Crane Fly-shoo fly, don’t bother me

As I sit curled up watching my favorite show learning how to fend off Walkers, I notice hopping off my television and then slowly bouncing off my white walls drawing my attention to it instead of Rick and the gang is a flying, dreaded long legged flying insect that only in my head is bigger than my hand. How can I be expected to keep watching the screen? Flying now along the ceiling is a crane fly, which is really only about 2” but still, not something I want in my home. While it is harmless to people and neither a predator of mosquitoes (some people call them mosquito-hawks) nor are they giant mosquitoes, this information still doesn’t keep me from getting the heebie-jeebies from seeing this insect and how large it is. Guess it’s time to take control. Once I get rid of this one and send it back outside, I have to make a mental note for morning on how to keep more from coming into my home.
Crane flies are easily attracted to sources of heat and light so one thing to help at the point of entry on the outside of the home is changing my light bulbs by the door to one of the yellow non-attracting insect light bulbs. Your local hardware store is a great place to pick some up. They produce practically no heat and the specially designed yellow colored light with no UV makes it invisible to bugs. Most crane flies will just accidentally get into your home, via an open window or door so it’s always a good idea to check your screens for tears or openings to repair or replace. It’s also a good idea to clean up around my lawn at this time. Dead plants, fallen leaves and puddles in your lawn can attract these or other insects.

The Crane fly larvae, also known as leather jackets are considered to be pests, but once they are full grown, the crane fly is considered to be more of a nuisance.
Their larvae are commonly found in yards and gardens and they will feed on plant matter after hatching.
The larvae usually will eat the roots first and surrounding vegetation and have been known to cause quite a bit of damage to plants. For the control of crane fly larvae, a yard insecticide application is recommended in Spring, when temperatures begin to rise. This will help control insects that are just beginning to come closer to the surface.
Now that I have my yard insects under control, it’s time to get back to my DVR and see how Rick handles his flesh eating pest issues.