BATON ROUGE, La. (WVLA) — It’s that time of year again, when flies that bite and crawl into people’s bodies infest areas with standing water in Louisiana.
Residents should expect these “annoying” black flies to be around until the weather becomes warmer, East Baton Rouge Parish’s Mosquito Abatement and Rodent Control department said in a Facebook post Monday. It says the flies, also known as “buffalo gnats,” will try to crawl into people’s ears, noses and eyes.
Insect spray, including those used for mosquitoes or other insects, are not effective on them.
Officials said female black flies tend to bite people during the late morning hours. The department shared research on the insects from Purdue University, which explains that biting females use the blood meal to develop their eggs. It says these particular flies have not been found to transmit diseases in humans.