St. Martinville Man Has Ingenious Home Remedy to Get Rid of Gnats

The weather has been pretty nice lately. Cooler temperatures, lower humidity. Just perfect to sit on the back patio, have a nice drink and enjoy life.

And then here comes those pesty gnats all up in your face within seconds of you plopping down. What the what?!

It's bad enough we have to endure "love bug season." We surely could use a week or two of being bug-free.

Where exactly do these gnats come from all of sudden? I'm no entomologist, but a quick Google search leaves me to believe that the recent heavy rains and high river stages could be the culprit.

A May 2019 article on J&J Exterminating's website details what experts believe is the reason for the increase in gnats from time to time.

"The swarms are increasingly worse the closer you get to the river, and are also worse near resident's houses and other sources of water," the article states. "The increase in river water likely caused the gnats to lay their eggs in larger numbers farther north, which have now traveled downstream, causing the current problems in Louisiana."

Regardless of why "gnat season" is so bad, the fact remains that them little boogers are everywhere and are ruining our outside time. How do we get rid of them, or reduce the number of them while we're trying to enjoy the outdoors?

We've seen one home remedy that might just do the trick. Jamie DeRouen posted on Facebook a little something to try, and it's simple. He says to paint a jug red and put oil on it. That will get rid of those dang gnats.

DeRouen says to use a thick oil. They seem to be attracted to the vibrant color and will land on the oily jug, stick to it and die.

And by the looks of his jug, it sure seems to work.

I am totally heading home today, downing the rest of my gallon of milk, painting that thing red, and drenching it in the heaviest oil I got in my garage.