I get many questions about gnat bites. For example, whether the bites are from gnats or mosquitoes, spiders, or ticks? What do real gnat bites look like? What diseases can they cause?
Here are the basics to help you recognize gnat bites. This article is part of the series of blog posts I have written on biting gnats to uncover the mystery of gnat bites and to discuss effective treatment options.
Its important to understand what gnat bites look like before you start exploring medications to treat them.
Can Gnats bite?
Scientifically, not all gnats bite. There are list of six species that can travel up to 10 miles to get a meal of blood. These gnats bite humans as well as livestock animals. Among the biting species, Buffalo gnats are the most common.
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It is easy to mistaken flying ants, mosquitoes and other nasty insects flying in and around your house for gnats. The bites of these insects should be treated differently than ones from gnats. Many could mistake Flying Ants in House, mosquitoes, and other nasty insects as gnats. These are not gnats and are treated differently. However, a small gnat bite or noseeum bite can cause greater damage than the insect’s small size would suggest.
How do gnats bite?
Gnat bites are similar to mosquitoes. Nevertheless, gnats don’t break the skin like a mosquitoes. Because gnats have four cutters inside their mouth, they cut the skin like a surgeon. A gnat sucks blood by injecting anti-clotting agents into the blood to prevent the wound from forming a blood clot. As a result, the insect can freely suck out blood in large quantities. If fact, gnat bites are more painful than mosquito bites and the bitten victims typically loose more blood.
Where do gnats bite?
Bites most frequently occur on any area of uncovered skin such as the head, neck, forearms, hands, face, legs and feet. It is also possible to get bitten in an area where the clothing is stuck tightly to the skin, as a result of sweat.
You should know that ANY area on your body is vulnerable to gnat bites, including even eyes and ears. In particular, the gnat bites to eye are very dangerous and must be shown to an ophthalmologist.
Later we will discuss the best treatments and effective home remedies to get rid of itching and quickly heal the inflammation from gnat bites.
Common Symptoms of gnat bites
Common Symptoms of Gnat Bites
Common Symptoms of a Gnat Bite
The most common symptoms include: itchiness and irritation of the area of the bite. These symptoms can be mild to severe depending on the location of the bite and how long the gnat was biting/sucking blood. Constant scratching can lead to excessive sensitivity and infection.
Gnat bites may be painless. However, the bites that are painful tend to cause swelling. Sometimes there is also a blood mark or a bloody smudge where a gnat has bitten, similar to a “vampire” bite. Unless the pain and swelling go away after a few days you must see your doctor. If an infection occurs the swelling will increase and may contain puss, which tends to explode and looks like white or yellow mucous secretions. It also possible to have an allergic reaction to a gnat bite, in which case you should also see a doctor.
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The images bellow help you identify exactly what a gnat bite looks like:
Here is a list of various diseases that can be potentially transmitted by biting gnats:
DEER FLIES
These are also known as yellow flies, or stouts in Atlantic Canada. Deer fly transmits a disease called Tularemia or “rabbit fever”.
HORSE FLIES
These are also known as breeze flies, cleggs, klegs, or clags, deer flies, gadflies, or zimbs, in Canada, bull dog flies. The life cycle may take two years to complete. Larvae of both deer and horse flies usually live in water or moist locations where they prey on other insects. Then they migrate to dry soil to transform to adult form that feed on the blood of livestock and other animals.
STABLE FLIES
Also known as barn fly, biting house fly, dog fly, or power mower fly.
Stable flies are similar to house flies except for the pointed tube behind their necks, which the insect uses to such blood. Cattle largely infested with stable flies have been reported to become anemic and lower milk production. It can also bite humans in the outdoors. Some Stable fly might be a vector of Trypanosoma evansi (the agent of Surra), trypanosoma brucei, brucellosis, Equine infectious anemia, African horse sickness (AHS), and fowlpox. S. calcitrans is also reported to be a vector of Bacillus anthracis, the causative agent of anthrax.
BLACK FLIES
Also known as Buffalo gnat, turkey gnat, or white socks.
Buffalo gnats do not cause diseases but can be a carrier of nematode worms and bacteria. Their bites may cause life-threatening allergies to humans and livestock in the United States.
They can also act as larval host of parasitic nematode Onchocerca volvulus, which causes onchocerciasis, or “river blindness”.
