Gnats N'at: How Pittsburghers can keep the annoying bugs out of their homes

If you, like many others, have been doing a lot of swatting lately as little bugs buzz by your face, it's because those pesky pests known as gnats are having a field day around western Pennsylvania. 

Why is this happening, and what can you do about it? 

First and foremost, blame it on Ron Smiley. Not really, but the weather is certainly a factor. 

Entomologist Dr. Chad Gore with Erlich-Terminix Pest Control understands that we paint with a broad brush, and what we refer to as "gnats" aren't just one type of insect. 

"[They're] either drain flies, mostly fruit flies, sometimes forager flies, and then occasionally fungus gnats," he explained. 

All of them occur naturally outdoors, and with the wet conditions we've had lately, Dr. Gore said they make their way indoors when you open a door or a window. 

"They kind of come around the fruit bowl and the bananas that are sitting on the counter," he said. 

They also find their way to the ripening, or rotting, vegetables from your garden. 

"If you have conditions that involve moist, organic, or decaying scenarios, they can see that and use that as a breeding medium," Dr. Gore explained. "They are not carnivorous, so we don't really have to worry about them biting us or anything like that." 

Simply said, when they land on you, it's just an annoyance. Now, in order to get rid of them, just take the advice we Pittsburghers have been giving kids for decades and "red up!" 

"Just through normal sanitation practices, making sure that you don't have any decaying fruits, you don't have any kind of decaying organic conditions," he said. 

The ways you can do that are making sure your kitchen garbage can is covered and purchasing a plug-in zapper, which Dr. Gore said works pretty well at keeping them away. 

However, while the gnats may not pose a threat to us, one of the more annoying pests is increasing because of the wet conditions. 

"All of these conditions that happen on the outside with the increase in rain can cause the biters like mosquitoes to pop up, as well," Dr. Gore said. 

Mosquitoes love standing water, so look around for and dump any water that has pooled after it rains. While you can spray, Dr. Gore said, unless you have a massive infestation, that's pretty much a waste of time or money. That's because they're a moving target, and you are probably not hitting where they are.