Mayflies usually live for 24-72 hours. Don't forget that they've already spent 1-2 years on the bottom of the lake as a nymph living burrowed in the mud. Within that three days, though, they manage to get into about everything you can imagine. You will find dead mayflies lying around on the sidewalks, in spider webs, on window ledges, etc. They'll go anywhere where there's light at night. Wear a white shirt outside at night and you'll see what I mean.

Many mayfiles stack up on the streets below street lights. This is where they land after they get tired of flying around the light for hours on end. Once on the street, they are usually run over by cars and make this "snapping" sound and it's all over. If its dry, they turn into a dust after several hours of traffic. If it's raining, they turn into a thick soup that smells something awful (read 'real dead fish'). The City of Port Clinton has gained approval from the Environmental Protection Agency, and a grant from the Ohio Lake Erie Commission, for the very first mayfly composting site in America! Now isn't that quite a claim to fame for the city that's already The Walleye Capital of the World!!.