If you’re like many of our Fallbrook pest control customers, you may be experiencing an abundance of a certain type of pest this spring that you may not have noticed in years past: crane flies. Crane flies look like giant mosquitos or like daddy long legs spiders with wings, given their long spindly legs. Their numbers are up this year due to the exceptionally wet winter we had in the Fallbrook and Temecula areas, which has provided the ideal conditions for crane fly larvae.
Crane flies can be alarming to homeowners because they are so large and are often confused with mosquitos. However, unlike mosquitos, crane flies don’t bite, and therefore do not spread diseases. They also don’t eat mosquitos, which is a common misconception about crane flies. They’ve even been given the misnomer “mosquito hawks” or “skeeter eaters,” and are considered to be a beneficial insect by some because of this erroneous assumption. The fact is: crane flies usually don’t eat at all during their short lives, which last only up to about 10 days.
Crane flies are completely harmless. They don’t bite humans or animals, but they can be annoying. In order to control the amount of crane flies that enter your home, make sure you keep all windows and doors closed, especially when it’s dark out, since crane flies are attracted to light. You also might want to keep your porch lights off, so the crane flies don’t hover near your front or back doors and fly in your house whenever you open your doors. If you don’t want to turn off your porch lights, you can replace your regular light bulbs with yellow incandescent light bulbs, or “bug lights” that bugs like crane flies are not as attracted to.
Rest assured, crane flies are pretty much a seasonal pest. We should see their numbers start to dwindle in Fallbrook and Temecula in the coming weeks, and there is no need for professional pest control measures. If any crane flies make it into your home, just use a good old-fashioned fly swatter. They are relatively easy to take care of in this way, since they are so large, and they don’t fly terribly fast.
If you are experiencing problems with any other types of pests, like ants, spiders, or termites, and need a pest control service in Fallbrook or Temecula, contact us at Knockout Pest Control and Termite. We can come out to your home for a free inspection and help you take care of the problem quickly and efficiently.
