Went turkey hunting yesterday and the damn gnats were unbelievable, the worst I have ever seen them. They swarmed all over your head when you stood still and crawled in your ears and nose, got in your eyes. I had to come home and get my head nets to completely seal them out, almost, some still find their way in. Talking to some who live there, they said that people who work outside have gone to wearing bee keepers head nets or other head coverings just to be able to stand it. I couldn't even have fun mushroom hunting they were so bad. Where did these things come from, they have only been around here the last few years? And this is the worst they have been. Regular mosquito sprays do nothing to deter them and neither does a thermacell. I've heard vanilla has some effect on them, but I doused my cap with it yesterday and they still swarmed me. Anyone found something that will keep them off of you?
John, Back when I was a kid when we complained about them, the old man would tell us that those are Dog C_ck Flies.......:D I agree though, I've been out and about a couple times and they are intolerable.
My best suggestion for gnats is to use a mixture of vanilla cooking extract and water. It usually works fairly well against the gnats, but not so much for the mosquitoes. For the mosquitoes I stick to the thermacell. It won't eliminated them completely, but it will at least make it bearable hopefully.
Ok, I've been doing some research. I've found a couple of suggestions that seem to have some merit. 1. Banana Boat Sport sunscreen. 2. Ultrasonic repellants. The first one is easy, but I'm not sure if they make a battery operated, ultrasonic repellant. I know those work very well for mice and roaches, so maybe it's worth a shot looking for a portable, battery powered one. I dunno.... I'm not all that far west of you, really. And we don't have any around here. Thank God.
The vanilla works great. Just mix it with some water and put it in a small spray bottle and no more gnats. I tried fishing without it the other day and couldn't hardly stand it for more than a hour. Mowed and worked outside on the house the past few days and have had no problem with the gnats.
WOW Im glad there not that bad here. They are pesty but not in numbers like yours. The skeeters and ticks are extra bad here but when the themacell comes on the skeeters are gone
That sucks. don't have them that bad down here, but man o' man... the TICKS!!! Pulled seven off my boy and me yesterday.
Vicks, take a small amount and rub in your hands, then across your face, they disappear. problem it only works about 30 minutes then need to redo. I am going to try geranium essential oil in distilled water and spray bottle, suppose to work. We'll see.
I use Carmex lip balm for Gnats. Sounds weird but it works. Just put a tiny bit on the tip of your ears and tip of your nose. They leave you alone with that stuff on. I don't go hunting or fishing with a jar.
Ha ha...when we were kids we called them DDG's which stood for Dog D!ck Gnats. Anytime they were bothering somebody we'd pick at them and ask why they had DDG's buzzing around them Good times.
