What is a Midge?

 

Midges have four main stages in their life cycle; egg, larva, pupa and adult. Of these, only the adult stage is terrestrial.

 

Female midges lay their eggs in a wide range of aquatic habitats including wetlands, lakes and streams.

 

Each female lays only one egg capsule, which may contain thousands of eggs. The eggs hatch into aquatic larvae known as bloodworms, which live in the sediment and feed on organic debris. The larvae grow and develop into pupae, which then rise to the surface of the water and hatch into winged adult midges.

 

  What we are doing

We realize that midges are a real nescience. This past year we were able to put on Abate, which is a chemical to help eliminate the midge population before they hatch. The entire lagoon was treated twice, once in the spring and a second time in mid-summer. We felt numbers were drastically decreased with the use of this product. We applied the chemical by way of boat. It takes two men to spread; one to drive and the other distribute the Abate pellets to cover the entire lagoon.