LAYTON — Swarms of flying mosquito-like bugs invaded portions of the city's west side Thursday, resulting in a flood of concerned calls to the Davis Mosquito Abatement District.
However, while these pests may look like baby mosquitoes, they are actually harmless midges and gnats.
"They're just a nuisance," said Ryan Arkoudas, field supervisor with Davis Mosquito Abatement.
During early morning hours Thursday in west Layton, dense pockets of the bugs were prevalent in the grass parkways and lawns of many residents. Concerns over the West Nile virus, which mosquitoes can carry, fueled most of the calls by concerned residents. The pests also usually appear at dusk, avoiding the heat of the day.
"They'll swarm around you and they may even get in your eyes, but they don't bite," he said. "Mosquitoes will not swarm around you. They will land on you and bite."
He attributes the heavy rain in the area a week ago to their prevalence now. The good news is their life-span is only a few days and they will die off. It will take another wet cycle to hatch more.
Sam Dickson, manager with the Salt Lake City Mosquito Abatement District, said his territory hasn't experienced any unusual problems with gnats or midges so far this year.
However, he said the past few days a different kind of pest — a flying water bug called a corixid — has been clogging a lot of the mosquito traps in the Salt Lake City Abatement District. While they fly and are about the same size as a mosquito, they do not bite.
"People will think they are all mosquitoes, mosquitos, too" if they end up invading any portions of Salt Lake's west side in coming days, Dickson said.
"They're just an annoyance and bothersome," he said. "But people are much more aware of mosquitos this year because of West Nile."
Dickson said he was concerned this week that the mosquito population would escalate after last week's rain.
"There's only been a slight increase," he said, adding he hoped it meant the district's hard work in spraying and prevention had paid off.
The Davis Mosquito Abatement District reports only an "average" amount of mosquitos so far this year.
Scott Sperry, a lab technician with Davis Mosquito Abatement, said they can be a wide variance on both gnats/midges, as well as mosquitos, from area to area.
"If you're by the (Great Salt) Lake, you'll see more," he said. "Otherwise, it depends on the water cycle."
Sperry said one Davis County household left the garage door open and light on several nights ago. The next morning, there were swarms of gnats and midges in the garage, and they eventually spread into the house. He advised the family to vacuum the pests up.
"They're attracted to light," he said.
Sperry also advises that people not overwater their lawns, because that will also attract both pests and mosquitos.
Arkoudas said both "Mosquito Magnets" and "Bug Zappers" offer mixed results. While they both kill lots of mosquitos and bugs, they also attract more of both total pests into your yard.
"We often joke they best thing is to give one to your neighbor," he said.
E-mail: lynn@desnews.com