IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) – Gnats appear to be especially plentiful this spring in Iowa, annoying residents and potentially endangering some animals. Ken Holscher, an Iowa State University entomologist, tells the Iowa City Press-Citizen that gnats are usually common in spring along the Missouri and Mississippi rivers, but they appear to be more plentiful in central parts of Iowa.

That seems clear to Sara Swanson, who farms near the southeast Iowa city of Riverside. Swanson says last week, gnats killed four turkeys she was raising. The tiny bugs plugged the birds’ nostrils and suffocated them.

Holscher says there is little people can do to ward off gnats, which are especially plentiful on sunny, calm days. He notes, though, that they should largely disappear within a couple weeks. Unfortunately, they’ll be replaced by mosquitoes.