We are running out of time to take on these nasty little no-see-ums, black gnats that are tiny and pack a whollop in their bite that takes weeks to heal. They show up mid May and disappear as temperatures soar, usually around the 4th of July.
Farmers around here wear long sleeve cotton shirts with cuffs and collars, tuck the shirts into their jeans, and tuck their jeans into their boots or put thick rubber bands around their ankles because gnats can get in and under everything, but they don't bite through clothes. They are small enough to climb through window screens so if you live in gnat country and sleep with your windows open for circulation, they are probably in your house and feasting on you while you sleep.
You can see them swarm in agricultural areas where there is moisture, or in neighborhoods in town after sprinklers run, and we hear they nest nearly everywhere. They extract blood for the protein in laying their eggs, but they do not carry diseases like mosquitos.
The local farmers, well and septic guys use Skin So Soft from Avon that has an oily barrier so the bugs can't grab hold, but they are quick to say it works better on mosquitos than gnats. But it's all they've got. They have tried everything else and nothing seems to work on black gnats.
We have tried quite a few products as well, and they are not very effective. We know there is always something in nature to compliment a chemical developed in the lab, and with the need for something to be used topically and continually in communities like ours, it stands to reason the repellent would be safer if it comes from the ground. We got into researching natural remedies and ordered up a bunch of essential oils, and got to work.
We are out in the country and have standing water all around, including an abandoned pool right next door. We repurposed a SkeeterVac for the outside and it is capturing gnats and mosquitos, and we are also in the process of planting mosquito repellent plants in the yard (lemongrass, catnip, lavender, etc). Mosquitos are a problem here year round, and worst in the spring, summer and fall.
A couple of months ago, we started with a basic homemade mosquito repellent that was shared on Facebook, and modified it to make it our own. After several successful weeks of using it, we passed 25 bottles out to people on our FB page and family and friends, and asked for feedback. Bottles were sent to Texas, Arkansas, Illinois, Colorado, and up and down California. We are waiting to hear if it works for them against the mosquitos they have.
We want to develop effective and safe products to use on kids and animals; something with ingredients that come from the garden and grow wild; something that won't stain clothes or dry oily on the skin; and something affordable and that smells reasonably good.
Last weekend, we took on the black gnats. We developed three formulas and sprayed ourselves down including the dog. For me, it was: right arm, Formula 1; left arm, Formula 2; face, neck, hair, back, legs, belly and ankles, Formula 3. For my husband he used: left arm, formula 2; right arm, Formula 3, and Deet product on face, hair, neck, ankles and belly. He is extremely reactive to gnat bites and we didn't want to take a chance on field test day 1.
On Saturday we worked for about 9 hours outside. We reapplied the formula every 2 hours because natural products absorb more efficiently than chemical ones. After two hours it was clear Formula 1 was keeping off mosquitos but not gnats, so we washed it off and reapplied the area with Formula 2.
Formula 2 worked really well for both of us. We watched the gnats land on us and crawl around and fly away. Of course it would be better if they didn't even land, but this was a great first step.
Formula 3 also worked reasonably well, but not as well as Formula 2.
On Sunday we showered, reapplied Formula 2 from head to toe, and headed back into the yard for 7 more hours. At the end of the day my husband only had only 3 bites. I had none anywhere on my body except for the shoulder and neck area after crawling through buggy, spidery trees to run drip lines and I'm pretty sure they are spider bites.
The scent is not quite right - but if anyone wants to try it on the condition of giving some honest feedback, we'll send you some.
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