Do/can household geckos eat daddy long legs?

[Tigerlily]

I'm fighting an infestation of daddy long legs in my house and there's this one King-size bed in an unused room where they're all nesting under. I'm not a squeamish person and when it was just one or two I'd happily leave them alone, but after having one crawl on my face at night I absolutely want them GONE.

I don't really want to use bug spray if I can avoid it and I was wondering if the house geckos we get in Queensland eat them as part of their natural diet. The daddy long legs can get BIG but most of it is legs, so would an adult gecko be able to eat them? I already have lots of geckos living and breeding in/around my home but I usually catch and let them outside because I worry my cat might get them or they might not find food.... now I want to bring in a couple of big guys and let them loose in the room so they can take care of the situation for me.


I know they're not a native species, but I'm hoping someone here would know if they can eat them and if the daddy long legs wouldn't poison them or anything.

Thanks for your help!

 

[kingofnobbys]

I've seen a water skink take on a huntsman , dismembered it and then ate the soft bits .

I expect a gecko would have no problems with daddylonglegs. They probably eat them if they happen across them in the wild.

I too have stopped using surface sprays, insect baits, insect bombs and insect aerosol sprays inside and around our house. A few spiders and roaches inside the house are not a great problem and tolerable to be able enjoy having pet lizards and having wild ones living around the house.

A vacuum bug catcher is a good nontoxic way of dealing with small spiders like daddylonglegs. Daddylonglegs are a beneficial spider to have around and in the house - I read somewhere they catch and kill nasties like redbacks and whitetails as well as helping control flying pest insects (flies, mozzies).

Check ebay and you will find them for sale there, they are pretty cheap and good ones come with extension tubes allowing you reach ceilings or simply keep your distance from the bug/spider. I use one ..

 

[Tigerlily]

Sorry for the late reply, but thanks for all the info! I'm going to check out the vacuum bug catcher now but if it's similar to using a long vacuum cleaner with the end off, it won't help much because the bed is too low and wide... If the daddy long legs really are safe for the geckos I'm going to try letting them take care of the situation... circle of life/waste no life and all lol. Thanks again for your help!

 

[kingofnobbys]

Non-toxic, non-lethal bug control I used is :
- either a broom (I coax the creepy crawly onto it and deposit it outside)
- or one of these http://www.*********.au/itm/251783313288 (I also my bug vacuum to collect crickets from the tub, makes it a very quick job to collect enough to feed my skinks and dragons) and to catch rogue crickets, and smaller roaches and spiders who happen to wonder inside.

I don't want my pet lizards catching wild spiders and roaches they happen across inside , you just don't know where they came from and what poisons the neighbours have used.