Can Anything Be Done About Biting Midges?

Whenever I’m on my lawn, I get bitten by something so small I don’t see it. The bites swell up into welts that itch for a week. I’ve found reports of midges in other parts of California, but not so much here, except for a post on Reddit. Do you know what they are? —G.

I tried contacting entomologists in the area, to no avail, and then realized that Sean Steele from Paradise Pest Control said in the aforementioned Reddit post that he’s currently treating a property with biting midges.

They’re a flying insect of the Ceratopogonidae family, around one to three millimeters long. “Over 600 species in 36 genera have been described in North America, the vast majority of which either feed on other insects or other non-human animals,” says a page on the Purdue University website. “Species in only four genera of biting midges feed on the blood of mammals.” They go by many names, known around North America as no-see-ums, punkies, five-O’s (because they’re often active at the end of the day), pinyon gnats, and moose flies. They pose no known health risks in these parts, although that may be changing; either way, the bites can be extremely aggravating. This next part could give you nightmares: “The mouthparts of biting midges consist of a fleshy sheath inside of which are four, minute cutting blades that lacerate the skin, inflicting sharp, burning pain. Observant victims may notice tiny red ‘spots’ that are biting midges filling with blood.”

Steele first caught wind of the biting midges in this spring, when he heard about them cropping up in the Montecito area. “They’ve been reported for a long time in the hills, in Los Padres National Forest, and they breed in overly moist soil,” he says. “Now they’re here, I suspect because of the rain in recent years. They breed in the soil or mud along stagnant water, as well as in compost heaps.”

For a residential client in Montecito, he has been working with Rincon-Vitova Insectaries out of Ventura to find different organic methods rather than just bomb them with a growth-inhibitor chemical that would harm other species. “None of the organic, non-toxic methods are a silver bullet,” he says. To deal with the flies, there’s a device called Mosquito Magnet that converts propane to carbon dioxide to lure the midges—i.e., mimicking human exhaling—and sucks them into a container where they die. (You can add an attractant.) Steele recommends the one that runs on wired power, via a waterproof extension cord, rather than the battery-powered model, which is twice as expensive and has more reported issues. “It collected a lot of midges on the property. One trap is made for one acre. I suggest setting it up for a week in a particular area, and then move it and see.”

There are a couple of options to attract the larva, including a fungus called Bacillus thuringiensis kurstaki, or BT, that doesn’t affect anything else. The larva of the midge eat it and die. “It’s pretty surgical, but midges aren’t listed as an EPA-approved use on the label, so pest control companies can’t legally apply it,” says Steele. “But you can do it yourself.” Another possibility is to spray your property with beneficial nematodes, microscopic roundworms deployed to control pests. “They eat the larva,” says Steels. “Spray three to four times every two weeks, and keep the soil a little damp.” A pest-control company is obviously better equipped to spray nematodes—and Paradise Pest Control is willing to do it and set up and monitor a Mosquito Magnet—but if you want to go it alone, he recommends the carbon dioxide trap for flies now, followed by the nematode application. (Steele’s advice in this post is only for residential properties; agriculture is another matter.)

“The midges actively breed in warm months, so they won’t be mellowing out till late fall or early winter,” he says.

Is there a question you’d like investigated? Email [email protected] or text 917-209-6473.

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Previous Burning Questions:
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••• Who installed this security camera in Montecito?
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