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Can I remove part of the web a daddy long legs has woven without harming them? (lemmy.ml)

submitted 11 months ago by bec@lemmy.ml to c/asklemmy@lemmy.ml

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This spider has taken residence in a corner of one of the rooms, I'm not bothered by them but the web is getting a bit too big... can I just remove part of it to keep the size in check without causing harm to the spider?

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[–] Hillock@kbin.social 91 points 11 months ago (2 children)

I am going to assume you have a cellar spider. Removing part of the web isn't going to directly harm them. They don't recycle their web so you aren't even removing nutrients from them.

The only way it's going to affect them is by reducing their chances of catching prey. Cellar spiders don't have a sticky web and rather rely on prey brushing up against their web, then rushing there and killing it with a bite. So you are reducing the area they are covering.

They also usually just gradually increase the size of their web. So it's unlikely it will try to rebuild everything you removed at once. Meaning it's not going to waste too much energy.

[–] Hank@kbin.social 31 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

That's an outrageous amount of nerdiness on such a specific topic. Respect and a nice little boost to you.

[–] bec@lemmy.ml 18 points 11 months ago

Yes, the reduced chance of getting prey was the first thing that sprung to mind and I was mainly thinking about how that would mean increased hunger... but the web was getting too large to ignore, so we needed a compromise. Hope the trim won't affect them too much!

Meaning it’s not going to waste too much energy

That's good to hear! Thanks for all the info!