TOLEDO, Ohio — The season is upon us. No, not summer. It's mayfly season.
Mayflies are annual visitors to areas around Lake Erie, like Toledo and especially the Point Place neighborhood.
"They cover the mailbox, you can't open the door, you can't open the garage. You can't open anything," new Point Place resident Jacqueline Leachman said.
Thankfully, these house guests aren't ones that bite or sting.
But still, "there's nothing you can do about them, they're just a nuisance," longtime Point Place resident Rick Knerr said.
Thomas Bridgeman, the director of the University of Toledo Lake Erie Center, there are different types of mayflies based on what part of the country you're in. And the ones near Lake Erie are unique.
"They're bigger than other kinds of mayflies," he said. "It's just the right conditions for them. There's plenty of oxygen for them which is important and food for them."
The mayflies do have one redeeming quality, though: a big swarm means a healthy lake. Leachman and Knerr said this year's swarm is the biggest they have seen in a long time.
"There are hundreds and hundreds," Knerr said. "Down by where I keep my boat, there are probably hundreds of thousands of them right now."
So, why such a big amount this year? Bridgeman said there is one main reason: the wind.
"If the wind is coming from off of the lake," he said. "When the wind is coming towards the land, that will blow mayflies towards us."
Everyone has their horror story of coming face to face with mayflies covering a car or somewhere else they want to go. But to live near the lake, Leachman said it's a price they're willing to pay.
"I'll deal with the mayflies. I like the area so I'll deal with the mayflies," Leachman said. "Besides getting in the house, I'll deal with the mayflies. I just was attacked going to the mailbox."
They won't be here much longer, though. Remember to turn off your lights at night and get a leaf blower to get rid of them.