MIDDLE RIVER, Md. — For a while, it seemed like the problem had gotten under control. Then suddenly - almost overnight - the infestation of midges reached "unprecedented levels" along Baltimore County's Chesapeake Bay shoreline, according to County Executive Katherine Klausmeier.
"It's ridiculous. Luckily they don't bite, but the, the nuisance level of them - we've had community members telling us that they can't take their trash out without swallowing bugs," Josh Sines, president of the Essex Middle River Civic Council, told WMAR-2 News in an interview Wednesday.
The issue started in the upper Back River, and that's where the county and state agencies have devoted their resources for the last few years. But this year, midges have been swarming all throughout eastern Baltimore County.
WATCH: A plea for state funding to help manage infestation of midges
And for an area that relies heavily on the financial benefits of bayside activity - from marinas to waterfront restaurants - the midges aren't just an inconvenience, they threaten a way of life.
"And this has the potential to be 1,000 times worse next year, you know, so it really could be a huge economic impact to Eastern Baltimore County," Sines said.
That's because just one of these midges - and there are many - can lay up to 1,000 eggs in its short life cycle.
"We do need more funding support from the state for this program to continue at the scale that that we believe is required to address the nuisance population," Brady Locher, deputy director of the Baltimore County Department of Environmental Protection and Sustainability, said.
Baltimore County officials sent a letter at the end of May to the Maryland Department of Agriculture Secretary Kevin Atticks requesting that additional funding. Kalusmeier also said the state had yet to live up to its standing agreement with the county to split the costs of treatment each year. The department said payment was being made directly to the contractor who sprayed the treatment, and that matter was resolved. But the county said it’s still short on funds.
The county has ramped up its monitoring, testing, and treatment - spraying a non-toxic bacteria on a growing number of sites throughout the Back River and Middle River.
“We’ve added 47 monitoring sites with the same amount of staff that we have in our department working on this issue for the last three years,” Locher said. “They're doing monitoring at all of these sites every week on boats rain or shine to make sure that before we’re putting this larvicide in the water to get to the midges, that the midges are there.”
For several years, the state and county split the bill for these efforts 50/50. But just as the costs rack up, the county says the state has slashed its budget nearly 80% for its Nuisance Insect Program.
County Executive Klausmeier sent a follow-up letter to Secretary Atticks on June 30, asking for help once again.
