Millions of daddy long legs are set to invade UK homes over the next two weeks.
Experts are warning our homes could soon be covered with billions of the long-limbed creepy crawlies as the weather is changing. The recent hot weather creates the perfect breeding situation for the bugs, meaning they are multiplying in the thousands.
Insect charity Buglife revealed 200 billion of the little critters could run riot, across the UK. The charity also provided information on what you should do to try and keep them out of your home, reports The Daily Star.
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A spokesman for the group said: “Although they can cause a bit of bother in homes with their incessant fluttering, they are placid creatures, literally incapable of hurting a fly.” Buglife's advice was to gently catch it and release it outside if you find one - they do not sting and are harmless.
The daddies – also known as crane flies – are good for the environment as their larvae help enrich the soil, turning dead organic matter into nutrient-rich material. The Buglife spokesman added: “And they’re also breakfast, lunch and dinner for birds, bats, amphibians, spiders, other insects, reptiles and fish, which are building up reserves to see them through winter.”
Those set to be unleashed this month were laid as eggs last autumn before emerging as larvae within a week. The baking hot summer, with no rain to affect them in their underground tunnels, means there could be a record number.
Pushing their way to the surface and flexing their wings, they have only one thing on their mind. In their mad rush to find a mate, they often blunder in through open windows at night, attracted by lights. Once airborne they only live for a few days.
The ideal weather conditions mean there has also been an explosion in the “monster” four-inch Tipula maxima species. There has long been a myth that crane flies, of which there are 94 different species, are venomous. Due to the similarities in appearances to spiders, crane flies are considered incorrectly by some to be themselves venomous.
But you needn't worry, they are completely harmless. The University of California's entomology department explains: "They do not have venom glands, fangs or any other mechanism for chemically subduing their food. Therefore, they do not have injectable toxins. Some have defensive secretions that might be toxic to small animals if ingested."
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