When the leaves on the live oaks start to fall I know that spring is just around the corner. Spring is even closer when I get attacked by the Crane fly. Crane flies are the large flying critters that look like mosquitoes. They tend to swarm you when you walk around the house. They are not attacking, just saying hello. I have heard them called everything in the book. Most of the language used is not nice. Also, they are not mosquitoes, of either sex. What they are is harmless and annoying. The crane fly likes damp, rotting organic matter. Crane fly larvae are often found under layers of decomposing leaves in wet locations such as gutters and ditches in December and January. Adult Crane flies start appearing in late February and March.
While the Crane Fly is harmless, if needed you can use a general purpose insecticide to kill them. Or you can repel them with yellow light bulbs in exterior fixtures. They will have less of a breeding environment if you keep the gutters clean. Clean gutters will also help eliminate breeding ground for the real mosquitos.
