Daddy Long Legs

by June T. Bassemir

Where do Daddy Long legs come from?  Do they walk in the door when I am not looking?  Do they come up from the tub drain?  Do they hatch from something like the bugs that appear in flour when it is old?  Or do they come up from the basement on the pipes under the sink?  This is a mystery in my pristine white tiled bathroom!!

I was never bothered with them before and so the question never really needed to be answered.  But this winter, whenever I looked into the bathtub, THERE was a daddy long legs resting on the bottom or hanging overhead by a thin web.  Now I know they are good, I mean they are supposed to eat other insects but the only thing in my bathroom – that is – in the tub is soap scum.  Is that what they like to eat?  

Tonight was the last straw.   I turned on the light and there on my toothbrush was a young daddy long legs.  This is too much!  In the tub is one thing, but sharing my toothbrush?  No way!  He raced across the marble sink top in a hurried frenzy to get away; then fell into the sink.  One thing I know and that is they like water …cold water, that is.  As the cold water swirls them around they fold up their legs and wait for the action to stop.  Then they unfurl their legs and begin to climb out.   Fortunately I have very hot water.  I don’t know where they come from, but I can tell you where they go when the water gets too hot ...  and I let it run.

3/2012