Gnats

[j44ke]

Here along the southwestern edge of the Berkshires (NY/MA's bumpy border) we've had a very wet spring and summer. And it doesn't seem to be slowing down. More rain the last couple days and some of it approaching torrential. As a result, we are absolutely infested with gnats - typically called fungus gnats but that term represents a family of many different but related bugs. These are larger than midges or black flies, but they don't really bite like mosquitoes - which are also bad and do bite and this year seem to have an extra level of vim & vigor to those bites. We always get gnats, but they are usually gone by August due to heat and dryness. It isn't just a few things buzzing around. They are getting in eyes, nose and mouth. I have very little hair these days, but I do have a beard and what hair I have collects gnats - enough that I have a comb I use when I get back in the house to get them out of my hair. Several nights ago, we got a bit of a cold snap. I think it went down into the 50's. In the morning, I went outside and swept thousands of gnats off our porch. Since then they've come back 2 for 1 if not more. Now I am sitting here next to a window looking out at the trees while working on my computer - and there is a cloud of gnats outside the glass anywhere there is not direct sunlight.

Nature is incredible in its ability to produce a multitude the moment conditions allow it.

[TonyP]

Wildflowers after a rain in the arid west sounds preferable.

[rwsaunders]

I know not wear yellow, lime green or fluoro colors during gnat season as they are apparently attracted to those colors. Sounds like you have a need for a humidor full of quality cigars, Jorn.

[bigbill]

I was stationed in Charleston, SC, from 1992 to 1996. They call them no-see-ums there. We had a jackass Commanding Officer for a while that made us do summer whites (uniform) inspections every other Friday. You had to stand in formation for an hour while getting bitten by gnats. My arms and neck would have tiny dots of blood where I'd been bitten, and I had to be careful not to get blood on my uniform. Someone told me about Avon's Skin So Soft lotion, and it worked like a champ to repel gnats and make my skin softer.

This is the latest iteration. https://www.avon.com/product/skin-so...E&gclsrc=aw.ds

Edit. We used to make citronella soap but didn't sell enough to make it worth the time. The lemongrass is good.

[j44ke]

I was stationed in Charleston, SC, from 1992 to 1996. They call them no-see-ums there. We had a jackass Commanding Officer for a while that made us do summer whites (uniform) inspections every other Friday. You had to stand in formation for an hour while getting bitten by gnats. My arms and neck would have tiny dots of blood where I'd been bitten, and I had to be careful not to get blood on my uniform. Someone told me about Avon's Skin So Soft lotion, and it worked like a champ to repel gnats and make my skin softer.

This is the latest iteration. https://www.avon.com/product/skin-so...E&gclsrc=aw.ds

Edit. We used to make citronella soap but didn't sell enough to make it worth the time. The lemongrass is good.

Noseeums are from the devil, but these are not noseeums. No biting, just ear nose throat eyes invaders. Big enough to sweep up each morning with a broom. And all over the windows of the house. See video image link below - that's just a tiny fraction. Pretty amazing.

[bigbill]

In Yellowstone last month, biting flies were the most significant pest. The black flies were quick and elusive, but the deerflies were slow and easy to swat. I thoroughly enjoyed using a fly that resembled a black fly when we caught a bunch of brookies in Obsidian Creek.

[Tom]

Gnats are mildly annoying when I ride into a cloud of them and they get stuck all over me because I'm sweating. I just have to remember to keep my mouth closed or I inhale some and start gacking.

[Scott G.]

If you are having gnat problems, talk to Pharaoh.

16 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Stretch out your staff and strike the dust of the earth, so that it may become gnats in all the land of Egypt.’” 17 And they did so. Aaron stretched out his hand with his staff and struck the dust of the earth, and there were gnats on man and beast. All the dust of the earth became gnats in all the land of Egypt. 18 The magicians tried by their secret arts to produce gnats, but they could not. So there were gnats on man and beast. 19 Then the magicians said to Pharaoh, “This is the finger of God.” But Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he would not listen to them, as the Lord had said.

[j44ke]

If you are having gnat problems, talk to Pharaoh.

16 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Stretch out your staff and strike the dust of the earth, so that it may become gnats in all the land of Egypt.’” 17 And they did so. Aaron stretched out his hand with his staff and struck the dust of the earth, and there were gnats on man and beast. All the dust of the earth became gnats in all the land of Egypt. 18 The magicians tried by their secret arts to produce gnats, but they could not. So there were gnats on man and beast. 19 Then the magicians said to Pharaoh, “This is the finger of God.” But Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he would not listen to them, as the Lord had said.

Explains why Charlton Heston is in my yard.