Gnats and Midges

MysteryMe

Grumpy_chap said:

Thank you for the comments. 

I have ordered some of the yellow sticky pads because they are so cheap it would be silly not to try.

I don't know about the ants - I certainly have not seen any, but the logic makes sense of something crawling or jumping up from the ground.  You never feel anything on your ankles though, just at the end of the day go back inside and realise you have been bitten to smithereens down there - never anything higher than 8-10" from the ground.  If it is red ants, how do we control that?

I also wondered whether the plants in the area make any difference, we have:

• Pyracantha
• Holly tree
• Tall green bushy plant with white flowers.  I don't think it is this as the gnats or whatever were there before this was planted.

The patio in the area is regularly swept and washed down.  The flower beds are all weeded and weed-suppression membrane in place.

I was really hoping that there would just be a magic spray I could apply liberally and the bugs would go but not harm the plants.  Seems like my hopes will not be realised.

Those sticky strips are awful things and responsible for the deaths of many bats who get trapped in them. Please reconsider using them. 

Grumpy_chap

Farway said:

Have you looked closely at the yellow sheets to see what is stuck on them? Care to let us know for info?

There is the odd 'ordinary' fly plus load of minuscule black / grey dots / smudges.  So small, you would not see apart from the clarity of being against a bright yellow background.

@MysteryMe - the pads are really not sufficiently sticky as to be strong enough to trap a bat.

Missy79

For others' reference you'd definitely have noticed red ants! I had them in my previous garden, very aggressive, larger than the normal black ant that mainly toddles around minding its own business, and very painful bite. Mowing my lawn used to be a dicey event!

Apodemus

Martin_the_Unjust said:

Hmmmm have you any cats or dogs perhaps?

I’m with Martin on this!  Although I would add mosquitoes to the potential culprits, as they will bite low.  They wouldn’t necessarily be attracted to the sticky sheets but could have disappeared with the hotter weather or their breeding site might have dried up.

Grumpy_chap

I certainly have not seen any red ants.  There are lots or ordinary normal black ants in places throughout the garden.  I don't think I've ever seen a red ant - I assume I would definitely know the red ant as different to the normal black ant if I saw one.

We do not have any cats or dogs and I have not seen any evidence of mess in the garden from visiting cats or foxes.

MysteryMe

Grumpy_chap said:

Farway said:

Have you looked closely at the yellow sheets to see what is stuck on them? Care to let us know for info?

There is the odd 'ordinary' fly plus load of minuscule black / grey dots / smudges.  So small, you would not see apart from the clarity of being against a bright yellow background.

@MysteryMe - the pads are really not sufficiently sticky as to be strong enough to trap a bat.

A Pipistrelle can get trapped in a cobweb.