BITING MIDGES
Biting midges includes Ceratopogonidae, or biting midges. In the United States and Canada they are known as no-see-ums, midgies, sand flies, punkies, and others. Biting midges bites can be serious, especially if the insect lives along the shores of oceans, lakes, ponds and rivers, and will bite during the day or at night. They may be vectors of disease-causing viruses, protozoa, or filarial worms.
The bite of midges in the genus Culicoides causes an allergic response in equines known as sweet itch. In humans, their bites can cause intensely itchy, red welts that can persist for more than a week. The discomfort arises from a localized allergic reaction to the proteins in the insect’s saliva, which can be somewhat alleviated by topical antihistamines.
SAND FLIES
In many areas of the world they are known as sand gnat, sand flea, no-see-um (no-see-em, noseeum), granny nipper, chitra, punkie, or punky. In many parts of the world, including southern Texas in the United States, certain sand fly species (Lutzomyia) are transmitting cutaneous leishmaniasis disease to humans. Moreover, Sand flies can carry Chandipura virus, which is related to the very deadly rabies.
Read more about:
How to kill biting gnats effectively?
Identify All biting and non-biting gnats
Hi. My family been getting these really small bites. We are unsure of what was bitting us. It started mostly with our 2 and 1 year old, then us. We thought maybe it was a spider. I had them stay away for weekend as I cleaned the house and spray Raid bug spray all over near the beds. Since then it seems like the bites have stopped. Maybe couple since then on babies. But I noticed these little flies flying around the house. Which at first I assumed were fruit flies but I took a picture of it and I’m pretty sure it’s not a fruit fly. If you can please let me send you the picture of the bug and of our bites and let me know what you think and how to get rid of them, it would be great. Thanks. Estrada family
Hi Joe, I also have them and the agriculture man told me they come from standing water that if not stopped gets bacteria in it. He told me to get mosquito dunks and throw under house, thats where my problem started.. Now I somehow have got mites and wouldn’t believe me, which I think came from rats that died under my house.. I begged Drs to not let it go this far and now I have intestinal issues scabies and skin mites…. I pray you find the problem for you and the kids because all they know is something is biting them.. I have two grand babies and Im terrified because it is contagious…
Did the dunks help or do u mean that’s what cause the problem
Make sure it is not bed bugs, look on the bed itself where sticking is I was shocked when I spotted one running in the middle of the nite I was determined to catch what was biting me, and by the grace of God had light in my had one nite and felt itching put on flash light and spotted it running away, and they are fast
I was bitten l over my head and by my ears, My scalp swelled and has been very sore. I took Benadryl which helped. I have never
had this much trouble with gnat bites. I will wear a cap from now on when doin yard work.
I AM GOING OUT OF MY MIND WITH THESE WORRISOME GNATS. I HAVE SAT CONTAINERS WITH APPLE CIDER VINEGAR AND DETERGENT IN CONTAINERS (GOT INFO OFF GOOGLE SITE) IN EVERY ROOM AND NOTHING SEEMS TO HELP. I CAN SAY THOUGH WHEN I GO TO EMPTY THE CONTAINER MANY HAVE FALLEN IN. PLEASE IF THERE IS A WAY TO GET RID OF THESE PESTS..PLEASE SHARE…THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
Using fruit traps help, put a Apple core or so in a container, put cling rap on with a rubber band to secure it, then poke holes on the top with a tooth pick. Otherwise, make sure that the fruit u buy doesn’t have any indents in it. It may be a sign that it’s carrying eggs. Keep fruit in the fridge or air sealed container and search for mold. Could even be rotting wood, moss, floor boards, etc. It’s natural for them to keep coming back, but the community services should be spraying for those with the truck and all.
I got a can of insect fogger that I “bombed” our apartment with and it did wonders getting rid of our gnats!
Every one get Moth Balls they for everything. An old fashioned pest control place outside all around home basments, etc replace after rain…
we cover/ every drain unless we’re using it to drain.. that helped a lot…the salt soap mixture actually collected more gnats than the vinegar…. ..location? there were hundreds in the salt water behind the picture frame..than the vinegar soap in the window.. huh..
Gnats are driving me mad too. I swear they lay eggs in my clothes, and hatch out when I put the clothes on. I managed to get them under control in the winter (bought all new clothes, only had a few clothes) but now that summer is here they are back, I think because there are so many around outside in the hot summer weather. I have bites on my body which I assume are from the gnats but am not positive. It is horrifying having gnats pop out of your clothes, I am afraid to go any where for fear of attracting them, spreading them and the embarrassment of it all. I have not found a solution for getting rid of them out of the clothes or for preventing them from being attracted to me. If anybody has a similar issue and has found anything which works, please post it.
