Cecil County

Identifying the larval sources of nuisance black flies in northwestern Cecil County, Wilson 2018

Maryland

2018 Washington County Pilot program https://mda.maryland.gov/plants-pests/Pages/Black-Fly-Program.aspx

Black Fly Personal Protection:  https://mda.maryland.gov/plants-pests/Documents/blackfly.protection.pdf

Maryland Black Fly Fact Sheet:  https://mda.maryland.gov/plants-pests/Documents/bti.factsheet.pdf

Maryland’s Black Fly Program:   https://mda.maryland.gov/plants-pests/Documents/BlackFlyProgramFAQ.pdf

University of Maryland, Department of Entomology:  Rebecca Wilson and Bill Lamp WilsonLamp_2015

 

Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania’s Black Fly Program:   https://www.dep.pa.gov/Business/Water/CleanWater/BlackFly/Pages/default.aspx

Worldwide

Species of the black-fly family are carriers for River Blindness and Mansonellosis (a mild infection with worms) in the tropics, but black-fly species in the northern hemisphere are not known to be carriers of any infectious disease.  A 2010 study reports on the successful use of Bti now 30 years.

“The heady success of the larvicide Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis (Bti) virtually shut down research on other biological control agents, which had reached its high-water mark by the 1980s. Bti has been used against black flies for more than 30 years, some populations receiving up to 14 treatments annually (Adler et al., 2004). With mortality rates often around 95% (Gray et al., 1996), selection is intense and resistance should be a concern.” (For more information click here.)