Duval County

Expert shares tips on how to fight off pesky no-see-ums this season

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — If you’ve been out and about enjoying the fresh air and warmer weather lately, you and your kids may have been scratching your necks and arms a bit more than usual.

Those pesky and nearly invisible bugs many refer to as “no-see-ums” are causing brutal bites left and right this season.

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Action News Jax’s Kennedy Dendy spoke with Randy Wishard, the chief of Jacksonville Mosquito Control.

“Their peak seasons are March and April,” Wishard said. “We have noticed and seen in our service requests that our citizens are putting in about the flying insects and biting insects.”

Wishard said the insects tend to swarm to areas that have wet or muddy soil.

“In wet areas, we tend to treat mosquito larva if it’s present,” Wishard said. “The sand gnats don’t lay their eggs or larva in the water. It’s up in the moist soil. The control product that we used to control mosquito larvae, it really doesn’t press upon the larva of the sand gnats.”

He said there are ways you can help fight them off.

“They say eucalyptus oil is a great repellent,” Wishard said.

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Wishard shared that if you’re sitting outside or on a patio, citronella candles serve as a great repellant as well.

“We get these questions all the time, because they do produce a good bite and will leave a little red dot,” Wishard said. “They like the ears. They like the nose and the neck area.”

Baseball parks and soccer fields are hot spots, as well.

“Young kids are out practicing and having their seasons start,” Wishard said. “A repellent and especially the eucalyptus creates a very good barrier between them and the sand gnats.”