I work in a wearhouse and they have a bad case of the Gnat. What I did was wash my clothing in a sanitation cycle in the washer,and then took a shower everyday after work. Then I took tweezers and pulled out the blood clot in the middle of the bite and put proixid on it if it bubbled I knew it was killing the bacteria in the bite ! If it did not bubble I knew I got it all out. I went to the doctor today and he said I must be doing something correct because I have no infection and old bits look better and new bites hurt and the ones I cant reach are still bothering me. I hope this helps. Plus if you go online and type in Gnat pictures of bites you can see what they look like and it gives you more information.
Best of Luck all!
I experiencing the exact thing
We are traveling and have a week planned here in Iowa. The very first night here I was bitten several times during the night on my feet and legs. I thought it was a mesquito bites however we have not SEEN any mesquites . We ruled out chiggers too. A lady in the park told my husband they have had trouble with gnat bites. Will this continue when we leave here too? It is very uncomfortable! I now worry about transporting these insects and bringing this problem with us!
I have dozens upon dozens of small bites on me ths6t resemble small blood blisters. Some of them “come to a head” with pus pockets on them very much like that of a fire ant bite. I caught two of these blood sucking creatures tonight and they very much resemble what it would look like if a fly and a misquote had a baby. Currently, my 4 month old granddaughter vwho lives in my house, is in the hospital with salmonella bacteria poisoning. This bacteria wss discovered when she was admitted to the hospital with a 104.5 temperature. She has maybe 4 or 5 of these bites of which two have formed these pus tops. We live on the SC coast, on an island off of the coast actually, and have had enoumous amounts of rain this summer and almost continual standing water in our and/or our neighbors yards. Earlier this year, 2 months ago, I was being eaten alive by an insect that was identified by Clemson University as Western Flower Thrips. As I write this, I am waiting for our local Lowes store to open so that I can once again buy “bed bug” foggers to try and rid our hime of whatever insect it it that is feasting upon us. After mowing the lawn a few evenings ago, I came inside, incredibly itchy only to discover that I had at least 75 – 100 bites on me. We have noseeums here, in abudance, however their bites tend to appear more “whelp” like. If I had to discribe these bites in another way, I would say they look, as best I can remember, like the spots I had all over me when as a small child I had Greman Measles. Please eould you give me your opinion of this situation as soon as possible.
I TOO AM BEING EATEN ALIVE! THESE ARE DEFINATELY KNATS. WHEN I TAKE A SHOWER I FIND 1 OR 2 KNAT AT THE BOTTOM OF THE SHOWER. THESE ARE LARGE LOOKING BITES! THEY BURN WHEN THEY BITE AND THEN ITCH AFTERWARDS! THERE ARE SWARMS OF THESE THINGS AROUND MY NEIGHBORHOOD, AND ARE EASILY SEEN AROUND SUNSET! THEY DON’T BITE IN THE DAYTIME, BUT RATHER FROM SUNSET ON INTO THE NIGHT! I’VE SEEN OTHER POSTS FROM OTHER VICTIMS, BUT IS ANYONE HERE ABLE TO OFFER SOME SORT OF ANSWERS AS TO HOW TO MAKE THEM STOP BITING ME??..P.S…THEY DON’T BITE MY FRIEND AT ALL, ONLY ME….WHY???
Try using a shower gel that has tea tree in it. I used to get bitten terribly. But i now use a branded mint and tea tree shower gel and I think I have only been bitten once the whole summer. Also safe to use on kids (assuming no allergy to tea tree).
Thanks for the tip Emma. I’m going to try adding a little tea tree essential oil to
the coconut oil that I use as a moisturizer and see if it helps me combat the no seeums.
I have recently noticed that what I thought was possibly adult acne has become very itchy. Weird thing is, tough I do have a random bite here and there the majority of these bites are at the top of my cheek bones circling my left eye and completely surrounding my mouth! Plz tell me is this normal?
Niki, sounds a lot like shingles.
