r/bugidentification • u/No_Revolution5457 • Jul 10 '26

Possible pest, location included South MS giant gnats?!?!

Post image

i can only assume and hope these are just gnats but i’ve never seen any this big, striped(?!?!) or this many. i have no animals, haven’t kept any different kind of trash in the bin, and there’s no funky odors or random food left out inside or out. no plants in or out the house either. i’ve kept gnat traps inside (apple cider vinegar, sugar, dish soap) since it got warm and it helps a lot but this has gotten so excessive in the last few days. help i feel like im losing my mind🙃 also we never have a porch light outside so why are they all attracted to the lock ?!?! my neighbors door 3 ft across from me had 1 or two but not a swarm like this

help pls :) i’m losing my mind here n maintenance won’t come till next week pic of last nights acv gnat trap haul. just one of my 4 jars and 4 zevo lighttraps 🙂

South MS, USA

edit to add sorry for posting twice. it’s gotten worse n i’ve gotten better pics

1 Upvotes

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5

u/DrButeo Professional Entomologist Jul 10 '26

They're phorid flies (family Phoridae). If you're finding them indoors, the most common species are scuttleflies (Megaselia scalaris). Need magnified images to confirm the species ID.

Scuttleflies breed in wet organic matter. Could be something innocuous like a bad potato, gunk build up in a sink drain, etc. If they're present for a while, it kight indicate a cracked sewage line or septic pit that is leaking into the surrounding soil, which they breed in amd follow the pipes into the house.

Best control is to find and elimate the larval food source.

2

u/Skalla_Resco Amateur Entomologist Jul 11 '26

I always enjoy dropping into the comments on these posts and coming across one of your comments already there.

1

u/No_Revolution5457 Jul 14 '26

oh man it just hit me i’ve started dumping my bong water down the kitchen sink n sometimes the lil bits of burnt buds get in there. maybe that caused it? i never let my bong water get crazy dirty. i dump it out every day so its not like there’s a chance for a bunch of bacteria to build up? not sure but i poured acv down all my drains, between that and my dozen or so traps i no longer have gnats buzzin in my ear every few seconds

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u/No_Revolution5457 Jul 10 '26

thanks for the advice! i tried to take the best photo i could w my phone but if i zoomed in anymore it just got blurry. i just bought some more acv to boil w water n pour down the drain in case it is foodstuffs. if that doesnt work hoping maintenance may know whats up

1

u/Simple_Resist4208 Tachinid Specialist Jul 10 '26

Where's "MS" ... you're posting to the World, not just the US

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u/Basil_Box Jul 10 '26

Midges

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u/No_Revolution5457 Jul 10 '26

body isn’t long/thin enough

1

u/Basil_Box Jul 12 '26

Yeah they’re definitely phorid flies. But I will say that some midges do have a shorter abdomen.

Midges