Last summer seemed particularly buggy. In fact, it was pretty hard to mow the lawn or even stay outside very long without being swarmed by gnats. And unlike other years, these "gnats" didn't go away in the summer heat. In fact, they got worse as summer wore on.

Usually gnats try to fly into your eyes and ears, but these guys bit. I bought a gnat hat with a net that dropped down to my shoulders and wore long sleeves and jeans tucked into my socks when I worked in the garden. My clothes were way too hot, but it was either suit up or spray myself with repellant every time I went outside.I caught a few of the gnats to see what they looked like. They seemed to resemble fruit flies more than anything else. I decided that if they turn up again this spring I would send a sample to Penn State to find out what they are. Then, quite by accident, I did find out.Benjamin Russell from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection contacted me. He messaged me through our Carbon County Master Gardener Facebook page in response to a question submitted by a reader who wanted to know if he had black fly in his pond.I did some research on black fly so I could answer the question, and Ben Russell happened across the exchange.He told me about a state DEP program for controlling black fly as it spreads along river systems in the mid-Atlantic region, and he asked me to take a look at an informational website they set up for the benefit of educating Pennsylvania residents about black fly.According to Russell, most species of black fly found in Pennsylvania are not a problem to humans. However, one in particular is. The species Simulium jenningsi is the most common black fly pest in Pennsylvania. It breeds in fast-moving river water and is multigenerational in one season.The flies swarm their victims and bite, bite, bite. They get in eyes and ears and hair. The bites are itchy and painful and persist a long time. Some people are allergic to them.Because large populations of black fly interfere with tourism and outdoor recreation, the DEP has created a black fly control program that involves partnering with counties that are affected.As is the case with gypsy moth control, the county has to be willing to fund a portion of the program.The control involves spraying waterways where the black fly larvae are found with a microbial insecticide called Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. israelensis or Bti.The microbe is toxic to mosquito and black fly larvae. The larvae must feed on the Bti for it to be effective. It acts in a similar manner to the microbial spray the state uses to control gypsy moth.Simulium jenningsi, in particular, is a potent pest within 20 miles from the shores of the Lehigh River and other rivers or streams where it breeds. There is a potential for loss of tourism dollars, real estate sales, and fishing and hunting dollars in affected areas.Black fly can also make life difficult for outdoor workers in construction, farming and landscaping. In short, most of us will feel the bite, if only in our garden.Carbon County elected officials need to be informed that this program exists.DEP has a website where you can register a complaint once black fly season begins. If they get enough complaints, they will send a biologist to investigate and take samples. DEP may contact the county commissioners about joining the program to control black fly, but citizen input is critical to the process.Counties generally join once people complain to the county and DEP about the need for the program in a given area. Right now, 38 counties in Pennsylvania are participating. Neighboring counties that participate include Luzerne, Schuylkill, Lehigh and Northampton.An ironic fact is that black fly is a sign that our rivers are getting cleaner. When the Lehigh was polluted by old coal mine seepage, the black fly couldn't breed in the water. The same thing is true of the Susquehanna and the Delaware and other river basins in Pennsylvania.Early Pennsylvania settlers were plagued by black fly, and then we forgot about it when we dug out the coal and our rivers ran yellow with pollution from the mines.Now we are cleaning up the rivers and reaping huge recreational and wildlife benefits. And along with the benefits comes the black fly.You can contact the DEP Black Fly Suppression Program if you experience black fly problems.See contact information and more at

http://www.dep.pa.gov/blackfly.