TOO MANY SPIDERS

Question
Hello,

My name is Danny I am an animal science major in my second year and
my school, NMSU, does not deal with herps much. I keep many species
of exotics specifically from tropical parts of the world. I have a room I
keep between 60 and 80% humidity with temp. ranges from 70 (night in
winter) to 85 (day in summer).  I have had a major problem with fruit
flies, this has caused an unwelcomed increase of aracnids, specifically
"Daddy long legs".

I have gotten Sundews and other small carnivorious plant to assist with
the removal of the fruit flies but this does nothing for the spiders! I even
found one on my Red Tail Boa today! Please help me! Insecticide is not
an option seeing as I keep 2 parrots, 10 herps, and breed hissing
roaches and have no where to take them. Is there any gecko, frog, or
something that will kill and eat them that can live freely in this
environment?

Uva is throughout the entire room, there are lot of plants to hide
around. Uvb by murcury vapor bulbs in in 2 places and the room is
aprox 10x8. They do need to be able to climb also. I am very
acracnaphobic and have killed 25 in the past week. My cages are clean
and moved regularly and the spiders are only found in that room. The
spiders also can't be good for my animals.

Thank you for your help!

Sincerely,

Danny Gibson  

Answer
Hi Danny,

I have similar issues in my reptile room. I also breed feeder insects and the food and environment provided for them naturally invites other commensal insects to take up residence. Fruit flies and Indian meal moths are my two biggest problems. I have parrots as well, in another part of the house, so am also limited in treatment choices.


As a living pest control option I think a small gecko would be your best bet rather then a frog. I would recommend one of the Hemidactylus species. They have already developed such a strong reputation for taking advantage of insects inside houses that they have been given the common name of "House gecko". They are available at pet stores but are also an invasive species in many states, including Cal. TX. Az and I have read in NM as well. They are a small, arboreal, nocturnal species so special lighting is not required. Your heating should be quite sufficient. They will likely hang out in the upper corners of your room during the day. You will, of course, have to deal with the trade-off of wiping small amounts of gecko droppings off your walls! House geckos are also small enough to take some of your fruit flies and survive on your spider population without any initial feedng supplementation. You might have to leave out a dish with a few small mealworms for them at some point. I don't know how quickly Daddy long legs/Harvestmen arachnids reproduce. Geckos often prefer to drink water droplets rather then standing water but misting your many plants should provide that.

As for non-living options,I have used those sticky fly strips to help reduce fruit fly populations with good success. I dab a small smear of ripe bananna or stick a small piece of apple on them to help attract the fruit flies. All the strips I have seen say "non-toxic" on the packaging. You can help reduce your spider population by using those sticky floor traps designed for mice. Just place a few against the walls behind a table. I use these for escaped crickets.
I would advise against using these sticky traps and strips in addition to a gecko however. You are quite likely to end up with a trapped gecko!

This link also has a few suggestions although only a few are suitable for you.

http://www.howtogetridofstuff.com/pest-control/how-to-get-rid-of-daddy-long-legs...

I won't waste your time telling you how harmless etc these arachnids are because I know that phobias are not based on facts and reasoning. I have a friend, a long time reptile keeper who fearlessly works with large monitors, venomous snakes and even tarantulas but send him into a basement with small, harmless spiders in the rafters and he turns into a pale, trembling mess!

I seriously doubt that your Daddy long legs, whether they are the true spider type or the other arachnid that has that common name, pose any threat to your other animals.