EAST BUFFALO TOWNSHIP -- Two men tried to enjoy a nice lunch by the water at Shikellamy State Park near Sunbury on Wednesday. Instead they spent most of their meal waving their hands in front of their faces because of black flies.
"They're really bad. It's hard to go outside and just enjoy it because they're just after you when you're outside," Sheila Clark said.
Clark of Lewisburg says she and her friends take their children to play at the Buffalo Valley Recreational Park because they say there are fewer black files at the park than there are at their homes.
"When I hang out my clothes on the clothesline I can't even go outside without having to constantly swatting the gnats away," Daphne Martin said.
So why are the gnats so bad this year? Usually the state Department of Environmental Protection sprays for them several times a year.
DEP tells Newswatch 16 the black fly suppression program ran out of money earlier this summer, so they stopped spraying for gnats in early August.
A spokesperson for DEP said, "Without continued spraying throughout August, numerous generations of black fly adults emerged from the streams and rivers and have become a major nuisance problem."
"They bite you actually," Jonathan Neidig said. "[I got a lot of bites] when I went to the beach and the forest and when we went for a walk.
DEP says black flies are most active when temperatures are above 60 degrees. The spokesperson recommends wearing bug spray and hair nets while outside.