*&^@) gnats

14 years ago

This Spring, but only on warmer days, my yard has been inundated with little black gnats. I've been trying to read about various kinds of gnats for the last hour, but haven't really had any luck in identifying them or what to do about them. I tried to take a pic, but they're too tiny. They're black with a rustish colored oval shaped body, and oval shaped wings that are slightly longer than the body. They don't swarm but are flying everywhere. If they left me alone, I wouldn't care, but they are landing all over me. Bunches of them are riding into the house on me and my dogs. They're not fruit flies (which have harder bodies and are a bit larger I believe) and they're not fungus gnats (with pointed bodies and longer wings). As I've been working in my garden (just flowers, no veggies), I haven't noticed any damage to my plants, but I have noticed tons of teeny tiny, what appears to be, white larvae, which I'm assuming are these gnats. I was so excited for the warmer weather today and tried to have coffee in the garden this a.m., but these gnats were so intolerable, I had to come inside.

Thx in advance,

Betsy

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Comments (5)

rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
14 years ago
Are they biting you?
betsyhac
Original Author
14 years ago
I haven't noticed that they bite. But I swat them off constantly, so who knows - maybe they just haven't had the chance yet? I try to spend a lot of time outside, so I usually have little bites here and there from something or other. Last week, I had two huge spider bites on the back of my neck, but never felt the bites as they happened.
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ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
14 years ago
what scent are you wearing into the garden ...

good old fashioned hair spray used to attract all kinds of stinging and biting things ...

think about your shampoo.. conditioner .. fabric conditioner ... hand creams.. etc ..

something must be calling them to you ...

regardless.. its that time of year .. i was hoping the freezes would decimate the populations.. i was wrong .. lol

ken
jean001a
14 years ago
Certain gnats are common outdoors during the spring. Are a nuisance rather than a pest.

But need pictures to ID.

Or take samples to your county's Extension Service office. Use this clickable map to locate yours:
http://www.csrees.usda.gov/Extension/

Here is a link that might be useful: locate your county's Extension Service office
betsyhac
Original Author
14 years ago
Turns out what I thought were spider bites are actually gnat bites - quarter size hard red lumps with a single puncture hold in the middle that are extremely itchy. I've determined this by getting a few more and by reading more on the Inet.
So I found the following home remedy, which I'm going to try and then report back on. Apparently my taller grass is where they like to hang out, so that's getting a major haircut as well. Wish me luck.
Wisconsin summers are so short. To not be able to enjoy my yard in nice weather is killing me. I'm used to loading up on bug spray during mosquito season (as much as I hate to), but already!!

***To make a homemade gnat trap you will need the following items***
Large Lemonade or Cola bottle, this can be a two or three litre bottle.
Scissors and sharp knife, these will be needed to pierce bottle and cut the top off the bottle.
Vinegar, apple cider works the best, but you can use regular white if that's all you have on hand.
Sugar, just plain granulated sugar.
Water, enough water to fill the bottle half full.

1. Rinse out the lemonade or cola bottle.
2. Using a sharp knife, carefully go down about two inches from the top of the bottle and pierce the plastic, then using the scissors cut around the bottle taking the top off. You Don't want to cut to much or the top will not stay on your gnat trap when you turn it upside down.
3. Fill the bottle with half a cup of vinegar and half a cup of sugar (1/2 cup), and enough water to fill the bottle half full. Stir the liquid mixture around to mix the sugar in. Don't fill the bottle to full, or the gnats will be able to escape. The liquid should not be touching the opening of the bottle.
4. Place the lemonade or cola bottle top that you cut off on the bottle upside down into the opening of the bottle - if you find the top keeps falling inside the bottle you can use a piece of sticky tape to keep it in place.
5. Place the bottle in the vicinity of where the gnats are swarming or tie string around the bottle and hang it up around the trunk or branches of a tree.

Here is a link that might be useful: How to Get Rid of Gnats Swarming Around My Garden