Chironomid midge emergence was compared from portions of a residential-recreational lake kept free of the Eurasian water milfoil, Myriophyllum spicatum var. Exalbescens and a portion infested with this aquatic weed, using floating and non-floating emergence traps. Quantitative and qualitative differences were observed using floating emergence traps in the hydrophyte free portion, while only quantitative variations were seen in the portion infested with M. spicatum. The differences found in the hydrophyte free portion were mainly due to increased catches of Procladius spp. and may have been due to pupal drift, which Procladius spp. reportedly exhibits prior to emergence. The results of this study suggest that the use of floating emergence traps in the portion of this lake containing hydrophytes provide a more accurate estimate of midge populations than nonfloating traps.