Gnats are insects which have a powerful bite. They look like mosquitoes and lay eggs in the water. Gnats also feed warm blood from animal’s bodies. You can keep them away from your dog by eradicating open water sources near you, applying gnat repellent and keeping marigold flowers near your dog’s living area.
What Attracts Gnats?
Gnats are mainly attracted towards body heat and water sources but some of them also favour sweet and fruity scents. That is why gnats tend to fly around people and animals. Gnats reproduce in water sources so that is why they tend to stick around the waters. Any kind of moisture can attract gnats such as the perspiration or the water in the eyes or nose.
Where Do Gnats Hide?
Any kind of moisture included places such as moist breeding grounds, food spillage, any soil that is potting, grasses filled with water, filthy trash areas, outside of the house or in the pipes under your sink. If you have the above mentioned places near your house or in your house you should clean them once in a while.
Gnats on dogs: Where do they come from?
Gnats can come from any place specially from a dirty place where there is moist and water. Any such place near your house or in your house then gnats get attracted towards it and reproduce their next generation there.
Do gnats bite dogs
Gnats seem very small and weak creatures but their bites are quite powerful, they break the skin of people and animals and drink their warm blood. They are mostly attracted towards warm blood which is why they choose living people and animals. It is harder for dogs to access all the parts of their bodies and kill these insects which makes it easier for gnats.
How to keep gnats off dogs: What is the simplest way?
Gnats do not like the scent of vanilla extracts and marigold flowers. You can rub some vanilla extract on your dog’s collar which will naturally keep gnats away from the dogs. Or you can put marigold flowers near your dog’s living area.
keeping gnats off dogs: Is it Time Consuming?
No it is not at all that much of a time consuming. If you go with the right solution it does not take much time. You can use gnat repellent or you can use vanilla extracts to make gnats go away. So if you think about it, it is not that time consuming at all.
Natural remedy for gnats on dogs
There is one natural remedy to keep gnats away from your dogs and that is a mixture of apple cider vinegar and water. Both the ingredients need to be added in the same proportions. Half will be water and the other half will be the apple cider vinegar. Vinegar irritates skin that has cuts or rashes in them so you can not spray it on them if they have a cut.
Gnat Repellent for dogs
Gnat repellents are chemically made sprays which keeps gnats away. You can make some natural gnat repellent at home with some simple ingredients or you can buy some oils which work as a gnat repellent such as castor, cedarwood, clove, lavender etc. natural repellents are better.
How to keep gnats out of dog water bowl?
These insects are attracted to dirty places, so the first thing you can do is keep your dog’s food and water area clean. It is better if you keep the whole house clean so that no gnat can live in them. The second thing is clean your dog’s poop and food bowls and water bowls.
Gnats are small, winged insects that feed on blood to survive. Insects like fruit flies, black flies, sewer flies, and midges comprise the family of gnats. A gnat bite can irritate a mammal’s skin, and you must have endured this many times in your life.
These gnats sit on filthy places like poop and sewer. They can transmit diseases by licking on the poop and injecting the bacteria in our bloodstream. They can also cause infections and swell around the area but aren’t of grave concern to humans. We can quickly shoo them away using our hands and use repellent sprays to protect ourselves.
The same can’t be said for our pet dog who has little power to shoo away these insects. Dogs can’t shoo insects away with their hands or take any preventive measures themselves. Gnats usually multiply quickly in moist conditions and move in hoards. While your dog can withstand a single bite, it can cause some severe damage if these insects attack your dog in hoards.
Gnat bites can cause allergic reactions and skin reactions to your dog. While warm weather is ideal for relaxing in the garden and playing with your pet, it’s this season that gnats find best to come out and multiply in. Warm temperature and moist conditions are the ideal recipes to grow a hoard of gnats. But what are they actually attracted to?
What Attracts Gnats to Dogs?
- Static water –
Much like mosquitoes, gnats develop in places of shallow, static water. If you have kept standing water in the bucket, potted plants, or drain pipes, your house is more likely to have gnats developing in warm seasons. Gnats use these places to breed and search food around them.
- Bright lights –
Bright lights attract gnats, which explains why you can spot hoards of gnats around street lights or your house light at night time. Sodium bulbs are less likely to attract, and using them at night can be one way to shoo away gnats from your home.
- Growth of Mold and Fungi –
Places around your yard like wooden boards, wooden structures around the windows, and such areas encourage the growth of molds and fungi. Gnats are attracted to molds and fungi as these places are moist. You will be better off keeping wooden structures in your house or yard dry to prevent the growth of fungi as well as gnats.
