4 Signs Daddy Longlegs Are Ruining Your Garden

<div><img src="https://img.huffingtonpost.com/asset/68da7d43140000ba515c649c.jpg?ops=scalefit_630_noupscale" alt="Crane fly closeup" data-caption="Crane fly closeup" data-credit-link-back="" data-credit="Cavan Images via Getty Images/Cavan Images RF" />Crane fly closeup</div><div class="content-list-component text"><p>I don’t know about you, but I grew up believing that daddy longlegs were “the most poisonous spiders on Earth” – they just had no way to administer it. </p><p>But <a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/are-daddy-longlegs-venomous_uk_68d12196e4b00815ca131570">speaking to HuffPost UK previously</a>, entomologist Professor Adam Hart explained that daddy longlegs are, for one, not actually spiders (in the UK, the term usually refers to crane flies). </p><p>Crane flies “are not venomous in any way,” he said, and “provide a huge energy boost for insect-feeding birds and mammals at a difficult time of the year”. </p><p>They might, however, create some issues in your garden, especially if you’re facing an “infestation”. </p><h2><strong>How do daddy longlegs affect my garden?</strong></h2><p>The adult insects themselves don’t do much to your grass or greenery. </p><p>But, as <a href="v" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Frankie Seamark shared on Instagram</a>, some of their larvae are a different matter. </p><p>“The last thing you want is [crane flies] laying their eggs on your lawn,” she explained. </p><p>“Within a couple of months, they hatch into grubs called leatherjackets, and over the winter and spring, they’ll be feeding on the roots of your lawn.” </p><p><a href="https://www.rhs.org.uk/biodiversity/leatherjackets" target="_blank" rel="noope