The Spider Episode

As you get to know me, you will realize that I am a devoted naturalist. I do not immediately kill spiders when I see them in the house. I even stopped washing them down the sink when I discovered them trapped. It seems they cannot handle the slick enamel and are stuck. I throw them a towel which they can get traction on to crawl out of the sink.

In my bathroom in the high corner above the door lives a daddy long legs. He’s been there for several months. One time he came down to the floor. I think I scared him for the next time I used the bathroom he was back in his web looking down on me.

Yesterday I discovered two daddy long legs in the tub. I knew they were in trouble because they hadn’t left after several hours. I realized they needed a towel to aid their escape. They were situated at each corner.

As I put the first towel down the spider in the far corner got spooked. He backed away from the towel. He moved like he was rushing to the other corner then he stopped still. I put the second towel down near the other spider, being careful not to spook him. I left them thinking that they would be gone soon.

The next time I entered the bathroom I noticed that only one spider was still in the tub. I didn’t see the other spider anywhere. But what was that laying next the the remaining spider? It looked like a spider leg. I don’t remember seeing it before. My gosh. “Did you eat that spider?” I asked. I bent over and studied the remains and they sure looked like a spider leg.

The remaining spider also look bigger and darker than I remembered. Since he was still in the tub I picked up the towel and situated it in a better way. He took notice, went right to the towel, climbed up and over the edge, dropped to the floor and ran to a corner under the sink. I felt good about saving him.

As I left the bathroom I looked up to the daddy long legs in the high corner. He looked so small and thin in his web. I wondered if he got anything to eat.

When I entered the bathroom again I noticed another spider leg sitting on the counter directly under the spider on the ceiling. What! I looked at him. He changed. He was bigger and darker, much like the spider I saved from the tub. Oh my gosh. “It’s  you. You ate him and took over his web!”

I studied the leg again. I know it sounds really crazy but I think that’s what happened. I googled Daddy Long Legs to read that they do eat other spiders. I will add the pictures I took soon.