Photo from https://nature.mdc.mo.gov/sites/default/files/media/field-guide/Midge_fly_larvae_bloodworm_2_7-17-17.jpg
Your aerobic treatment system has high D.O., good floc formation, and is discharging great quality water. All of sudden, you start to notice small flying insects above the water which are soon followed by small red worms in the MLSS. The flying insects are midge, a native insect that lays eggs on decaying organic matter. It just happens that wastewater MLSS with high D.O. is a perfect environment for laying eggs and incubating larvae. Soon after seeing the midge flies, the worms "blossom".
Problems happen when the larvae consum the MLSS - which can cause loss of slower growing organisms such as Ammonia Oxidizing Bacteria (AOB). They can also create effluent TSS if they wash over the clarifier weir.
To control midge larvae, the EPA approves the use of Bacillus thuringensis (Bt) spore solutions (kill larvae by damanging their digestive tract) or Strike which is an insect growth regulator (similar to that used in pet flea/tick control).
Here is a bit more that I wrote on the midge problem in a previous post:
https://www.biologicalwasteexpert.com/blog/whats-eating-my-biomass-red-worms-blood-worms-midge-fly-larvae
Problems happen when the larvae consum the MLSS - which can cause loss of slower growing organisms such as Ammonia Oxidizing Bacteria (AOB). They can also create effluent TSS if they wash over the clarifier weir.
To control midge larvae, the EPA approves the use of Bacillus thuringensis (Bt) spore solutions (kill larvae by damanging their digestive tract) or Strike which is an insect growth regulator (similar to that used in pet flea/tick control).
Here is a bit more that I wrote on the midge problem in a previous post:
https://www.biologicalwasteexpert.com/blog/whats-eating-my-biomass-red-worms-blood-worms-midge-fly-larvae
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