The creatures can grow up to four inches in length, and could be inside our homes laying eggs within days (Picture: SWNS)

Britain is still battling the plague of giant spiders unleashed by this year’s warm weather – and now scientists are warning that we face a new six-legged invasion.

Gigantic daddy long-legs are expected to invade British homes to mate and lay eggs within the next fortnight.

Thankfully, the urban myth about the eight-legged creatures being the most venomous spider on Earth is just that – a myth.

The creatures are actually crane flies – known as daddy-long legs for their spindly limbs, and capable of growing up to four inches in length.


This year, they have emerged early and experts are expecting a larger than usual population due to the humid weather.



With the temperature set to drop, the creatures will invade homes looking for shelter in the next few weeks.

Entomologist Barry Warrington, from Hull, Yorkshire, said: ‘It is definitely a bumper year this year, simply due to the nice weather.’

‘It has not been as cold, there is a lot more for them to prey on.’

‘People will start to see them even more in the last couple of weeks as they head indoors for warmth, shelter and to find a mate.’

As larvae, or leatherjackets, they live under the soil in the summer feasting on plant roots and garden lawns – and during cold weather many of them will die out.

But when they emerge they feast on smaller insects and head indoors when temperatures drop.

Experts reckon a mild winter means more of the over-sized insects have survived than usual, and the long, warm summer means there is plenty for them to eat.

Most species of adult crane fly – which are harmless and thought to survive on food reserves – only live to mate once before they die with a lifespan of two weeks.