous Daddy Longlegs is one of the myths they busted. TV comes in handy sometimes...

[Janie]

Daddy Longlegs are the one and only spider that I will pick up and take them outside if I happen to find one in my house. They are not poisonous, at least not to humans. I don't like spiders but I don't even think of them as a spider and have never killed one, only removed them if they got inside. Having said that, I have no idea what kind of problem they might pose to your birds and like you, I would not want them in my aviary.

Jeremy, I've got to look for that show, it sounds interesting. I've never even heard that they are poisonous.

[jknezek]

Almost every spider in the world is poisonous to small bugs. They have to be able to paralyze prey so it doesn't destroy the web by struggling before they can wrap it up. However, the size of the teeth that inject the poison determine whether the spider is poisonous to animals.

A daddy longlegs can "bite" a human. I've actually had it happen and it feels like a tight pinch. But the teeth are too small, and the poison too inocous in the quantities kept in their body, to hurt a human. I have a feeling just about every animal has skin too thick to be hurt by a daddy longlegs but you can't quote me on that. I know an egg shell would be too thick. And even downy feathers would provide way more of a barrier than human skin...

I like the little buggers myself and never sweep them off my porch. They keep the mosquitos down...

[Janie]

Holy Moly, I've been removing them by hand all my life (and I am old!) and had no idea that they could bite! :eek: I've constantly told my two sons not to be such a "wus" about them. If they'd gotten bitten, after me assuring them D. Longlegs would not bite.......I would have LMAO! :rotfl:

[jknezek]

I've been bitten once. And it doesn't hurt much. Just a little wierd. I highly doubt anyone will get bit. You notice it way, way less than a mosquito...

[Z28Taxman]

Actually, daddy longlegs are relatively benign. They can bite, but they have very, very small teeth that cannot penetrate most animals' skin. It's designed to penetrate only through small bugs' exoskeleton. I do believe they are poisonous to small bugs, and might be poisonous if you could milk the venom in any massive quantities, but generally it is a myth that they are dangerous to anything but very small bugs.

Anyone else watch Mythbusters on the Discovery Channel? Poisonous Daddy Longlegs is one of the myths they busted. TV comes in handy sometimes...

I love that show. I've seen every episode at least 3 times!