These bugs are living under my scalp. They gave me worms whick trek under the skin all over my body. My feet are full of worms. My stool is full of worms and strange creatures. The flies hatch out of my scalp and go directly to the nearest person. I have shaved off my hair and the razor was full of black flies and fly parts. They bite my scalp and it feels like a bee hive. The biting, crawling, keep me up all night. I see worms and dots in my vision. My docs refuse to do a colonoscopy because they said I need to see an infect disease doc. The primary care doc saw photos of a worm coming out of my foot and still refuses to let me see an infectious disease doc until I start taking anti-psych meds for DOP. I am cleaning worms out of the dyer lint trap after washing a load 3 times with many chemicals. I stopped working 5 mos ago and my company declined me for disability due to no diagnosis. This problem has caused my hands and feet to go numb, vomiting, headaches, stiff neck, chest pain. I was very healthy before this happened. My 4 cats got sick and have all been euthanized.. My apart had several floods so I have been living in hotels.
I am seeing these things in the shower on our clothes in the bed in the kids hair and just out of no wear literally and now I can’t breath they are coming out when I caulph in grey snot right out of my lungs..my kids have had fevers left and rt in the hundreds when we go to the doctor he gave us a cream I put it on and became a buffet. I have bites on my button chest and they are almost like zits and ant bites mixed..idk what to do help
I am having same symptoms vomiting headaches numb hands itching biting ahhhhh
Bree,
I don’t know about the flies part, but the “worms” coming out of your skin makes me think that you MIGHT have Morgellons syndrome. I am not a Doctor or a health professional, and I can only tell you what I saw. I also just reread what you wrote and realized that you and my friend have something else in common: Water.
Around six years ago, my close friend of 20+ years (we’ll call him Joe) confided in me that he was seeing “strings” coming out of his skin. Some were white, some purple. Some were straight, and others looked like a flower. They continued to affect him for over a month and he refused to tell his PCP. Though I didn’t see them, I did take him seriously (they’re more active at night time). I did a lot of online research, and was finally blessed to stumble upon an article about Morgellons Syndrome. Joe was, and still is by choice, computer challenged.
I printed out all of the information that I could find at the time, and he finally made a Doctor’s appointment to talk about his “threads”. He took the information with him to his appointment. His doctor confirmed that he did have Morgellons syndrome, not because of the information that Joe gave her, but because she had another patient that also suffered from it. She was grateful for the additional information though, and asked if she could keep it.
Morgellons is supposedly a “rare” thing to have, but I’m beginning to think that maybe it might not be as rare as they suppose.
At the time, Joe was already on disability due to his inheritance of Bipolar Disorder type 1. He stayed at home most of the time, sitting in his recliner, as it was both his chair and his bed. Once he got his Morgellons diagnosis, he decided to fight it. Noone gave him any information about how to go about getting rid of them. He ended up having to get rid of all clothing and covers that couldn’t be washed, and bleached what he could in hot water (to this day he continues to wash all of his clothing and bedding in hot water). He chose to throw away a lot of items (which he couldn’t afford financially) because he didn’t know if they were affected. Every day he mopped the floors of his small apartment (duplex) with ammonia and water. He also did much better about getting in the shower and changing his clothes (was about once a week), and changing and bleaching his “bed” sheets. That helped tremendously as he was no longer reinfecting himself.
The Morgellons finally did clear up, and he recently told me that he’s not had a recurrence.
The water that you and Joe have in common is this: There was mildew on corner of his side of the duplex, and his closet, which was on the same side, smelled horribly like mildew. He had become nose blind to it, but his belongings had not. When I mentioned it to him, he just brushed me off, even though he knew it was a health issue from his experience in installing hardwood floors for a living. Once he knew that I wasn’t going to back down, he finally talked to the owner. She told the handyman to bleach just that part of the siding.
Whether or not the water or mildew had anything to do with the Morgellons isn’t known. What IS known is that instead of applying bleach to the siding directly and then wiping it off as instructed, the person chose to use a pressure washer, and did the whole side of the building. The rotted wood underneath the siding soaked up the powerful spray of water, and the REAL issue came to the surface, which of course, at that time, they refused to fix. They eventually had no choice but to do so.
As I’m typing this out, I just had a eureka moment. (aka Thank you Lord!) I remember what happened with another person (Jane) , who was a close friend to both Joe and I. Jane is disabled, and also stays at home most of the time. She use to sit in her recliner during the day, but was fortunate (?) enough to have a bed in her bedroom to sleep in at night.
