They are like a non-biting mosquito and they love swarming. Especially above ponds.
Those midges are making me itch just sitting in the solarium next to them. It's psychological of course, but why have a solarium if you can't sit in it without feeling itchy?
Here's a picture of the swarm,
No, those aren't just spots on your computer screen, they are a swarm!
I first got out the vacuum cleaner and sucked them up. That was fun, but time consuming.
Next, I got a battery powered swatter. That also took a lot of energy, but was so satisfying when I heard the zap that said I had electrified the crazy thing! I didn't get nearly enough zapping sounds to warrant the continued swatting.
Next I got out the Vaseline and put it all over a paper. I swung it over the pond in the late afternoon, and caught a lot, but I couldn't stay there all day. I have things to do, places to go, dirt to dig in.
So I bought a sticky trap. In an hour, that sticky trap was full of midges.
I swear, they must triple their population every hour. That didn't really put a dent in them.
Yesterday I went to Far North Garden Supply. What a nice lady. After she understood that I couldn't poison them because that's where our drinking water is, she got out the books to find out which predators eat Midges. She did warn me that if I got rid of my midges, I would have aphids again. Suddenly I seem to like aphids and their predators, ladybugs, a lot more than swarming midges.
We find NEMATODES. Now doesn't that sound delicious! :-)
I have so many midges, I'm imagining that the nematodes will quickly multiply. Then what?
Does anyone know where I can get frogs?
