Kami Marsh, agriculture agent for the Faulkner County Extension Service, has been getting lots of calls about one tiny subject: gnats.
“I’ve had a bunch of phone calls,” she said last week. Marsh feels the callers’ pain. “[The gnats are] just awful; trust me. I’ve been working outside in all these little gardens.”
Marsh said the flooding and wet conditions have led to the proliferation of gnats.
John Hopkins, entomologist and associate professor with the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture Cooperative Extension Service, said part of living in Arkansas is dealing with “gnats and flying insects.”
The gnats that have been attacking people could be buffalo gnats, also called biting flies, he said. Hopkins, however, isn’t so sure the problem is worse than normal.
“Arkansas being Arkansas, they’re not any worse this year than they are any other year,” he said. “They might be bad in one place and not in another.”
“We’ve experienced them,” said Steve Ibbotson, director of the Conway Parks and Recreation Department. “This is the first year we’ve ever gotten a call about them. We’ve had one call.
“We’ve sprayed for mosquitoes. I don’t know whether that does any good or not. I have a friend who called them buffalo gnats. He looked like a creature from Star Trek after getting involved with them one time. I’ve noticed them more this year than I can recall in a while.”
Hopkins agreed that water is a factor.
“Anytime you have rain events that create standing water, that’s the place for mosquitoes to breed in, and biting flies as well,” he said. “Gnats are going to breed in moist areas. Make sure you don’t have standing water; take care of your gutters. You could have mosquitoes breeding all around your house. Those little flower pots with little plates that hold water constantly [are a problem].”
Hopkins said the gnats won’t be a problem all summer. “For the little biting flies, they’re usually a two- to three-week period, and then they’ll be gone. Mosquitoes — that’s pretty much all summer.”
He said a concern with mosquitoes is that they can carry diseases, including the West Nile Virus, “which peaks late summer to early fall.” Hopkins said people with compromised immune systems are especially vulnerable to the disease.
Another problem can be “biting midges,” which are hard to see but can be little terrors.
“Wear long sleeves, long pants and things like that, and use insect repellent. Probably the little biting flies are going to be all day long — mosquitoes, for the most part, the ones that carry West Nile virus, are early-in-the-morning- and early-in-the-evening-type biters. Avoid exposure at those times.”
Marsh also suggested using commercial bug sprays and citronella candles for outside.
Other than that — moving out of state or hiding inside till winter may be the only options.
Senior writer Tammy Keith can be reached at (501) 327-0370 or tkeith@arkansasonline.com.