- Rotten Plants and Vegetables –
Decaying plants and vegetables in your garden can be a significant reason for the growth of gnats in your yard. The dead or rotten plants can also adversely affect the growth of new plants, so you should check and weed them out every once in a while. Dogs have the habit of playing around decaying plants and compost pits, which will attract gnats around them.
- Carbon Dioxide –
Gnats like to fly around carbon dioxide, and your dog, like other mammals, has to produce carbon dioxide to breathe. A commercial gnat repellent or natural repellent made at home can keep the gnats away from your dog. You can also try tricks like lighting a candle to attract gnats to the carbon dioxide around the candle and get them away from your dog.
Home Remedies to keep Gnats away from Dogs:
Gnats can be a nuisance to handle because of their irritating tendency to bite your dog and harm him. Fortunately, there are some natural home remedies that would go a long way in protecting your dog from gnats and perhaps keep them away from your home and yard.
- Keeping the Yard Clean –
Much like mosquitoes and other insects, gnats feed off the garbage, and it’s an ideal spot for breeding. They lay their eggs on waste and multiply substantially by feeding on fruit and vegetable peels and other such debris. Keep your yard clean by sweeping trash and dumping it outside at least twice a week to prevent gnats from breeding in your yard.
Dead bodies are an excellent breeding location for gnats. Check out for any dead mice or birds around your yard, which will encourage the breeding of gnats. Blocking their food source is a brilliant way to prevent their growth. Try to clean stores and fences that have fungi or mold growth and keep wooden structures dry. A clean yard will resist the growth of gnats and protect your dog from them.
- Natural Gnat Repellent Oils –
Natural products have a host of benefits over human-made ones. Many natural oils have gnat repellent qualities but are bereft of any toxins like some artificial repellents. These essential oils have a strong smell and are very effective in repelling gnats and insects. The oils listed below are extracted from trees, herbs, and flowers. You can grow most of them in your garden to ensure authenticity.
- Clove
- Peppermint
- Rosemary
- Tea tree oil
- Cinnamon
- Cedarwood
- Lavender
- Lemongrass
- Geranium
Dilute any of these oils with water and spray around your yard. These natural oils irritate bugs and gnats, shooing them away quickly. Keep the diluted oil in a spray bottle to instantly shoot it at gnats flying around. The strong fragrance of these natural oils makes the yard feel fresh too. Don’t spray these oils directly on your dog, though, as the strong smell may irritate them.
You can also make a natural repellent by mixing a few natural oils. Add 2 tablespoons of witch oil, 2 tablespoons of jojoba oil, neem oil, and grapeseed oil. Add a small amount of vodka and mix 50mL of natural oils listed above, like Clove or Peppermint oil. Attach the spray nozzle and use it as per need to shoo gnats away from your dog.
Make Natural Gnat Repellents at Home:
You can create a gnat trap at home using apple cider vinegar. Pour apple cider vinegar in a small jar and keep the jar on a deck around the yard or kitchen. Add some liquid dish soap to vinegar. You can also use wine in case vinegar isn’t available. Pack the jar with saran wrap and tie it up with a rubber band. Use a toothpick to pierce a dozen or so holes over the cover.
The smell of wine or vinegar will attract the gnats, and the soap will prevent them from getting away from the solution. The gnats will die slowly but surely by drowning inside the solution. Natural fruit juices are also an effective solution to trap and kill gnats.
Keep the container away from the reach of your dog and refill it after it has become full of gnats. You can also rub a little vanilla essence around your dog’s collar or clothes as vanilla naturally repels gnats protecting your dog from insect bites.
Some Commercial Gnat Repellent Products:
While natural products are quite useful and non-toxic, lazy humans want to store-bought solutions to every problem. That explains the extensive sales of Odomos despite the presence of natural repellents. The following products are highly effective in killing gnats and protecting your dog from their wrath:
- Fruit Flytraps
Just like the natural trap we discussed earlier, Fruit Flytraps trap the fruit flies and gnats and drown them. You’ll be relieved from the hassle of making a trap as these compact traps do all the work. They don’t have any insecticides and are non-toxic. They come with a luring liquid that you have to fill inside the trap. Add water and cover the trap, and there you go.
You can also wash these traps with water and reuse them. Additional refills are available in the market, which makes these traps convenient and cost-effective.
Sticky traps are also available in stores around you. These sticky traps contain an adhesive that traps the gnats on them. They are quite useful in the yards where you can stick them into the soil or hang them around. You can’t keep the jar traps in such places, and sticky traps are an effective option.
