Yes, it was a physical problem

Just spent the last hour diagnosing why my basement light kept coming on, after I would turn it off. Of course, this just happened after a hubitat upgrade, so I assumed it would have had something to do with the upgrade.

Well, nope. Turns out a spider set himself up shop right in front of my basement motion detector. Perfect timing to mess with me on his part.

:grinning:

13 Likes

Good news - your motion detector works as desired with Hubitat and the light.

Bad news - them pesky spiders.

I've had them set up shop in a photoelectric smoke detector.

2 Likes

Oh that is nasty.... :sweat_smile:

This is why I installed a pair of motions in my detached shop and wired the contacts in series to the Elk M1G alarm panel. Need two coordinated spiders to trip my alarm....lol No false alarms in over 10 years.

5 Likes

This if gross. We had ants setup home in the curtain rod above our head and didn't even know they were there. The wife kept seeing ants going up and down the wall and when we took down the curtain rod and found the nest. Thousands of them and eggs too. YUK

1 Like

Miss You Love GIF by samsung_de

3 Likes

Spider...? What spider....?

Spider Woman GIF by NowThis

5 Likes

We had a very tiny one set up shop inside the regulator for our NG backup generator. Blocked the little hole well enough that the generator would "overfuel" and stop.

2 Likes

Good reminder.
Thanks!

Wipe peppermint oil around the sensors, they despise the stuff

1 Like

I really do love spiders, but that's just creepy no matter how hard I try to enjoy it. :wink:

2 Likes

Why are they called ‘daddy long legs’? I get the obvious long legs, but are there no ‘mommy long legs’?

2 Likes

My older son is terrified of spiders. Of course I sent this to him.

Years ago I was putting Halloween decorations up, and found a rubber spider in the box. I tossed it at him and he about hit the ceiling jumping out of the chair. Looked like a karate master kicking and screaming.

3 Likes

A brief search seems to indicate that no one is sure where the "Daddy" part of the name started.

Interesting (to me) geek-out info...

The answers to these questions depend, in part, on exactly which daddy longlegs you're talking about. That name is often used to describe several different creatures. For example, it may be used to describe the long-legged crane fly, which is an insect, or long-legged cellar spiders, which are true spiders.

Mostly, though, daddy longlegs is used to refer to Opiliones, which are an order of arachnids also known as harvestmen. Scientists believe there could be over 10,000 different species of harvestmen.

Harvestmen are arachnids, but not spiders. They have eight legs and look a bit like spiders, but there are several key differences. For example, harvestmen have one body section and two eyes, while most spiders have two body sections and eight eyes.

Harvestmen also don't produce silk and don't have venom. Thus, that old myth about daddy longlegs being the most venomous creature on Earth is just that: a myth. Even if you call a harvestman a daddy longlegs, there's no proof that its venom is especially toxic to humans.

Harvestmen tend to live on the ground in moist areas, such as under logs and rocks. Their long legs explain the “longlegs" part of their nickname, although no one knows for sure where the “daddy" part of the nickname came from. Curiously, scientists point out that there are some species of harvestmen that have short legs!

The long legs of most harvestmen are very important to them. Harvestmen sense the world around them with their legs, like we do with our ears, nose, tongue and skin. If you try to capture a harvestman, one or more of its legs might fall off. Although losing its legs might help a harvestman escape a predator, it seriously hurts its ability to sense the world around it.

daddy long-leg spiders

When people run into the creepy crawlies, the name daddy long-legs is used but this name can refer to at least three different animals.

Spider

Another critter often called daddy long-legs is a true spider referred to as cellar spiders in the family Pholcidae. This is a true spider with two body segments, and eight eyes, and makes webs with silk. This is most likely the animal you call daddy long-legs when you see them. Since they are most commonly found in cellars, hence their name.

There are also crane flies which is another creature that shares the well-used daddy long-legs name. These are insects in the family Tipulidae. They look like large mosquitoes but can't actually bite you because they lack a mouth. The stage you see crawling and flying around is their adult stage of life which only lasts a few days.

I will now crawl back into my nerd-cave and spend the evening doing more spider-WWWebing. :slight_smile:

3 Likes

:grin:

5 Likes

Really? please tell me I'm not the only one that got that!!

2 Likes

You're not.

And if that is pointed at me, I'm both honored and offended. Mostly honored - CLIFFY!!!

4 Likes