We've lived here for 20+ years and this is the first time we've had swarms of biting gnats in our back yard. Our neighbors are experiencing the same thing. My wife was covered in welts one night - like mosquito bites but worse. I was talking to my neighbor today and he said his wife was bitten by one near her eye and the swelling was so bad the next morning she had to go get a cortisone shot.

I hope this year is an isolated incident - it is hard to enjoy the back yard with these pests around. Is anyone else having this problem?

Same here. They are horrible!

We are covered in bites as well!

I thought my wife was crazy when she said biting gnats. But she has big bites around here neck and back. I had never heard of biting gnats but I saw a couple of them on her.

This sucks! (or they do)

I spent the day outside on Monday and now I'm covered in bites. Why do the swell up so bad?

At dusk? All day? hmm

Rotten little bugs. Not just dawn and dusk. Walking dog at 6 PM. If she stops to sniff I get bites. Think she is also due to scratching.

Yes! They are absolutely terrible! We worked in our yard this past weekend and some each evening. We have bites on our necks, legs, arms... yes, eyelids, too. They have even bitten us through our hair on our heads! Horrible red welts that itch like crazy!

rhoswen,

The gnats have been out all day at the A&M Research farm. KICKED my *** last week. I never react to biting insects but these caused dime to quarter sized red welts.

These may be what we used to call buffalo gnats, but I have never seen them in this neck of the woods.

Glad to know that I'm not crazy. I've seen a misquito or 2, but I've seen several gnats.

Rhos - Any idea what these things are? I have bites on my neck, chest, arms and legs. I thought they were mosquito bites at first, but yesterday I could see that they were tiny and gnat-like.

Extra strength Benadryl cream seems to help the itch.

Ha, doubledog at your reference to "neck" of the woods. I'm Mrs. MN3 - who might be crazy but not because I think bugs are biting me. I have welts like I've never had and they ITCH - for days.

I found a thread on a fishing forum about these biting gnats. They are saying to use real [not the fake stuff] Vanilla Extract to keep them away. I'm going to try it, but for now, I'm going to avoid being outdoors, much. I can't afford to get any more bites. I already look like I have poison ivy or something.

http://texasfishingforum.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/4728681/Biting_gnats

These gnats are horrible! I have five welts and little scabby things where I have scratched! They are still swollen after several days! Where are the bug people? They are black gnats with white wings and mean! Help us!!!Neck mainly, hair some, arms, face.....all covered with lumps. Spraying the deck before I go out side cut our all bugs but the gnats! EeEEEkkkk so frustrating!

We've got these stupid gnats too and they are making life misreable.

Speaking of gnats, does anyone have the little fruit gnats in their house? I can not get rid of these stupid things. I tried the bowl of vinegar with saran wrap over (with a slit in the middle) it that didn't really work. Took the saran wrap off, which seemed to attract them a little quicker. Then as they congregated around the bowl I'd hit then with a blast of lysol. They are driving us up the wall.

barbwire, yes - we've been having the same problem. This week, I put out two bowls of sugar water. Put a couple drops of soap in each one, mixed it all together, and have collected about 10 of them so far as they drown to their death.

if they bite me on the hand, it will bruise me after the whelp goes down for about a week.

Rho is the bug expert but I believe these things are called buffalo gnats. See http://www.livestocktrail.illinois.edu/poultrynet/pdf/buffalognats.pdf. Absolute pain for any outdoor daylight activity. Have had some success with copious amouts of SKIN so SOFT, long sleves and long pants.

Buggers will soon end their cycle, happens every year.

[This message has been edited by laavispa (edited 4/19/2012 7:13a).]

[This message has been edited by laavispa (edited 4/19/2012 7:14a).]

Mark this day on your calendar - the day the MyBCS community finally came together in agreement on something!

Seriously though, as much as I hate these darn things, I am relieved to know that we're not the only ones who have them. Hopefully their life cycle will be up soon...

Vanilla Extract really does work!!!!

I almost started a similar rant, but figured I'd catch the ban for the adjectives I used.
Those things are the devil.
We get some for a few weeks every year but this spring has been ridiculous.
Sunday I put two of these on the back yard, spraying up into the air to aerosolize to the extent possible. It knocked them back pretty well but still have some.

They seem impervious to Deep Woods Off and citronella candles.
But they do not like Tractor Supply Horse/Pony Spray. (caution, pretty harsh, burns the skin after a while)


Picking up a few of these tonight, they have worked pretty well in the past.


Next will be a low yield thermonuclear device. Hate these things.

[This message has been edited by carpe vinum (edited 4/19/2012 8:05a).]

Came home from my son's golf tournament the other night covered in bites. Head (through hair), neck , elbow, arms--I even have one in the middle of my back that itches like crazy.

I must confess that I had no idea knats could bite like that. I covered myself in OFF and that only seemed to attract them more.

I would argue spraying for them is unnecessarily putting chemicals into the environment and wasting money, since they're probably not coming from your yard, and they'll just keep coming back. Venus might have something more permanent, but the OTC stuff probably isn't going to cut it.

Sounds like black flies, or as other people have pointed out, buffalo gnats.

http://insects.tamu.edu/fieldguide/cimg222.html

The larvae develop in water, so eliminate all standing water, and the Co-op has a Bt doughnut-looking thing you can put in animal water that will kill dipteran larvae but not hurt your animal. Other than that, DEET seems like your best bet.

Cue KBTX.

They read Texags for their lead story. I am sure a news crew is on the job at this moment.

+1 Plus for a story on KBTX, except you all know they will screw up the story and make the headline read "Poor, innocent, harmless, gnats being Slain by Big Bad Republicans". Or they will do an investigative story and not get the gnats side of the story.

[This message has been edited by mymainname3 (edited 4/19/2012 9:13a).]

DO THE DEET....

I've heard rubbing a dryer sheet (Bounce) on you or having it in your cap or belt helps???

[This message has been edited by pinkieyardbird (edited 4/19/2012 12:51p).]

Funny, my husband was complaining as well of these "biting gnats" and I thought he was crazy.
We have both spent several hours outside playing ball with our son this week,and for some reason I have yet to be bitten although I can feel them swarming.

[This message has been edited by GlassHalfFull (edited 4/19/2012 12:55p).]

Don't forget chiggers. They're especially bad in tall grass and they have a nasty bite too.

They complete most of their life cycle in running water that brings food from upstream down to the larvae. The female needs a blood meal to lay viable eggs. CS/Bryan lies between the Brazos/Little Brazos rivers and the Navasota river, three major contributors to this year's population. They ain't breeding in your backyard or pond.

Same here in Sugar Land near Houston...they are terrible. Was over at a friends house last night and we decided to grill out and eat on her patio and watch the sunset over the golf course. Well that lasted about 15 minutes....worse than mosquitos. I have never swelled up and looked so red all over like I have from these critters...mosquitos don't get me this bad. Hope they are gone soon. This is our half way decent weather time to eat outside and now these gnats are ruining it!! Rant over!!

I don't know if either of these are the same kind of gnats that people are seeing outdoors, but these are the kind I've caught with my sugar water bowls inside.



Anyone know what these are?