- Repellents and Ointments
The spray bottles that we discussed earlier at home are also available in the market. They repel a wide variety of insects like flies, bugs, gnats, ticks, lice, and mosquitoes. You can spray these repellents directly on your dog’s fur to protect him from all these insects. They come in handy if your dog plays a lot outdoors. These repellents are also available in ointment form, which you can apply on the dog’s belt and fur to keep insects away from him.
Why do Flies Bite my Dog?
Flies bite the dogs to suck out the blood and have a good meal for themselves. While flies can bite clean dogs, they mostly bite dogs in contaminated areas or where the skin coat is matted. It can be due to diarrhea or other skin conditions. Ill dogs are more prone to fly bites. Once the flies start biting your dog, they don’t stop and can keep doing that hundreds of times a day.
Since dogs can’t protect themselves using hands, hoards of flies bite them frequently, which can result in an itchy and painful experience. Fly bites can infect the dog and cause bleeding. The dog’s belly, backside, and ears are the most vulnerable locations to fly bites as dogs can’t protect themselves there.
The ear is notably the most vulnerable location as the skin and hair around the ear is thin. The dog can’t reach his ears with paws, so it would require external help to stop the excessive fly biting.
Symptoms of Fly Bites:
Frequent biting can also lead to dermatitis, which can be extremely painful. Bite wounds also become a spot where flies start laying their eggs, and this can cause a secondary infection. Dermatitis can cause inflammation, which will lead to constant itching. Other symptoms include:
- Intense itching, licking, or biting on areas of the skin. Check for bite wounds if you notice your dog is itching continuously.
- Rubbing the skin on the ground in order to relieve himself from inflammation.
- Hair loss around bite wounds
- Sores and redness around the affected area
- Foul-smelling and dry skin
- Infection in the ears
Since the flies are huge in numbers and multiply exponentially, the dog can’t protect himself unless you provide help.
How to keep Gnats away from Dogs’ Eyes?
Since flies and gnats are most active in the daytime, try to keep your dog indoors when the sun is shining bright. Gnats are unlikely to breed in hygienic conditions, so try to keep the yard clean. Clean up garbage and litters that attract gnats. Wash your dog’s dishes properly and don’t keep unwashed dishes in the kitchen for a long time.
Give you’re a dog a bath and wash his fur with shampoo regularly. The cleaner the environment, the less likely your dog is to attract gnats. You can also apply vaseline or petroleum jelly on the tip of your dog’s ears and above his eyes. It should be a place where he isn’t able to lick it off. Flies won’t bite petroleum jelly, and it will serve as a repellent.
How to keep Gnats away from Dog Wounds?
- Apply Petroleum Jelly –
Petroleum jelly would prevent flies from sitting on and biting on the wounds again. Keep it applied until the wounds heal completely.
- Wash the Wounds –
Clean up the wounds with Dettol to remove any bacteria developing over it. Open and unclean wounds are more susceptible to fly bites.
- Apply Balms or Antibiotic Cream –
Consult your vet to prescribe some antibiotic cream or balm and apply it to the wound. The antibiotic cream will help heal the wound and protect it from further attacks.
- Spray Chemical or Homemade Repellents around your Dog –
If you see gnats flying around your dog, spray the repellents to shoo away the gnats. Using the flytrap is also a useful method to kill gnats and prevent them from biting on the wound.
- Cover up the Wound –
Bandage the wounds after cleaning to protect it from fly bites that can cause infection.
Do Dog Poop, and Manure used for Plants Attract Gnats?
Gnats love to feed off and breed on the filthy, poor-smelling matter, and dog poop provides an ideal breeding platform for them. Manure like vegetable peels and dog poop used in a compost pit in your yard can provide a perfect breeding ground for gnats. As the eggs hatch, gnats multiply in large numbers and start biting your dog.
To prevent gnats from breeding in your yard, it’s essential to clean up your dog’s poop after him quickly. It may not be practically possible to clean right after your dog excretes or even spot where he has excreted. To counter this, many people train their dogs to excrete in specific locations or ‘toilets’ in the yard. Reward your dog when he poops in the designated area to make it routine for him.
If your dog becomes habitual of excreting at a particular location, it gets much easier to clean it up. You should also keep your compost pit covered so that flies don’t come around getting attracted by the manure’s smell. Other than cleaning up dog’s poop, it’s also essential to keep the dog’s bed clean.
Wash your dog’s bedding every once in a while to kill any fly eggs and remove dirt from the fabric. As gnats get attracted to the unpleasant smell, sprinkle a little baking soda after washing the fabric to make the bedding smell fresh.
Source:
https://pestcontrolzone.com/how-to-keep-gnats-off-dogs/