Rice Fly vs Mosquito
Large emergences of harmless Rice Flies occur in Lake County a few times each year. Rice Fly is the local name for a non-biting chironomid midge that emerges by the millions from Clear Lake 2-3 times a year. Each emergence lasts 1-2 weeks. The male rice flies form mating swarms during an emergence and wait for the females to fly through. Both male and female Rice Flies are strongly attracted to lights, so turn off lights when possible to reduce the number of Rice Flies around your home and doors.
Is this what you're seeing? These are rice flies (not mosquitoes!). Rice flies cannot bite and are harmless. Each adult rice fly lives about a day, just long enough to find a mate and lay eggs.
Why can't you spray for Rice Flies?
Mosquito sprays do not reduce the Rice Fly population. Most adult Rice Flies live less than 24 hours. The Rice Flies mate, the females lay eggs, and then they die. They do not live long enough for spraying to affect their numbers. New Rice Flies come out of the lake every day during an emergence. For comparison, mosquitoes live for six weeks or more, and treating for adult mosquitoes reduces the number that bite and transmit diseases like West Nile virus.
What can I do about the Rice Flies?
Turn off lights to avoid attracting rice flies.
Keep doors and windows closed or use screens to keep the rice flies from getting inside your home.
Aim a fan to blow toward the outside to reduce the number of rice flies entering your home when doors are opened.
What else should I know about Rice Flies?
Rice flies are harmless and cannot bite.
Rice Fly emergences are a normal part of Clear Lake's ecosystem.
Rice Flies spend most of their lives as red worm-like larvae in the bottom of Clear Lake, and are an important food source for other insects and fish in the lake.
Rice Fly swarms react to sound. You can see this by standing near a hovering swarm of Rice Flies and talking--notice how the whole swarm moves in reaction to your voice? If you're not squeamish about insects, you can hum loudly at the right frequency and attract a whole swarm to you! As soon you stop humming, they will fly away!
See the table below for the differences between Rice Flies and mosquitoes!
Mosquito sprays do not reduce the Rice Fly population. Most adult Rice Flies live less than 24 hours. The Rice Flies mate, the females lay eggs, and then they die. They do not live long enough for spraying to affect their numbers. New Rice Flies come out of the lake every day during an emergence. For comparison, mosquitoes live for six weeks or more, and treating for adult mosquitoes reduces the number that bite and transmit diseases like West Nile virus.
What can I do about the Rice Flies?
Turn off lights to avoid attracting rice flies.
Keep doors and windows closed or use screens to keep the rice flies from getting inside your home.
Aim a fan to blow toward the outside to reduce the number of rice flies entering your home when doors are opened.
What else should I know about Rice Flies?
Rice flies are harmless and cannot bite.
Rice Fly emergences are a normal part of Clear Lake's ecosystem.
Rice Flies spend most of their lives as red worm-like larvae in the bottom of Clear Lake, and are an important food source for other insects and fish in the lake.
Rice Fly swarms react to sound. You can see this by standing near a hovering swarm of Rice Flies and talking--notice how the whole swarm moves in reaction to your voice? If you're not squeamish about insects, you can hum loudly at the right frequency and attract a whole swarm to you! As soon you stop humming, they will fly away!
See the table below for the differences between Rice Flies and mosquitoes!
