Are Daddy Long Legs Poisonous?
People often assume “poisonous” and “venomous” mean the same thing, but they refer to two different biological mechanisms. With daddy long legs (harvestmen), the distinction is very straightforward:
Daddy long legs (harvestmen) are not poisonous and they’re also not venomous.
They lack venom glands entirely, so they cannot inject toxins. They also aren’t known to contain toxins that could harm someone if touched or accidentally ingested. Their primary defenses are simply odor-based secretions meant to deter predators, and these secretions are not harmful to people or pets.
Are Daddy Long Legs Venomous?
No — daddy long legs are not venomous.
The confusion comes from the fact that the name “daddy long legs” is used for a few different critters. The ones most people mean are harvestmen (order Opiliones). They don’t have venom glands, they don’t produce venom, and they don’t have fangs capable of delivering venom. They rely on other defenses, such as scent glands, camouflage, and their ability to detach a leg if grabbed.
Cellar spiders (another creature people commonly call daddy long legs) do have venom because they’re true spiders, but their venom is extremely mild and not dangerous to people or pets.
Daddy Long Legs Venom
This is a very common myth, but it’s completely false. Daddy long legs are not the most venomous spider in the world, and the truth depends on which creature people mean by “daddy long legs,” because that nickname gets used for three very different animals.
- If you’re talking about harvestmen (the long-legged, oval-bodied arachnids often found in basements), they have no venom at all. They don’t possess venom glands or fangs and can’t bite people in any meaningful way.
- If you mean cellar spiders (the thin, fragile spiders that hang upside down in messy webs), they do have venom, but it is extremely mild and designed for tiny prey. Their fangs are small, and even if they do manage to bite, the effect is negligible—nothing more than a minor, fleeting irritation at worst.
- Finally, if you mean crane flies (the flying insects with long legs), they also have no venom, no fangs, and no ability to bite.
The idea that they are “the most venomous but their fangs can’t penetrate human skin” has no scientific support. It’s simply a longstanding urban legend with no basis in reality.