Umm millions of gnats sticking to my ceiling?

Wow! Never heard of such a thing and I've lived in a variety of places.
What does your landlord have to say?
Maybe they've had this happen, previously?
You must be flipping out!
Can it get any more interesting?

I have my handyman clean my deck ceilings when they begin to get mildew. When he's done they look freshly painted. Maybe that would work for you using Clorox diluted with water but what's to stop them from returning, sorry to ask?

Interesting isn't the word I'd use but my words aren't allowed on this forum.

That's my concern too - either I spend hours scrubbing or $$ paying and what's to say they don't come back?

I've also never seen water drip off the ceilings and down the walls. You know where I lived in STT Alana - way up in the cloud line. I THINK they're actually going after the water and getting stuck. That's my theory. Maybe I'll try a mop withy. Scrubby pad attached. Idk man I'm soooo over it and have so long to go before I can get back to the rock. 🙁

Not sure what they are, but if it is gnats, be thankful that it is not what I refer to as a "tick bloom".

Years ago we had a house where wild cattle would wander through and sleep in the yard. Some of them had clusters of tick hanging like grapes on a vine. The ticks got passed to our dogs, and then to the house. They were everywhere- walls, ceilings, floors. The dogs had so many, I could easily pick 30 or more off of each of my dogs feet in just a few minutes. There were thousands. It cost a lot of money and took a lot of work to make them go away. Lots of poison. Literally our dogs had no ticks, then I saw one tick one day, and three days later there were about 10 per square inch all over their entire bodies. I had to shave them and they were both short haired to begin with. We have been very proactive in tick control since then. Frontline did nothing. I switched to ivermectin (cattle wormer) and had no problems since.

I know of three friends who have also had tick blooms in the past few years on the west end. One I did not know about until I happened to drop in with my dog for a visit. We were only there a few hours but when I got home I picked about 50 out of my dog's toes. And then dipped him three times a day for a week. Plus extra ivermectin. I refuse to go through a tick bloom again.

Have you tried spraying to see if your gnats will just fall off? Might be worth a shot. Either way, good luck. At least it is not ticks!

how odd. i hope this gets resolved. let me see if i can find a number? not sure if i can find it.

What about asking someone at Fish & Wildlife what they are exactly?
I'd be interested to know what landlord says.

About 15 years ago, I remember a severe tick problem. I don't know if it was what is called a bloom, but the ticks were so little and lightweight they just blew through the air. We got them on our boat, out at anchor. A's remark about pepper reminded me. That's exactly what they looked like.

Unfortunately I don't have my macro camera - its out on repair but ill try to take a photo. NOT ticks - they're literally like plastered to the ceiling.. in the corners are really bad. Theres a few larger bugs stuck too. Its not new paint so IDK. This house is buggy as F LOL! I mean we have 4 species of nocturnal ants - had FIRE ants all in the living room when I came back from a trip to STT last week. I was like ohhhhhh hell no! Had an exterminator out immediately - even paid him extra to come on his lunch break and made him a sandwich! Cant make this shit up. I really hate to put down poison but thats where I draw the line. Fire ants.

Thats besides the 9 inch centipede that chased me down my hallways a couple weeks back and the flying wood roaches - not mahogany birds these are small and attracted to light apparently and I find a handful dead every morning. My lazy ass house cats are USELESS!!! Oh and the termites. HOLY CRAP. Overtime it rains hard we just leave the house or go to bed because os the lights are on - forget about it. Im STILL cleaning up wings from TS Ericas rain. Fire ants are the devils pets.

Really I don't mind bugs at all. Not stoked to have to scrub my ceilings but I wish we had more spiders - I don't see a lot here and I think thats why we have the rest of the bugs. Miss my big beautiful orb weavers.

I am NOT joking that I thought nowhere would have as many bugs as we encountered in Africa... well this house has it beat! Granted I don't have to shower with 100 baby praying mantises in the middle of the SA bush. That was pretty cool IMO.

OH on a good note I've only seen like 3 mosquitos - except when Liquid Fluoride and I were at animal jam and it was a blood bath. Alana you remember my Northstar house that we named "Mozzy's with a View" in STT. I'll take what bugs I have now over that situation any day.... well without the fire ants.

Gotta close all windows when the termites do their "rain flight swarming." They get in thru sides of screens and any slight entrance in the house.

"Termites with wings are only produced once a colony is mature and needs to expand (approximately three to four years old). The swarm will leave the nest to seek out mates in order to form new colonies. Most fly during the day, although some fly at night using lights as meeting spots. After fertilization, the winged termites head toward the ground where they break off their own wings and attempt to form a new colony. Termites with wings are a sure sign that there might soon be a new colony of termites popping up around your home. These swarms are triggered by rain and high humidity and can occur across different species of termites. However, not all termites fly, depending on the stage of their life cycle."

Maybe the pesticide guy will know what they are?
Your landlord really needs to address this.

Does it look like this?

You mentioned that you have termites, and these pictures are of subterranean termites on the ceiling.

