When I first moved here, Wisconsonites asked me if I knew about the lake flies. I shrugged it off, just listened, and nodded, only to witness first hand how disgusting these flies are.
Jim and I bought a house across the street from Lake Winnebago. Prime location for these annoying little crane like flies. We were throwing our first BBQ and I looked out my sun porch to our outdoor porch to see our beige patio furniture brown. At first I thought a bunch of birds went to town, but after more careful examination, I realized the brown was an endless sea of lake flies. They were everywhere - on the house, on the screens, in the plants...however, the absolute worst is when you look out in the yard and all you see is a haze. That haze ladies and gentlemen is not smog (this isn't the concrete jungle), but instead thousands of these flies.
Jim and I jumped in our car, drove to Home Depot and bought tons of bug spray. We sprayed the crap out of our yard and house. Those chemicals did keep the flies somewhat at bay and also killed any plants that were by my house. This was a sacrifice I was willing to make in order to have a "fly free" flip cup session. For those who think the spray and citronella candles were sufficient...think again. Apparently, these flies love light as well.
Swarms and swarms of these flies live for about 2 weeks. They don't bite and simply just fly around people vicariously living through humans since they only have a tiny life expectancy. They hatch around Mother's Day and last till the beginning of June. This year according to the natives, was a slow year. Usually they have to hold their breathe, cover their face and run to their house. If my car is any indication, these lake flies also love asphalt and the open road. Guess they didn't live their full 2 weeks!
I am happy to report - Northeast Wisconsin is currently lake fly free!