I remember her telling me at one point that noone should sit too close to her as ahe had “bugs in her skin”. She thought that they might be contagious. (This was 6 or 7 years earlier than Joe’s encounter) I had no idea what she was referring to, and she didn’t elaborate as to the type of bug she had. I asked her what type of bug she thought it was, but she refused to answer.
Unfortunately, not one of her Doctors believed that she had “bugs”, and all told her it was psychosomatic.
Jane had carpet throughout the trailer she was renting, and I noticed that the interior started smelling strongly of moth balls. She told me that she put the moth balls down underneath the furniture thinking it would help get rid of the bugs. I thought at the time that it was an odd way to fumigate a trailer, but now I think I understand. She couldn’t afford to hire a professional, and even if she could, she probably thought that they wouldn’t believe her; neither her PCP or heart Doctor did. The mothball smell never seemed to diminish over time, and it permeated everything in the trailer.
I didn’t see Jane until about 6 months later. She was no longer being affected by the bugs, never did find out what they were, but the trauma of it had caused her to sink into a deep depression.
I’m wondering if she had Morgellons as well.
I didn’t mean for this answer to be soooo long but I thought any additional info I could add might be useful.
~I hope this helps someone who is suffering, but PLEASE don’t automatically think that you have this syndrome if you’re experiencing bug bites.
If you do understand what I’m referring to as far as the threads coming out of your skin, you might want to bring up Morgellons Syndrome with your Doctor. Some Doctor’s may not be as open minded and willing to go the extra mile like my friend’s doc did with her first patient, so you might need to see a Specialist. I know that for those of us on the low income spectrum, that might not be an option. There was a website about Morgellons. I’m going to try and locate it, and I will add it onto this post once I do.
My heart hurts for every one of you struggling to find answers.
It’s so refreshing to see someone who is aware of MD and isn’t judgemental about it. Thank you!
i found many fungus gnats in my skin scrapings…but they took months to develop. i also have found a flea (i think it is the tungas penetrans….a sand flea….in my public region. and eggs in my pubic region and legs. i have videos in youtube of worms and eggs coming out out my feet and toes…but every doc i have seen refuses to look at the videos. they also have erroneously diagnised me with DOP. the gd doctors don’t even bother to do research….pheremones are what attract insects….and they are as individual to us as our fingerprints. that’s why not everyone gets bit. the infectious disease docs wouldn’t even look. they sectioned me for 7 hours. this has been the worst, most bizarre and frustrating thing that has ever happened. pls. good luck and god less…
I am really sorry to hear about everyone’s health issues, especially the baby and the person with the worms!
I am bed-bound and have been dealing with these gnats in my bedroom. I have thousands of bites, all at different stages covering my entire body! I have been sitting here reading info for well over an hour, during which time I am willing to bet that I have received an additional 20-30 more bites.
Some bites just itch, while others feel as if I’ve been stabbed with a butchers blade! My family doesn’t really get it because I have Fibromyalgia, so my nerves endings are right at the surface. I’ve had to be put on anti-anxiety meds because of this. I can’t sleep, so I stay awake until I just fall asleep.
I wish I had answersome, but I don’t. I can tell you not to waste your money on a device that plugs into- it doesn’t work!
I guess it’s just nice to know I’m not alone
You need to just go to the nearest MAYO CLINIC!! BRING ALL YOUR INFORMATION ABOUT HOW,WHEN AND WHY EVEN PICTURES!! THERE IS A RARE DISEASE THAT IVE SEEN ON A TV SPECIAL, THESE WORMS OR THREADS WERE DIFFERENT COLORS BUT THE WOMAN FINALLY AFTER GETTING FIRED FROM HER JOB AND DOCTORS TELLING HER THE SAME THING! ( THAT SHE NEEDS TO SEE A SHRINK) FINALLY SHE GOT A DOCTOR THAT ACTUALLY CARE’S ABOUT PATIENTS!! NOT JUST A PAYCHECK VERIFIED THAT SHE DID HAVE A RARE DISEASE!! BUT IVE JUST BEEN DEALING WITH THESE LITTLE BLACK MOSQUITO LOOKING FLY TO BIYES ARE ON UPPER BODY LRGD AND ARMS, BUT TGEY LOOK LIKE A WHITE HEAD MOSTLY. IVE PUT JUST SOAP PALMOLIVE WITH IXY CLEAN AND IVE DONE THE VINEGAR LAST YEAR AND IT DOES WORK . BUT I JUST FOUND A LARVAE ON MY MOP HEAD AND ITS LITTLE, CLEAR WITH A BLACK SPEC IN IT!!! UGGGGG!!! IM ITCHING JUST THINKING ABOUT IT!!!! My question is how do you get them out of your blNkets, clothes carpeting and my damn Cat box!!!:(. At first my son and his girlfriend were getting bit now they have been gone and I’m getting bit!! So I’ll keep putting the conifer and soap in a jar and pray I don’t get A DISEASE!! I have RA really bad so my immune system isn’t working as well and I’ve been Getting bruises easier and I bleed more when I give myself my shots of humor!! It’s scary knowing all THESE things can carry! Good Luck to ALL!!!:)
Fyi. The florescent green and yellow traps work well. They are sold as fly/gnat paper. I know home depot carries them. They’re tuff to shake though. I’ve attacking them with multiple methods at the same time over the course of a week is your best chance. Also, the Apple cider vinegar/lemon dish soap method works better when placed on a large dish or pan, no lid. Then place the pan where u think it’s the worst, and place a candle in the middle of the pan. Last turn off lights in that room. They love it. Lead them into the Light!
