Mushroom flies return to Harrogate neighborhood
By Chris Barber |
NEW GARDEN >> Most people are happy when the warmer temperatures of spring roll around, but that's not the case for the folks who live in the Harrogate community just off Limestone Road.
Those residents have been dealing with a devastating infestation of tiny mushroom flies that sneak into their homes, covering their walls and crawling around on their food. According to one neighbor at a meeting with state Sen. Andy Dinniman last week, when the temperature rises about 48 degrees is when those flies get active and invade their dwellings.
Last Thanksgiving, a swarm invaded one home during the meal, blackening the walls and crawling all over the food. But that was not a unique situation. They were present at many other houses as well.
These annoying insects are called phorid flies, and they are wreaking havoc not only with homeowners in that neighborhood but in the nearby mushroom houses, where their larva chomp away at the early stages of that crop in the beds.
Dinniman, who met with the residents in March and determined that very few if any government agencies have done more to remediate the situation than identify the species, returned on Thursday to update them. He arranged also to bring in two people who have actual experience in trying to find a solution: David Beyer of the Penn State Department of Plant Pathology, and Cochairman of the American Mushroom Institute Integrated Pest Management Committee Eric Toedter of Kaolin Mushrooms.
The two experts were on hand to share their frustration with efforts to wipe out the phorids. Toedter said that since the insecticide Diazinon has been banned, he has been experimenting with many substances but cannot find anything that wipe them out. He even tried peppermint oil, which, it turns out, the little bugs seemed to like rather than fear.
Beyer, likewise, is in the field of scientific experimentation. He said research is ongoing, but that the grant to continue the study is running out. He told Dinniman they need more funding to continue testing products. "The more experimenters, the faster the results," he said.
Dinniman, D-19, of West Whiteland, reacted by concluding that his task is to funnel more money toward that task.
The residents, obviously frustrated, tend to agree with Toedter and Beyer that the source of their neighborhood's flies is a nearby mushroom operation, inasmuch as the bugs seem to be unique to that crop and exist at many farms except those at Giorgi Mushroom Co. in Temple. They wonder as a group, however, why the flies have chosen to visit their homes, cover the walls and climb around their food, especially since at the adult stage the bugs don't eat and are apparently seeking only heat and/or light.
Toedter observed, "I think they are coming to the neighborhood because it's warm and friendly." He added that the flies are only one thirty-second of an inch in size, so they can get through screens that have openings of one-eighth of an inch. Additionally, they are resistent to most things.
To the credit of the residents, who have been tortured by the arrival of the phorids, they spoke rationally of seeking solutions alongside the mushroom growers. They have already sought to remediate moist sections and storm basins of their community, and many have read up on scientific studies of the phorid.
One resident, Barb Runkle, has taken her scientific investigations to great lengths. She prefaced her descriptions with a statement of her frustration. With stories of how the bugs actually get into people's closed areas and even toilet tanks, she said, "We don't know how they're getting in there. I just want to move."
But she has watched what these pests do and tried certain remediations. She has had her house power-washed and observed where and when the bugs return. She also observed where the phorids spend time at her home and found an interesting result.
She said when she looked carefully at her window she realized that the bugs left a transparent goo. It then hardened so stiff that Windex didn't take it off. She had to scrape it off with a spatula and rub it with abrasive pan cleaning material. She said she suspects they might be "leaving a mark" and are fond of returning to that place.
This fascinated Toedter, Beyer and Dinniman, and they spoke of getting samples for study.
Before the end of the meeting, Dinniman made a couple of meaningful observations. He said he was pleased that the residents were working cooperatively with the growers. "It's not the community versus the mushroom industry."
He also pledged to fight for research money to be funneled to Penn State to continue the studies. "Until the research is done, it's not going to be over," he said.
Chris Barber
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