Don’t Freak Out, Those Giant Bugs Aren’t Mosquitoes
Listen, I'm not a fan of bugs. Not in my house, my car - anywhere. But we are coming up on Spring, and well, the season for bugs.
I've seen these giant daddy long legs looking bugs around my backyard, and ALL OVER my back door, and I'm sure you're starting to notice them too. Although they aren't very pleasant to look at, they're actually pretty harmless. They're called crane flies, or what I like to call them, bugs with a bad rap.
Since the crane fly resembles a mosquito and can be found in and around our homes, it's gotten a bad reputation for being a pest. Although they don't bite us, they can do some damage to your yard or garden. According to DenGarden, when the crane fly is in its larval stage, they can do damage to turf grass when populations are heavy. So if your yard doesn't attract a lot of birds (that can peck away at the crane fly), the flies can leave unsightly brown spots with poor growth. This is when you may want to reach out to pest control to see if there could be a treatment for your yard.
A myth you may have heard is that crane flies eat mosquitoes. False. In fact, crane flies don't eat anything. Like I mentioned before, it's in the larval stage that the crane fly feeds on anything.
Plus side, adult crane flies only live for 2 days. However, in those 2 days, their sole purpose is to reproduce. Great, more crane flies!
They're going to be our little harmless (although annoying) friends come every Spring, but now you know a bit more about the crane fly. So the next time one gets in the house, there's no need to panic. That giant bug isn't a mosquito.