I have a lot of he same symptoms everyone else has stated thus far. At work we’ve had sworms or flying gnats which are more seen during the summer months beginning in spring when the weather starts to get hotter here in Georgia. Our company had an exterminator come and they determined the cause was our plants that the company rents. Well they treated the plants, got the carpets cleaned and co-worker continued to make the Apple Cider vinegar jars for the areas mostly effected. And now they’re back even worse. Last week I felt like I brought them home because the biting I was experiencing at work is now home. I’ve gone as far as to buy bug spray and spray undeneasth my desk at work, my furniture at home and I’ve washed all bed linens and clothes and still am getting bite and the annoying fire itching. I wash my arms, legs and anywhere I feel the itching to no avail. What’s fears me the most is I sat on my 83y/o mothers bed earlier yesterday whom I never mentioned to what was going and she busted in my room last night stating she is horribly itching on her legs and arms. This is crazy she’s already on enough meds and now this. So can these gnats have bitten me ,carried and left type of mite on me which I have now brought home. Is my job liable to any extent to help me ger rid of whatever it is I may have. I I’m tried and exhausted from a lack of sleep and I don’t have money to buy medicines/treatments, go to doctors and most of all am very nervous to go church(owhere I’m very active) or anywhere else other than work for fear I might spread them and this will become so widespread its uncontrollable. Praying for much needed help and restoration to a normal life.
An opthalmologist is an eye doctor. Makes me really wonder about the veracity of this entire biting post…also no consideration has been taken to what part of the country these people are from!
Sounds like June flies
Thanks everyone who confirmed my suspicions. I have this area on my scalp that is constantly scabbed over. I remove the scab…and then several nights later, there will be another scab in its place…so now i know the culprit is the gnats that seem to enjoy living in my bedroom and ‘feasting’ on the top of my head (lol). Fortunately I don’t have any severe reactions…just some itching
Some people moved in to an apt right above mine. I noticed that they left many articles outside for a few weeks and I KNEW that fact alone was no good. In a room located precisely where they had stuff stacked against the house directly outside, 2 roaches came. I told the landlord that the people brought roaches and that the reason why they left alot of furniture,etc, outside and piled into a car was because they were hoping the cold weather would kill roaches. The landlord did not believe me. Bear in mind 20 years in this house and never any bugs or rodents. That summer after they had been moved in, I developed rashes and all the symptoms of some kind of mites. When I told doctors, and I went to many of them, that I feel burning and itchiness mostly at night, they put it down that I was crazy. Then, twice, what appeared to be like a black head only flat or like a freckle showed up om my arms and when I picked it, it seemed like the carcass of a small insect that had burrowed under my skin. Of course, relating that fact to doctors was dismissed as me being crazy. The docs were telling me I have yeast infections, something I never had before in my life. No jock itch before either. No matter what they treated me with, it was to no avail and a year later these rashes still keep coming. I have since been trying to rid the house of flying gnats and google has showed me pics of the type of gnats that do bite and suck blood. As soon as I seem to clear away gnats and none seen for days, then suddenly swarms appear once again. Also, now mice have been showing up and evidenced by their tiny poops. All three problems, insects and rodents are related and it is not easy to convince anyone as they wonder how can that be. The thing that is serious: Constantly feeling worn down no matter how much I sleep, constant rashes, inability to eat (I’ve lost approx 60 lbs in a year and am way below normal weight) and more prone to sicknesses such as flu, etc, that I never had before. Sadly, there is no co-operation from other members of the household no matter how much I point out that their habits of leaving food opened on counter tops, eating in their rooms and leaving unfinished stuff there so long that fungus develops, piles of dirty laundry and damp clothes so high as equal to their bed, letting food sit on plates and in the sink, etc, etc, is felled upon non hearing ears and an attitude of denial that they do not believe that they are causing further infestations and pointing the blame on the neighbors and area in which we live….I have been trying to find another place and hope to be gone from here soon.
