Page 8 - Lifestyles in Palm Beach Gardens - August '23

Page 8, Lifestyles in Palm Beach Gardens
Northern Notes

Midges – Those Pesky Insects! complained that allergies and asthma attacks have increased diffusers and aerators will improve the health of lakes and
during large midge hatch offs. ponds by increasing dissolved oxygen. By addressing these
By Katie Roundtree, Midges have become a prevalent pest over the last contributing factors, hatch offs can be greatly reduced.
Director of Finance and few years due to several key factors: You may want to try lowering your light output at night
Administration, Northern 1. The number of developments that require stormwater so the midges are less attracted to your area. Home barrier
Palm Beach County systems to prevent flooding has increased. chemical sprays may also offer some temporary relief.
Improvement District 2. High nutrient loads in deep stormwater systems is Thank you to Solitude Lake Management for courtesy
Blind mosquitoes, ideal for midge breeding. photo and article contributions.
phantom midges, aquatic 3. Low dissolved oxygen levels are factors found in NPDES tip: Your neighborhood drainage system
midges, no-see-ums – call deep lakes. is not a garbage disposal – don’t treat it like one.
them what you will, when So, what do we do about them? Chemical treatments by Encourage residents to take responsibility and to not
they hatch, you’ll know it! a licensed contractor, where applicable, for both larval and dump chemicals, fertilizer, paint, oil, etc., in inlets or
If you live on or near a adult stages can provide temporary and expensive relief. To pipes. Discourage sweeping of lawn clippings and dirt
retention pond or similar get to the root of the problem, the amount of nutrients into street drains and disposing of lawn clippings and
body of water in Florida, chances are you are familiar with going into waterbodies must be reduced. This can be other debris (wood, concrete blocks, Christmas trees, etc.)
large swarms of flying insects that inundate your house, achieved by utilizing best management practices while directly into retention lakes. Keep drainage facilities clear
yard, and screen room periodically throughout the year, applying fertilizers and managing inflows to the stormwater of vegetation, trash, improperly and illegally discarded
especially in warmer climates such as Texas and Florida. system. Adding oxygen to the stormwater system with appliances, shopping carts, tires, cars, garbage bags, etc.
Midge flies belong to a very large and diverse family
of aquatic insects. Midges are small, dainty flies with one
pair of long, narrow wings, and long, skinny legs. While
often thought of as the “cousin” of mosquitoes, midges
don’t bite, sting, suck blood or transmit disease. They can,
however, become a terrible nuisance and trigger allergies
or respiratory issues.
Midges and mosquitoes are often mistaken for each
other, which makes sense given that both belong to the
order Diptera. The largest difference between the two is
that mosquitoes have a proboscis, a mouthpart used to bite
and suck blood. Midges do not, and do not bite humans.
Otherwise, most of the differences visible to the eye are
found in the fine details.
Midges have the following characteristics:
• When landed, fold their first leg pair in a “prayer”
position (which can be mistaken for antennae)
• Have long tarsi of foot portions of the forelegs
• Lack scales on their wings, making them smooth
Mosquitoes have the following characteristics:
• When landed, hold their second/back leg pair in the air
• Have scaly wings with a light fringe on their tips
• Typically, don’t form swarms
Aquatic midges breed in habitats such as ponds, lakes,
wastewater treatment plants, and areas with nutrient rich
water. Midge flies are a food source for other aquatic
insects, such as dragonfly nymphs and several varieties
of fish, so the goal is not to completely eliminate them,
but to keep them in proper balance within the ecosystem.
Areas that receive an excess of lawn fertilizer runoff and
very deep, organic lakes tend to be densely populated with
midges, particularly with phantom midges. The juvenile
stages of development occurs in the water and, upon
hatching, large swarms of adults congregate on surfaces
of buildings, screens, shrubs, etc.
These hatches create severe nuisance problems as they are
attracted to light. Spiders form webs in the eaves and around
homes to catch midges resulting in excessive cleaning and
expense. Midges can get caught up in air-conditioning units
and cause failure to the unit. Some residents in Florida have

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