the Bug

May in Cleveburgh = Midge season. 

Apparently there are numerous kinds of them, and I should have asked Geo to write up a piece on this, but I didn't so I am sewing this together with the internet and all its infallible wisdom. 

Nothing here is going through fact checking or peer review. 

Midges are an insect, they’re often mistaken for mosquitoes. 

It is the time of year we in the 216 start seeing them again. They prefer to have the water hit about 60 degrees. 

This is the time that they come out as adults. Midges live the majority of their lives as eggs, larva and pupa in bodies of water like Lake Erie. Once they hatch, their life spans don’t last very long. 

Yes, they rise from the bottom of the lake, from the mud and come inland. 

As you can see from just regular radar, there are enough of them to make them look like a storm. 

They live about five to seven days, but it's not like they are all "born" at once. While they will be present all summer, not nearly in the numbers they are now. But those 5-7 days stretches over at least two weeks. 

We live inland, so while we have it bad, it's worse closer to the lake. We have not walked Shep there for a bit due to the volume. Even at our house, just walking down the drive we encounter thousands - yes, thousands - of them. 

You can keep your mouth shut, but it doesn't stop them from getting in your ears, nose and eyes. Glasses helps. A little. 

Open the car door for a second and expect to get a number in your vehicle. 

Despite their swarming nature, the insects don’t pose any threat to humans. They are non-biting midges and  are totally harmless. 

Me? I hate anything in numbers. Ants. Bees. Midges. People.  Dollar bills I'm fine with. 

One does not dare walk by a hedge or bush without unleashing swarms of these things. Dog walks have just been horrible. One weekends, we have been driving south by about 30 minutes just to lessen the impact of them. 

I thought they were waning, but last evening's dog walk tells me that was a lie. 

We have to wait until Fall to get the Mayfly / Canadian Soldiers which are similar to Midges. They are just as plentiful and just as annoying. 

This is not our window screen, but the number of these on each of them on the west and north side of the house look just like this. 

BTW......the mom and baby deer are no longer in our yard seemingly, but they are nearby.  This did not stop the mom from chasing us down the street again last evening, while a dozen Hispanic roofers across the street watched, pointed and laughed.  We're gonna get beat up by a girl!

Song by: Dire Straits