I’ve been dealing with this also. I thought we had bedbugs for a year straight. Multiple exterminators. Bed protectors, cleaning everyday, throwing bedding away etc. Just this month I was able to pinpoint and reduce the number of these devil bugs. I use a mix of straight vinegar, tea tree oil and clove oil. I spray all around my house, baseboards, Windows,etc. I also sprayed off on the outside of my windows and see them now stuck to it. I use diatomaceous earth all around my yard and house also which will hopefully make a barrier to keep them at bay from my neighbor who has been infested. For the bites I use tea tree or baking soda packs. Which is just baking soda made into a paste and applied to bite to draw out poison.
I’ve been getting bites for a year. They are quite huge. Burn and sting and then itch a little. I thought it was bedbugs because they seem to come in clumps. But apparently that’s what happens when they swarm. They leave a hole in the center where they spit their anticoagulant. Now there’s scarring.
I suggest trying the vinegar, tea tree, clove mix and diatomaceous earth. It seems to be helping.
How often do you treat with each? I have found that they are laying eggs in my tile grout ALL around My whole house. I have gotten down on my hands and knees and scrubbed while they were attacking me the entire time getting what i THOUGHT was every last one AND have had a professional exterminator spray five times ALL TO NO AVAIL!!
I live in a semi urban setting on the very outskirts of Mexico City my 6 year old is getting these weird bites on him his face, torso, where his waistband is at first I thought bed bugs but I can’t find any anywhere, his doctor keeps saying it’s not mites, not bed bugs but that it’s spiders well then tonight I got up and killed two tiny little gnats full of blood on the wall, I’m a very clean person but my husbands cousin who lives next for is squalid as are the majority of people here and our houses are built extremely close, also at the end of my street is a feild with horses and an open runoff water canal , I’m going to try the vinegar traps tomorrow and hope they work
I have been under attack from tiny, flying , biting, gnat since 2013. The pain is excruciating, didn’t think something so small would hurt so bad. They fly in your eyes, nose , ears and even into your private areas. I have been bit on every part of my body. I’ve been loosing my hair. due to my constant scratching. They bite all day , but I would say it’s a lot worse at night. They follow you everywhere you go, like little hitchhikers, and they come back with you. I’ve tried everything from insecticide foggers to skin so soft, absolutely nothing works. I don’t know how they got in my house but I can’t get rid of them. Anyone else experience this madness, or knows how to get rid of them!
OMG!! I am experiencing exactly, what you are going through. These are either gnats or noseeums or black flies. I don’t know what to do, they follow me everywhere. I don’t sleep at night, my scalp is always itchy, I sleep with deet repellant over my nose and mouth with a cover. I constantly feel them in my hair all day long even at work. What can I do? They are always flying past my nose and mouth. This should not be happening to all of us. Right now, I am at my sons house but they have followed me there!!! My plans this weekend is to buy a Hot Shot fogger for the apartment. I hope it will help there, but what about me, my body, my face and scalp? Is there any internal med/dermatologist/gastro doctor that can help us. HELP!!!
If i ate a piece of damaged fruit 3 days ago, will the fruit flt larvae live inside of me if there were eggs or will i just digest it along w the fruit? I.m ok with that as we own a fruit stand and i detest waste and often bring home damaged fruit but we clean and cut it that day. With all this rain it has been a problem in Tennnessee and in Florida aw we are visiting my parents. I have heard things here I’vr never heard and will try to be A LOT more aware of gnats. I didnt even know fruit gnats woyld bite you and lived off of blood but layed eggs in fruit
I’m experiencing bites from gnats, too. Glad to know I’m not going crazy. Will check back and post results that work.
