Gnat Graveyard

I’ve written before about one of the joys here in Hawaiʻi . . . bugs. 

By the way, THIS is a bit worrisome of an article. As much as I don’t like bugs (don’t hate them, either) I know they are of importance in a number of ways. 

As much as I worry about what that article implies, I’m actually a contributor to the decline of flying bugs, and specifically, gnats. The name “gnat” is not scientific and can refer to any number of small flying bugs. It also can be a qualifier preceding “brain” when speaking about politicians, although the joke is on us because one has to wonder what that makes us, the people who elect them. 

Anyway, I seem to attract gnats, probably because I’m fairly bright.

 

Whatever the reason, despite us being fairly conscientious about wrapping all manner of food scraps in plastic and making sure screens and doors are closed, there are certain times of the year — typically, from early January to late December — when gnats find their way into the condo. 

I’ve tried a number of schemes in vain attempts to control them, and only one works particularly well. Insect glue boards. I buy THESE. You can buy them fewer but at a higher price at Home Depot and the like. 

What you see above is one of the boards with a few gnats permanently affixed to the sticky surface. Here’s another shot. 

When I say sticky surface, I mean really sticky surface. These boards should be handled carefully because they have a habit of brushing up against stuff whenever you take your eyes off of them. Also, if you drop one, it does its darnest to land glue-side-down. 

I titled the post “gnat graveyard” because gnats don’t live all that long and these are — likely — dead. These are photos taken with the macro setting of the Nikon P900. The lens of the camera is probably no more than a few inches away and in most cases, less. 

These are hand-held and with my LED desk lamp providing the illumination. 

Let me speak a few moments about my method of deployment. I typically lay a few boards under a light that is far away from us to minimize our interaction with said gnats. In the case of my office, I have a box of tissues standing on its end and the board is placed atop it with its surface about two inches away from the LED light. 

The reason for that arrangement is that it keeps gnats away from my computer screen. 

I should say something else . . . my normal mode of dealing with insects, bugs, and critters that come into the condo (or, before that, the various houses we lived in and the offices I worked in) is to employ my Official Live Bug Transport System (two empty cups properly labeled for bug transportation and relocation use.)

The problem is that gnats (much like ghost ants) are too small to safely handle. Even if I were good enough to catch them using tweezers, the act of restraining them would precipitate their demise. 

My secondary mode of bug control when relocation doesn’t work is . . . death. But, even that is quite time-consuming (if satisfying) when one is dealing with many tens of gnats.

The boards work wonders as a passive control system. 

Doesn’t that look like it’s running across the surface? It’s not. 

These next two photos make it look like the gnats are hovering above the surface . . . they aren’t.

Even as I write this, I feel a bit bad about trapping them thus . . . they have a short life and it’s a bit sad that a big chunk of it is spent like this.

It sorts of reminds me of people willingly wasting a chunk of their lives watching cable news channels. Except, the people willingly waste large portions of their lives thus. Go figure. 

Those reddish gnats are especially frustrating because they don’t stand still for any length of time. There is no hope of catching them or squashing them and they would be a constant nuisance were it not for these boards. 

By the way, I occasionally use a hand vacuum cleaner, but that is really time-consuming and I only employ it if the gnats persist in roaming any of the rooms where I don’t have any boards deployed. But, because they are mostly out at night, there’s a limit to using the vacuum because it is noisy. Nope, the boards work best and work well. 

Actually, the best deployment is around one of the ceiling lights in the hallway. That keeps most gnats away from the living areas (except my office which requires it’s own board deployment as described above) and that location is remarkably well suited to catching a lot of gnats. 

I basically jam the edge of five boards around the periphery of the hall light fixture and that light is left on from sundown until I go to sleep (typically, around 1:00am). I have to change the boards every 3-4 days but, man, do them gnats love to hand around there . . . literally. 

Here’s the gallery with a few more photos:

That’s it. This post has ended . . . except for the stuff below.

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