TOLEDO, Ohio — They're back!
Like it or not, mayflies are just a part of living along the lake.
WTOL 11 took a trip to Point Place to see how things are going at a popular place for the not-so-popular bugs.
If you take a trip along Summit Street and into Point Place, you'll find a bar and restaurant paying homage to the insect.
At the Mayfly Tavern, mayflies are probably something that's talked about if you stop by for lunch or dinner.
"They're nasty because they smell," Mayfly Tavern employee Pam Wiederhold said.
Mayflies are a common sight along the lakeshore and can come in swarms in parts of northwest Ohio.
"They're not bad right now, but they can be," Mayfly Tavern bartender Tina Brewer said. "When you come in the morning, you crunch on them. They're all over you when you come in."
They're not really harmful, they're just a nuisance.
"I've gotten so used to them that I just walk to my car and get in it. They hang on for the ride," Wiederhold said.
Gene Sipert is one of the regulars at the tavern.
He says he comes for the people, certainly not the mayflies.
"It's a given. They're going to be here, so you deal with it. You come in here and you just pluck them off one at a time and just lay them out in the weeds," Sipert said.
Although many would call them annoying, locals tell us they're harmless and this year hasn't been that bad.