Locals terrified as swarms of midges invade Lake Balaton, unleashing giant spiders – VIDEOS

Thankfully, these aren’t biting mosquitoes but non-biting midges — though there are so many of them that holding a conversation after sunset along certain parts of the lakefront is nearly impossible. In a matter of seconds, they can end up in your mouth. Locals blame climate change and global warming, but regardless of the cause, many find the situation unbearable — some have even considered moving because of it.

Locals wading through midges on southern shore of Lake Balaton

A massive swarm of non-biting midges has taken over the southern shore of Lake Balaton, especially around Siófok, one of Hungary’s most popular lakeside resorts. According to residents, the insects crunch under car tires and walking along the lake in the late afternoon or early evening is nearly impossible — shoes get sticky from the sheer number of squashed bugs. While these midges don’t bite, they appear in such vast numbers that it’s hard to be outdoors during their swarming periods — sometimes even during the day.

Blikk’s on-site report includes shocking images, which we can’t publish due to copyright restrictions, but you may check out in their article. The pictures clearly show how thickly the midges cover window panes and gather around nearly every light source at night, making it hard for both residents and tourists to enjoy peaceful evenings by the lake. One local said that a month ago, the swarm was so dense, walking along the shore felt like stepping into a pulsating mass of live insects — something they hadn’t experienced in at least 20 years. Another resident confirmed there was a similar infestation last year, but nowhere near this scale.

Multiple factors behind the midge explosion

Experts at the Balaton Limnological Research Institute stress that this infestation is no coincidence. A mild winter allowed many larvae to survive, and the lake’s increasing algae blooms provided them with plenty of food. On top of that, the hot, dry weather in June accelerated their hatching. Siófok became a hotspot partly because it’s a relatively large town with numerous light sources, and partly because prevailing northerly winds over the lake pushed the insects into the area.

András Benyó, head of the insect house at the Budapest Zoo, adds that July rainfall and a lack of dredging in the lakebed also contributed to the surge. Greenpeace connects the phenomenon to climate change, but noted that midges are part of the lake’s ecosystem — serving as food for fish and birds.

Still, that offers little comfort to frustrated locals — some now so desperate they’re thinking of relocating. The situation is worsened by other unusual phenomena: due to the abundance of food, orb-weaver spiders have multiplied and grown significantly larger than usual.

Read also:

• Should we fear giant animals? A huge rat was discovered in a house, and this catfish could swallow a person whole
• A curious experiment reveals why Hungary is fighting a losing battle against a mosquito invasion

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