Bug bomb. Close all the windows and leave for a few hours.

A Magic Eraser mop may work: http://mrclean.cleanerhomeliving.com/refill/magic-eraser-squeeze-mop-refill.html

you can have my spiders

A friend suggested contacting UVI to see if they have an entomologist to sort out what kind of critter you're dealing with. If you have that many and in all rooms, it's an infestation and you'll need to discover the source or problem may continue. Good luck!

Plus extra ivermectin. I refuse to go through a tick bloom again.

be careful with "extra" Ivermectin becomes neurotoxic when dosed incorrectly & can cause brain damage / death, its also very hard on the liver.

that's one of the best ways to handle ticks, I agree... I'm in the middle of a "tick bloom" but then, I've got more animals per square foot than anywhere but the shelter (and if you do it by weight we have FAR more than even the shelter).

luckily they don't seem to like humans & aren't Bontticks

A Magic Eraser mop may work: http://mrclean.cleanerhomeliving.com/refill/magic-eraser-squeeze-mop-refill.html

Those things work like... well.... "magic"

They get used up quick, but man they really do take off almost anything.

hey AandA

Just wondering what happened with the gnats? Were you able to get rid of them? Did your landlord help?

Yes...update please! Interesting story.

Sorry - So busy with websites lately!

Let's see.... What happened.... Nothing. I lay on my couch annoyed and confused looking at the ceiling. I got my camera back... I'll go take some pics. They're not termites - someone posted before.

Oh wow so they are all still there?

Your landlord def should assist, I would think.

Whats she gonna do? No one can do anything. Its a bug issue and I do spray. She's in FL anyways. I keep telling her she needs to trim the trees to the power lines but nope - that damn pole is gonna crash on the house BUT what can I do other than tell her? Nothing.

She gives me the whole "well no other tenants have had these issues". I HATE THAT PHRASE! If you're a landlord and someone is giving you photos and telling you somethings wrong - do not, for the love of god say that. Its infuriating. I am a landlord and I fix shit on that house all the time. Actually I just tell my tenant to do whatever needs done - its its under 1K take it off the rent and just send me a receipt. Over that - call me to discuss.

Whatever. Heres pics of the gnats. They don't seem to be getting worse but I do see them flying around now. Maybe once it cools off (STX IS SO FREAKING HOT) they'll subside.

For size. They're tiny.

I'd have to tell her that I didn't care much about her past tenants but I'm the present one, now paying the rent and I'd appreciate it if she paid for an exterminator and someone to clean the ceilings and cut the branches back or let me hire someone to do it and deduct from rent. That is, if she'd like to keep me as a happy tenant.

That's just creepy to have all those bugs on your ceiling like that.
Do they just die there or are they flying around as well?
Bring in a couple dozen lizards from the yard?
Oh, forgot....You have kitties.

If you were here, I'd lend you my handyman to clean the ceilings.
STX has been interesting for you.

Hey, at least they're not mosquitoes like in North Star!
Hang in there.

I never noticed them flying until now. I see them once in a while on my laptop screen. I had one stuck to my forehead yesterday - I really think they're going after water (or sweat) on the ceiling and getting stuck - weirdest thing ever. Even when I lived in the cloud line STT I never saw water condensate on the ceiling and run down the walls. Freaking weird. Maybe because this is a wood home with drywall? All my other houses have been concrete.

Make sure all your drain traps have water in them otherwise it's possible for them to come through the sewer.

Landlord/tenant relationships are different on STX than that are in most places. To give a little history lesson, when it was open, Hovensa offered housing stipends to many employees, who in turn filled most of the available rentals and were able to pay above market rental rates for years due to the stipend. When Hovensa closed, the bottom fell out of the rental market and the island was flooded with available rentals but most of the landlords still had higher expectations of what their properties would rent for. Over the course of a year or so, rents started to come down and rentals started to fill up, but maintenance normally covered by landlords virtually disappeared. Landlords who were forced to reduce monthly rents by over $1000 per month in some cases pretty much lost interest in putting any $ into their properties due to reduced income.

Our current house had water bubbling out of the floor for six months before it was fixed. I asked that it be repaired but pretty much was told that the landlord was generous to allow us to rent the home for so much less than it had previously rented for, so we should be happy for the deal given and patiently wait for the repairs to be made when the landlord was ready. So for six months we barricaded a section of the living room and kept towels on the floor of the kitchen.

Basically many landlords here still value their rentals at double what they actually rent for. It causes difficulties in getting what would normally be basic maintenance items addressed, even if it is in the lease.

Our current house had water bubbling out of the floor for six months before it was fixed. I asked that it be repaired but pretty much was told that the landlord was generous to allow us to rent the home for so much less than it had previously rented for, so we should be happy for the deal given and patiently wait for the repairs to be made when the landlord was ready. So for six months we barricaded a section of the living room and kept towels on the floor of the kitchen.

Something like this falls under landlord tenant habitability laws and the landlord's documented refusal to correct could have been quickly resolved in court. The simple filing of a suit usually results in a quick resolution. Document, document, document ...