COEUR d'ALENE - Could it be a puff of exhaust? Airborne dust? Floating dandelion specks?

No such luck.

Folks in Kootenai County are suffering from sore arms swatting at swarms of ash aphids, congregating in the region for their annual infestation.

"They are a darn nuisance, getting in your hair and nose," said Dorothy Kienke, master gardener program coordinator with the University of Idaho extension.

Creating amorphous clouds in parks, parking lots and sidewalks, the tiny bugs stick to hair and clothing like winged dandruff.

The insects are right on time for their typical fall ritual, Kienke said, searching for ash trees to lay their eggs before they die in the winter.

The numbers are no worse than any other year, she added, though people seem to think that every fall.

"Every year we have lots of these calls start coming in," she said.

The tiny white blips are more a nuisance than a hazard, Kienke said. Though they can get caught in unsuspecting mouths and noses, they pose no health risk.

But recreators beware.

Samantha Kirkendall was batting the critters away on Wednesday as she jogged through City Park with her teammates on the North Idaho College soccer team.

"When you do see them, they're in your eye," the 19-year-old said afterward as she rested on the grass. "I'm pretty sure I still have some stuck on my face and my hair and in my nose."

Pausing for a moment, she added: "I think I ate a few."

Sharon Proctor, walking her dog in City Park, said the bugs are easy enough to ignore, except when they get too close.

"They're stuck to my lips," she muttered as she stopped to rectify the situation. "It's just annoying."

With a short life span, the aphids should be wiped out with the first hint of inclement weather, Kienke said.

"Once we have a killing frost or a strong wind, they're poor fliers, so that will clear the air," she said.

For now, however, there's nothing folks can do.

"Just try not to breathe when you're walking through them," she advised.