They're fairly new to Spokane and they're after your blood; they're black flies and last spring saw the first outbreak of this pest.

While kids play on the jungle gym the scourge of Spokane sits quietly in the reeds waiting for blood.

"My son Jack had a few bites at the baseline of his neck where his hair starts," mom Deanna Thornton said. "You don't see the fly so you don't really know what bit them to have that happen."

"Really the scariest thing about them is that when they cut their little hole in the skin to feed it makes the bite bleed," Kim Papich with the Spokane Regional Health District said.

A rainy spring last year helped spawn the blood suckers and another rainy spring this year has resurrected the annoying bug.

"This is the first time we've had them in Spokane in decades," Papich said.

Want to know how to avoid them? Well black flies like humid moist areas like rivers ponds and streams, especially around dawn and dusk. The stealthy winged nuisance usually go for dark clothing and attack the neck and head.

"We did go on the health website to see what the deal was with them and if they did carry diseases and if there was something to be concerned about," Deanna Thornton said.

While they don't carry disease it's important to treat their bite to avoid secondary infection. The good news is that they usually burn away with the summer sun.