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Gnat population has increased this year
Published Monday, June 15, 2009
NATCHEZ — When they descended on Egypt, it was called a plague, and while the gnat problem in the Miss-Lou might not quite be of those proportions, state agriculture officials aren’t afraid to call it an “outbreak.”
“Southwest Mississippi is being torn up with them this year,” Adams County Extension Service Director David Carter said.
Why they are particularly bad this year is a mystery, but Carter said some environmental factors may have played into it.
“These gnats breed underwater, so the river being up could have something to do with it this year,” he said. “But sometimes it’s just a fluke.”
Though the miniature flying pests are commonly called buffalo gnats, they aren’t really gnats at all, and while they can be gray, tan or greenish, entomologists refer to these members of the Simulidae family as black flies.
Even though they’re downright annoying for anyone trying to spend time at a backyard barbeque, they can be deadly to other creatures.
“We have had several reports of birds dying, from poultry to hawks,” Carter said.
When the gnats bite, they release a small amount of venom into their victim.
And a lot of little venomous bites add up.
“Sometimes poultry will die of toxic shock from the bites,” Carter said.
But the gnats can kill birds another way — asphyxiation.
“Other (birds) have died of suffocation because the gnats flew down their nose,” Carter said.
Other than the somewhat impractical practice of constantly spraying for the pests, Carter said the best bet to protect poultry would be to keep them in a structure of some sort with a fan keeping the air circulating.
As far as people are concerned, there’s not a lot they can do to fight the swarms of blood-sucking flies.
Insect foggers can mitigate the gnat presence somewhat, and repellents with DEET have been known to have some effect, Carter said.
“With the DEET, where with mosquitoes you could apply it and be good for a couple of hours, with these gnats you have to apply it more constantly,” he said. “Their volume in numbers is what makes that stuff somewhat ineffective.”
The other thing to do is — because these gnats are daytime feeders — to stay indoors and out of wooded areas until sundown, Carter said.
The good news is that the pests don’t have a long life cycle, and when the temperature starts to stay in the mid-90s, the gnat presence will start to drop off.
“Just hang on a little longer,” Carter said. “We have probably five weeks here where it will get really bad, but once it gets really hot and humid, they will die off.”
Comments
Posted by ProNatchez (anonymous) on June 15, 2009 at 6:46 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I have noticed a slight improvement in the past 2 days. Their population is starting to decline.
Posted by gemccull (Gary McCullars) on June 15, 2009 at 6:53 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Why would the gnat story need to be repeated?
I thought David Carter did a good job on his story yesterday: http://www.natchezdemocrat.com/news/2009...
Posted by medleyp (anonymous) on June 15, 2009 at 6:58 a.m. (Suggest removal)
interesting........I used to live in Vidalia but now live in South Georgia. Even though the heat index gets over 100, we still have gnats. We were told the gnat population had to do with the crops that were planted in the area. We have double crops of tomatoes and corn in this area. I wish our gnats only lasted 5 weeks.
Posted by itsmemame (anonymous) on June 15, 2009 at 8:42 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Someone told me to rub PURE VANILLA extract on my skin to prevent gnat bites. After receiving several bites, I tried it and IT WORKS!!!
Posted by generoberts (anonymous) on June 15, 2009 at 9:13 a.m. (Suggest removal)
mustard works too.....try it!
Posted by 3kids3dogs (anonymous) on June 15, 2009 at 9:22 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I trid the Vanilla, it works but if you have sensitive skin it will blister you. Try Banana Boat cream it works also.It is a sunsreen but it keeps the bugs away.
Posted by 3kids3dogs (anonymous) on June 15, 2009 at 9:24 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Sorry, it's tried
Posted by wmaker51 (anonymous) on June 15, 2009 at 9:28 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Banana Boat Sport Sunscreen (cream or spray). It works.
Posted by justthefactsman (anonymous) on June 15, 2009 at 9:58 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Banana Boat works. Go see for yourself. Comes in an orange and blue bottle at Walmart.
Posted by driversafety (anonymous) on June 15, 2009 at 10:08 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Hopefully the gnats won't hurt those in the bird/poultry industry, especially in a recession...For those in the poultry industry, and to a further extent, the agribusiness industry, check out www.animalagnet.com. Its an online community for agribusiness professionals to network and learn the latest industry news
Posted by nd (anonymous) on June 15, 2009 at 10:55 a.m. (Suggest removal)
The generic brand of vanilla extract works also. I can see the stock market now doing very well on vanilla extract.
Posted by freedom42 (anonymous) on June 15, 2009 at 2:44 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Try Skin So Soft from Avon. We even use it on the horses and dogs for fleas, ticks, horseflies, and mosquitos.
Posted by deedee (anonymous) on June 15, 2009 at 9:34 p.m. (Suggest removal)
olive oil hair spray is very good, the gnats hate it.
Posted by sunkitty (anonymous) on June 16, 2009 at 8:43 a.m. (Suggest removal)
The gnats here on the Coast are terrible. They get in your hair and bite the stew out of your scalp and OMG it hurts! These gnats come out in the morning and they stay around until dusk.
Posted by honeybee74 (anonymous) on June 16, 2009 at 3:50 p.m. (Suggest removal)
these gnats are really messed up i was bitten a couple times by this gnat i am assuming bc two bites on my hand blistered up and my hand swole up. that was about 2 and a half weeks ago and the bites are healing but are like hard,dry, calised sores.be careful people these gnats aren't playing and i went to the emergency room and they couldn't give or do anything for it other than don't scratch sores....whatever u do don't scratch....use deet it does work somewhat better than nothing....
Posted by momof1 (anonymous) on June 16, 2009 at 4:20 p.m. (Suggest removal)
"because these gnats are daytime feeders — to stay indoors and out of wooded areas until sundown, Carter said." Great. You go outside during the day and get eat up by gnats. Wait until night, and get eat up by mosquitoes. Think I'll just stay inside.
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