San Diego County officials are calling on a UC Cooperative Extension farm advisor once again to help solve a pesky problem with gnats, according to an article in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.
Last year, residents of the north San Diego County community of Jacumba were plagued by gnats and believed their source was a local organic farm. UCCE farm advisor Jim Bethke confirmed their suspicions and began working with the farmer to find an environmentally sound way to control the pests.
Now the problem has spread to Escondido, Fallbrook, Rainbow and Oceanside, the article said.
"This (gnat problem) has become a trend. There is something happening in Southern California," Bethke was quoted. "It may be associated with the drought or a type of agriculture, but there are more gnats this year in general in all areas. I also think that the problem in Jacumba has made people more aware of it -- that they can complain about it."
An article in the same newspaper last January said Jacumba residents couldn't enjoy their outdoor patios and that local schools provided fans to keep gnats off children eating their lunches outside, as reported in this ANR News blog post.
Reporter Angela Lau wrote in today's story that Bethke believes farms, creeks, rivers and lakes in Escondido and Fallbrook are the breeding grounds for the north county's troublesome gnats. He is working with scientists at UC Riverside to find solutions that would allow residents and organic farms to comfortably co-exist.
"A lot of people don't believe the problem can be solved unless the farm is gone," Bethke was quoted. "I don't believe that. The problem can be solved."
gnat
Residents of Jacumba, a high desert community on the eastern side of San Diego County. turned to UC Cooperative Extension advisor Jim Bethke to figure out why they were being pestered by a high number of eye gnats.
In a San Diego Union Tribune article, residents reported that they couldn't enjoy outdoor activities during warm months because of the gnats, which are naturally attracted to human and animal eyes to get protein for egg production. The Jacumba Elementary School set up fans so children could eat lunch outside without bugs flying in their faces.
Bethke's research confirmed many residents' suspicions -- the gnats are coming from an organic spinach and lettuce farm on the edge of town, according to the article.
Bethke declined to tell reporter Ann Krueger how many gnats he found in traps on the farm because the information was "too inflammatory."
“The number of flies produced per acre in the farm is exceptionally high,” Bethke was quoted.
Bethke said his research was cut short when grant funding became unavailable, but initial results show that the farm is indeed the main cause of the community gnat problem. He will present his results to Jacumba residents at a meeting tonight, the article said.
Bethke told the reporter he will recommend that a row of trees be placed between the farm and the town to cut down on the number of gnats flying into the community. The organic farm cannot use chemical pesticides, but Bethke said his colleagues at UC Riverside have developed an organic pesticide that they will test at the farm.
A gnat in a yellow sticky trap.
