Swarms of midges are terrorising a Christchurch beachside community as wet weather creates perfect breeding conditions near the city’s wastewater treatment plant.
New Brighton locals report being unable to open their windows or spend time outdoors as clouds of the non-biting insects descend on the area.
“Last night, I had to run inside and shut the door behind me,” local resident Alex Hewison said. “Some of our residents are actually temporarily moving out because of how bugging these flies have been.”
Hewison said the midges were making outdoor activities impossible.
“You can’t hang out with your family outside in the evenings. It’s summer. You can’t hang out your washing. You can’t leave your windows open.”
Another resident, Sophie Fearn, has the same problem.
“It makes you feel kind of dirty and like you can’t relax,” she said.
The insects, which are attracted to light and prefer shallow, still water, are one of New Zealand’s most abundant midge species.
Canterbury Museum curator Johnathon Ridden said the native insects were thriving due to recent weather, which was creating ideal breeding conditions.
“For this species, the weather conditions have led to some large emergences of it. Going up into Christmas, it was quite warm, and then we had some of that wet weather period, which caused fluctuations,” he told 1News.
Ridden added that the lack of vegetation around treatment ponds could be an issue.
“Over that side of town, with no habitat between the ponds and the houses, when the midges can travel quite freely. If there was vegetation, that might act as a barrier.”
The Christchurch City Council told 1News it has put more plants around the treatment ponds.
But while it has dredged and altered the water flow in the past to kill the bugs, it hasn’t gone that far this year, as it could result in prolonged and significant odours.
“It’s a blessing it hasn’t been the most hottest summer so far,” Fearn said. “But I want to have my doors open at night and my lights on because yeah, it’s summer.”
