Gnats are out of control in the Midlands this summer. What’s the deal?

Lazy weekends, cold drinks, flip-flops and leisurely walks into clouds of gnats. That’s summer in the South.

Residents of the Midlands have complained this is one of the worst gnat years ever, and pest-control companies agree.

Mosquito Joe, which serves Lake Murray and areas south all the way down to Georgia, has seen an increase in service requests for gnats, said Betsy McCurdy, Lake Murray office branch manager.

“It’s the worst we’ve seen,” she said.

Of Mosquito Joe’s 2,000 clients, more than 75 percent are seeking help with gnats, McCurdy said.

The company uses a synthetic pesticide blend to treat the ground — wherein lies the root of the gnat problem.

Gnats, like mosquitoes, love warm, moist areas. The recent rains across South Carolina have created a perfect environment for the pests to reproduce, and they do so, quickly.

Lexington County’s Econ-o-bug Pest Control uses a fogger to exterminate mosquitoes, but it also helps with gnats, said office manager Kathy Crocker.

“It has been busy. We’ve had a lot of complaints,” she said.

Many of those complaints have been about indoor gnats, Crocker said, because you can’t shut the door and ignore them. These gnats come out of seemingly nowhere and are attracted to decaying matter, whether that be trash or a piece of fruit that fell under the fridge.

“They’re almost a nightmare to get rid of at that point,” she said.

Facebook commenters flooded a post on the Happenings in Lexington SC page, leaving their home remedies for gnats. Everything from vanilla to Pine-Sol and a combination of chemicals was recommended to keep gnats at bay. But everything was a temporary solution to ward them off long enough to enjoy the outdoors for an evening.

Real estate agent Chuck Gerald commented on the post. He lives in Pine Ridge and enjoys going outside with his dogs at dusk, but the unusual number of gnats has forced him to retreat indoors after 15 minutes, 30 minutes maximum.

“It’s just kind of weird. I’ve lived here for 60 years, and I’ve never seen them this bad,” he said.

Gerald said he often works in Pelion, showing clients homes, and the gnat situation there is even more out-of-control.

Facebook poster Crush Rush was in Pelion taking photos while on a freelance assignment and posted this impassioned tirade in July:

“The gnats in Pelion throw up gang signs and say curse words about your grandma before they fly up your nose. Then they fly out while you’re choking and kamikaze your eyeball. I haven’t seen this level of blatant disrespect since watching the Monstars flagrantly foul the players of the Tune Squad in Space Jam.”

Pest-control companies recommend emptying outdoor containers and pots that may contain water, and dispose of decomposing vegetation, like loose tree limbs.

This story was originally published August 27, 2018 at 5:13 PM.