Sarajevo hit by massive swarm of flies

Sarajevo's fire brigade has been inundated with calls after a massive swarm of flies struck the Bosnian capital.
Experts said rare climatic conditions with temperatures rising rapidly after a period of damp weather have created the perfect conditions for fly hatching

Some people reportedly fled the city to escape the aerial invasion, according to local media.

Bosnian fire brigade officials said that could do little to combat the flies but advised people to shut doors and windows in order to keep the swarming insects at bay.

Likened to blizzards and leaving surfaces covered with a thick layer of crawling insects, the swarms have already struck a number of towns across the Balkans.

Serbian press said that the insects cleared streets and squares of people in just a few minutes after they descended on the central town of Kraljevo on Monday night.

Experts said rare climatic conditions with temperatures rising rapidly after a period of damp weather have created the perfect conditions for fly hatching.

"We've had three or four generations hatching at once, and the predators such as birds and bats have not been able to respond by eating them all," said Miodrag Rajkovic, an insect specialist at a Serb veterinary institute.

"The best solution is to let nature take its course," he added, but also said that if the flies keep on coming then the local authorities would have to resort to chemical pesticides. He also recommended that towns attacked by the flies should turn of street lighting, which acts as a lure for the insects.

Elderly local residents told local press that they have never experienced anything like the swarms in their lifetimes. Telegraph