ST. CLAIR SHORES, Mich. (WXYZ) — Fish flies have returned to Lake St. Clair, with swarms already blanketing buildings, cars, and sidewalks in St. Clair Shores and the Grosse Pointes within the last 48 hours.
Watch Peter Maxwell's video report:
The annual emergence has locals swatting the insects away and business owners scrambling to clear them from storefronts — but experts say the nuisance is actually a sign of something good.
Jerry White, who works at Tasty's Burgers at 9 Mile and Jefferson in St. Clair Shores, captured video Monday night showing a swarm of fish flies settling in on the building. By Tuesday, he was outside blowing them off.
"It wasn't this bad yesterday. There's a whole bunch of them today," White said.
The experience was less than pleasant.
"It's just like irritating, you know. Like you got bugs in your face, you swatting everywhere you don't want them to land on - your face, ear, you feel me? So that's the only thing about it," White said.
Fish Bones owner Nico Gatzaros was also outside clearing the insects from his restaurant Tuesday.
"They're here for about two to three weeks, you know. They're just a little bit of a nuisance," Gatzaros said.
St. Clair Shores resident Chris Clark said he went from spotting just one to suddenly seeing them everywhere.
"I saw one the other day and then all of a sudden they're everywhere," Clark said.
For those frustrated by the swarms, Clark offered a straightforward take.
"You weather the storm. It is what it is," Clark said.
In the Grosse Pointes, Grosse Pointe resident Shelly Burnside described a similar overnight explosion in numbers.
"Yesterday I was in the garden, and one just landed on me, and then all of a sudden today, yeah, they're everywhere. When I walked down here, it's amazing. They just poof out of nowhere," Burnside said.
The sight of the insects prompted a blunt reaction.
"They just look kind of nasty and kind of gross," Burnside said.
Michigan State University aquatics ecologist Dr. Jo Latimore said the emergence is triggered when lake water temperatures reach 68 degrees, and despite the nuisance factor, it carries a positive message.
"They're a happy thing to see because they let us know our water quality is quite good," Latimore said.
Fish flies spend most of their lives underwater before surfacing to shed their skin and search for a mate. Their time above water is brief.
"Those adults then only live for a few hours to maybe a couple of days, and they have one mission, and their mission is to find a mate and lay eggs," Latimore said.
The fish flies are expected to stick around for a few weeks. Residents looking to keep them away from their front doors can try a simple fix: turn off the lights.
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