Here's what Wisconsin looks like covered in millions of flies
This year's mayfly hatch in the Mississippi River reached Biblical proportions.
The mayfly emergence is an annual event in which mayflies leave the Mississippi River after one or two years of incubation. The flies live for up to 36 hours before they return to the water, lay a new crop of eggs, and die.
The La Crosse, Wisconsin branch of the National Weather Service (NWS) reports that the mayflies caused a three-vehicle car crash as they descended over the town. The flies caused a bow echo on the NWS radar, which normally occurs during heavy rains, and proceeded to make a Wisconsin road slick, causing a driver to lose control of her car. Two people were injured in the crash, and one was treated at a local hospital.
Wisconsin residents captured some stunning — read: horrifying — images of the mayfly emergence, which happened on Sunday night. Check out the swarm below. --Meghan DeMaria
Replies
Hi Malcolm. I do not live in Mayville. (Don't really know where it is - probably some hick town up north) I live in a suburb of Milwaukee. I do not believe they will come here. I have never experienced hordes of Mayflies before. I think this happened in Mayville - Mayfiles - WIERD! (Mayville is a small town/city, and LaCrosse is large. LaCrosse is some distance from me)
WOW. Maybe 1darkstar can comment on this, since this is in her neck of the woods. How do you get rid of these bugs without serious environment contamination? Pheromones unique to these insects may be a consideration (this is how Orkin gets rid of termites), but you would still have a lot of bugs left over.