You pay a visit to your garden to sit there and relax. Within a few minutes of getting seated, you find yourself surrounded by a swarm of gnats. These tiny flying creatures start exploring you, especially around your face, and try to get inside your nose, ears and begin to annoy you.
But gnats love rotten fruits or veggies and usually swarm around trash cans or drain sinks, right? What made them fly around you?
If you have this question, keep reading this article to get the answer, and we will also help you stop gnats from bothering you by giving some expert tips.
Important Note: If you're tired of pests and want a reliable solution, then you should definitely consider seeking help from a professional pest control company. DIY solutions can be effective, but if you're dealing with a significant pest infestation, you don't want to rely solely on DIY methods. Pest control companies typically don't charge huge fees. You can fill out this form to receive free quotes from the top local pest control companies, and compare the quotes and see for yourself. Then, finally, your pest problems will be eliminated for good.
Why Do Gnats Fly Around Me?
First, understand what attracts gnats first. Only then you would get clear why gnats fly around you.
Gnats can survive as long as enough food, moisture, and warm temperature are available. Gnats die in cold temperatures and thus can thrive only when temperatures exist between 75 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit.
That said, gnats are drawn towards humans for several things.
For example, Gnats love sweet fruity scents. If you have sprayed any perfume or applied any lotion, they get attracted to your face—no wonder why gnats fly around your head. Even your pleasant-smelling shampoo scent gets gnats’ attention.
Aside from this, gnats always look for moisture and salt. Since human sweat and tears have these two things, they fly around your face. Usually, bad breath and exhaling CO2 annoy people around us, not gnats. They love these.
But what is alarming here is some gnats are potential carriers of microbes that cause pink eye diseases. So it’s highly recommended to keep these creatures away.
How To Keep Gnats From Buzzing Around Your Face?
In this section, we have listed multiple options to prevent gnats from buzzing around your face.
When outdoors, especially in gardens or hanging out near pools, avoid exposing your face. You can do that by the below-given methods.
1. Wear tall hats. By doing so, you make gnats flock to the highest point of your body. So they fly towards the hat rather than your mouth or nose. Though this trick doesn’t get rid of gnats, you can avoid reaching your face.
2. The next trick is similar to the previous one but with one difference. Get a hat with mosquito netting so that gnats can’t reach your face. The mosquito net lining will cover your face and neck, and thus you can shoo away the gnats easily.
Consider opting for this type of hat if you are hiking in the woods, fishing, or cleaning your garden.
3. Put on sunglasses or safety goggles to prevent gnats from buzzing near your eyes.
This is an easy-peasy trick. If you are outdoors during the day, then it’s obvious you would wear sunglasses. Sunglasses cover your eyes and thus prevent gnats. Even regular glasses work well with gnats.
So these are of the best tricks that work against gnats from nearing your face when you are outdoors. However, there are some ways to get rid of gnats. So keep reading to know about them.
Natural ways to keep away gnats from near your face.
1. Use essential oils
Gnats hate essential oils. Its smell irritates gnats, and so repels them. You can apply any kind of essential oils like peppermint, cinnamon, lavender, cedarwood, tea tree, citronella, lemongrass around your neck and face.
Note: It is not recommended to use essential oils directly on the face. So dilute it with carrier oils like coconut oil.
2. Use cooking oils as a face mask
Another affordable way is to use cooking oils.
Be it any type of cooking oil like olive oil, vegetable oil, coconut oil, take a cotton ball, soak it in your preferred cooking oil, and apply them to your face, behind your ears, and around your neck.
This oil mask will mask your scent(CO2 emissions) and distract gnats.
Note: If needed, you can apply these oils around your arms and legs.
3. The essential oil spray
You need some ingredients to prepare this mixture.
To prepare the spray, take a 4oz spray bottle and fill half of it with distilled water, then add at least 50 drops of essential oils of your preference. Now shake the mixture well, and then spray it over your arms and legs.
Note: For best results, invest in 100% pure essential oils.
4. Try using vanilla extract
Vanilla extract also acts as an insect repellent, and so it keeps gnats away. To do this mask, pour 1 tablespoon in a small bowl, soak a cotton ball and dab it in your forehead, behind your ears, and around the neck.
Note that only natural vanilla extract would be effective in keeping away gnats.
5. Set a trap
Try this vinegar and soap trick if you are about to work in a yard or enjoy a barbecue party.
Vinegar and soap easily attract gnats. To prepare this mixture, take your preferred vinegar type, add 1 to 2 tablespoons of it in a small bowl, add 3 to 5 drops of soap and mix it. Now place the mixture on a table or ground or anywhere you sit.
Gnats get attracted to the mixture, get caught in the soap, and can’t escape.
Prevention Tips
We have told you some interesting hacks that can keep gnats at bay. However, as the popular quote points out, prevention is better than cure.
So you can prevent gnats from flying around your face by following our expert tips.
In most cases, gnats fly around your face when you are outdoor, right? In that case, you can plan your outdoor activities on breezy days. This is because gnats prefer warm and humid climates to be breezy and cloudy.
But if you are outdoors for an unexpected picnic, take insect repellant along with you.
The next important tip is to avoid wearing fruity-smelling body lotions or sprays. Gnats get tempted by these scents and tend to reach you for this.
So to keep them out of your face, choose lotions or fragrances that don’t have a flowery, fruity smell, or don’t wear perfume or lotions at all.
Conclusion
Gnats don’t swarm around your face without any invitation. Some reasons might seem natural, like body sweats and your CO2 emission, whereas wearing fruity scents can tempt these tiny creatures.
However, we have given you all the necessary tips to prevent gnats from reaching your face. Hopefully, you find these tips helpful. Try it out and let us know whether the tricks and tips were effective in the comment section. Cheers!