My husband and I have been weeding out and mulching the flowerbed in our backyard. As we were mulching the last two days I was bothered by lots of gnats trying to get under my hat’s wide brim. Today I started itching. Then the burning started. When I came inside I found that my face, neck, and arms were swelling up fast. I had an allergic reaction to the bites and now had hives so bad that my left eye is swollen shut. I took Benedryl, then washed and put antiseptic on all the bites. I have read some great info on the Internet about what to do with these gnats and how to take care of the bites. I do wonder if all of the rain we had this summer is causing this problem of so many gnats. Growing up I had always been told that gnats don’t bite, well I have learned otherwise. I will be calling the doctor.
Wow I’m so glad I’m not alone in this. My two yr old son and I moved into a new place and it’s not in the greatest area. We lived in a nice gated community before but the landlord lost her house and we had to move within 45 days and got wat was available. Ever since we moved in we both were always itching and feeling little stings on the body. At first we thought it was fiber glass coming from the vents but months later I started noticing an infestation of tiny little bugs. They are everywhere in my clothes in the bedding on the walls in the carpet literally in everything and they bite all the time and some burrow under the skin. Now I’m noticing a weird growth u see our nails and sometimes wormy looking things. And now when my son goes to the bathroom he is passing bugs in his stool and sometimes worms. We both lost a lot of weight and losing our appetite and always so so sooo tired we literally wanna sleep all the time. My little boy was always so active and now he is constantly restless. I went to the doctors the other day and they think it’s just allergies and ignoring the part about bugs everywhere. My son is so traumatized he wakes up screaming at night and scared to sleep. And during the daytime he tip tied and is scared that with each step he will get bitten again. They go in eyes ears mouth nose bite private areas and everywhere especially the scalp. I have noticed knots in the home and worst part is roof leaks when it rains and we have repeatedly told the landlord and they send a handyman and say they supposedly fixed the problem but everytime it rains it still leaks. And now both me and my son are seriously ill and idk wat to do anymore or how to get rid of these bugs from the body and from the house. I tried many cleaning products and used some that are toxic even to humans Nd sent my son to my moms while I recleaned and vacuumed over and over agin but in two three days it’s fully infested again. I was bleaching everything and using the awsome cleaner which is a strong degreaser and it seemed to get rid of them until they all came back. What are these bugs and if they are knots what kind are they? I live in Modesto California I do t have lakes near my home but I have a palm tree which has a rats nest and all the mold in the attic o recently found out about because of the leaking roof. What should I do and how do I get help. I’m struggling and don’t have a good income and miss a lot of work since I’m getting more and more sick and flu like symptoms wth my son more often
I have been bitten so bad but I was under the impression of tiny jumping black spiders. I also found a few (almost see through) and now that I am googling gnat bites my bites look exactly like that. Had in my hair all over the body amd since I have an auto immune disease there are no anibotics left to take. funny we dont have much action this year I just keep seeing 1 blasted gnat driving me nuts. Thank you everyone who posted people that have never seen this find it har to believe.
Hi there are little black flying bugs in my house they fly around me easy to kill but keep coming back there in the bathroom too very small I don’t think I am getting bit I live in Florida and we just had Erma two months ago they started after that big storm what should I do thanks Andrea
u get a ichty bites
For people that has got these bites I feel you. I was told I was imagining it too and now I have bad scars from these bites. At the top front of my thighs, forearms and waistline.
I finally used an old cure my 93 year old aunt told me. I got that drawing salve “Prid” and some of those clear bandages. (Tegraderm is one brand) what you are doing is basically making a patch like those stop smoking patches) You put the prid on and seal it over with the clear bandages and leave it over night. When you peel it off in the morning rub in something called Tamanu oil. I think
Most any type of skin oil will work but I had tried coconut, olive, tea tree, peppermint, even that expensive emu oil. Someone told me about tamanu oil and I figured whatever. It’s not as greasy feeling so I rather use it. I’d already used so many products including stuff from dermatologists that I was running out of oils to try!
Seriously didn’t know what was biting, me as I never found anything around me but gnats and was told repeatedly that gnats don’t bite people. I was ready to start taking anything the Dr would be willing to prescribe, even psychiatric medicine, because I was at the point I couldn’t stand it any more.
When they think you are losing your mind and you feel like it’s a short distance to actually being there you start considering anything.
@Joann what did you finally do? Did the Prid work with the Tamanu oil’ I am still suffering, they can even travel. I just returned from Memphis TN. It traveled all the way there and back. Im not crazy, I cant sleep at night.