Midges bites come from small annoying insects that are often found flying around our faces or taking bites out from our skin.
These insects can be so small that an individual will go unnoticed until it’s too late. Large populations can either be a huge nuisance or can potentially spread disease.
In this article, we are discussing how to identify and get rid of midges around your property. The first thing you should do in any pest elimination plan is identifying what exactly you’re dealing with?
What is Biting Midges?
Biting midges are also known as noseeums are mostly from the family Chironomidae, there are over 4,000 species, and 600 in North America biting midges are gray in color.
They grow to be less than 1/8 of an inch in length. So they’re smaller than most mosquitoes, while a female mosquito has a long piercing proboscis to suck blood.
The female biting midge has saw-like mouthparts and mandibles that are adapted for blood-sucking. Males on the other hand do not bite or suck blood.
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How to Identify Midge Bites?
Biting midges are more common midges. You may come in contact with non-biting midges which are mostly found in the family Chironomidae, comprising of nematoceran flies which are over 10,000 species worldwide.
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Do You Know These Facts About Midges?
- Non-biting midges look similar to mosquitoes pest.
- Non-biting midges grow to be less than 3/8 of an inch.
- They have one pair of wings long and narrow legs and males have feathered.
- The larvae of these midges can be found in stagnant water.
- Midges are often referred to as blood worms for their red color.
Read also:Â How to Identify, Prevent and Get Rid of Fungus Gnats
Biting Midges Pictures
Below are pictures of biting midges;
Inspection For Biting Midges Infestation
Inspection is a phase of any good pest extermination plan. Once, you know what your pest looks like, check around your property to confirm their presence or find hot spots of activity.
Midges just don’t travel far from their breeding grounds. So, look around your property where standing water can occur check where the soil may be impacted for spots that drain poorly and note, down man-made sources of standing water, like birds, baths, or swimming pools.
If you’re dealing with non-biting midges, you can check for larvae that look like small blood worms.
They are visible usually growing as large as a quarter of an inch in length. If you’re dealing with biting midges, you’re better off looking for the adults as their larvae are hard to see with the naked eye.
While a single adult Mage can be hard to spot, you’ll likely find biting midges on outdoor surfaces.
When Do Midges Go Away?
You’ll often see them in swarms or resting on outdoor surfaces.
These forms can resemble clouds of tiny flies. Midges will stick around your property from mid-late May till September, usually, non-biting midges tend to infest first.
After that, you’ll tend to find little or no midges infestation. This means that midges have gone away.
How to Get Rid of Midges
After identifying your pest and inspecting for activity on your property.
It’s time to start treatment, but before starting any treatment, always ensure to wear your personal protective equipment or PPE.
Remember to keep all people and pets off the treated areas until dry to get rid of midges on your property.
You’ll need to use, insecticides labeled for midges control like:
- Reclaim IT
- Tekko Pro IGR and
- Flex 10-10.
Keep in mind these products, targets adult midges. There are larvicides labels to tackle developing midges.
How to Apply
The pesticide most recommend for outdoor infestation is Reclaim IT and Tekko Pro.
Proclaim IT is a liquid insecticide concentrate that’s able to control over 70 pests, including midges for up to 90 days.
Tekko Pro is an insect growth regulator or IGR, that will disrupt the midges life cycle, producing egg-laying, and preventing larvae from developing into reproducing adults.
Steps
- We recommend using a rate of 1 fluid ounce of Reclaim IT and one fluid ounce. Tekko-Pro per one gallon of water.
- This will treat 1,000 square feet of the treatment area. We also recommend you use a hand pump sprayer due to its ease of use and versatility to use a hand pump sprayer.
- Open the sprayer and half a gallon of water and add your measured amount of Reclaim IT and Tekko Pro.
- Add the remaining half a gallon, close the sprayer and shake to ensure even distribution.
- Pump your sprayer a few times to produce a low-pressure spray.
- Apply the product where you’ve seen midges.
- Check sites of treatment, citing foundations, garages, trees trunks, shrubbery, and other places you found midges while carrying inspection, apply insecticides properly.
- Also, Focus treatment around outdoor lighting, fixtures, and around windows as midges or other flying insects are attracted to these light sources at night.
- Ensure to apply Reclaim IT on every surface you see where midges infesting.
- Use a low-pressure fan sitting and spray on calm days to prevent wind drift.
Note: If you have a residential misting system or the appropriate equipment to conduct a space-free application, you can also consider Flex 10-10.
This product has been specially formulated for use in fogging and misting systems for effective control of flying pests such as midges using a space-free application.
We recommend you create a spray dilution of 6.4 fluid ounces of product, per gallon of water. Refer to your equipment instruction booklet for specific mixing directions.
How to Prevention Midges from Returning
Knowing how to prevention midges from returning is essential to keeping other pests in check. Even after you’ve applied pesticides, the best way to stop pest activity is to make sure it can’t return.
When midges breed on your property, you need to utilize Pest Management Strategies or IPM and keep up with regular pesticide applications.
Try to reduce the use of outdoor lighting, midges like many other flying insects are attracted to light avoid turning on outdoor lighting until after sundown, since most flying activity takes place during that time.
What to do to Prevent Midges Infestation?
- You can replace outdoor lights with UV lights for pest control.
- Midges require stagnant water to breed, eliminate all stagnant water and ensure your laundry is properly cleaned.
- Drain all sources of unwanted water.
- If you have a pool, make sure to keep it covered to prevent midges or other insects from easy access to it.
- Additionally, you can dethatch and aerate your lawn to promote air circulation in your soil.
- Trim back tree branches to reduce shade and encourage evaporation. This will not only help you in preventing midges, but it will also prevent mosquitoes from invading the property.
- Finally, continue to keep up with regular pesticide treatments since your property can quickly, repopulate with midges from outside the treatment area.
- Ensure to apply Reclaim IT, and Tekko-Pro every 90 days to ensure year-round control.
In conclusion, when treatment biting midges, make applications as necessary when activity is noticeable.
Biting midges can reproduce rapidly and become major pests, however, following this guide on how to get identify and get rid of biting midges. You can stop midges from infesting your home, and prevent them as well.
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