44 Buffalo gnat bites facts uncovered

A lot of stories out there which get me scared about the buffalo gnat bites, they are life-threatening and cause nuisance to people and get them so terrified.

What the buffalo black gnat is?
What is a Buffalo Gnat?

Buffalo gnat is Simuliidae-related small black flies due to their humpbacked appearance.

Buffalo gnats are a common nuisance for humans, also named the black knats, buffalo nats or black fly. Keep focused to know why these gnats have been nuisance for people.
If you do not know what do gnats mean?

Estimated Pest Control Costs
See Costs in Your Area

Can gnat bites human?

How to identify buffalo black gnats very easy?

How does buffalo gnat looks like?

  • Black fly or turkey gnat or buffalo gnats are all the same.
  • Buffalo gnat is one-eighth of an inch long.
  • Tiny insects that measures no more than 5 mm.
  • Their colors are Black, gray, brown, or even some shades of orange.
  • Buffalo gnat has clear wings, big eyes, and antennae with eleven segments.

Read more about how to identify black gnats?

When to get gnat bites?

Why do gnat bites human?


Where the buffalo gnat bites located?

I am going to uncover the facts about buffalo gnats and their bites.
Males only need nectar to survive and cannot bite.

Buffalo gnat bite are mainly by hungry females, the method how Female buffalo gnat or black fly bites is by sucking blood using their cutter mouth parts to cut into skin, secrete a blood anti-clotting chemical in their saliva into the opened wound, thus buffalo gnat sucking the victim’s blood easily and largely, due to the severity of the cut skin and large amount of blood lost, the bitten human or animal will suffer from anemia and may be develop inflammation and sensitivity reaction, by extending the flies’ feeding time.

Buffalo gnat bites on dogs like rest of animals will be in danger of infectious diseases and anaphylaxis.

Each Buffalo gnat species has its own preferred biting area on the human skin and pets.

When gnats start biting you?
Do fungus buffalo gnats bite?
The worm-like larvae hatching from these eggs are typically less than half an inch long and shaped like an hourglass; they have fan-like mouthparts to feed on bacteria in their surrounding aquatic environment.
If you do not know what do nats looks like?

When and where buffalo gnats appear?
Where do buffalo gnats come from?
Detailed information about where gnat types come from, previously posted, you can read.
In the wetter parts of the northern latitudes of North America, including parts of Canada, New England, Minnesota, and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, Pennsylvania, in the United States,
Populations on United states beaches may be vulnerable to buffalo gnat bites, so that they are adviced to use gnat repellent cream or something like that, such US beaches are: Outer Banks, maui, Myrtle Beach, Sanibel Island, Honolulu – Oahu, U.S. Virgin Islands, Fort Lauderdale, San Diego, Cape Cod, and Hilton Head.
States which have people more vulnerable to gnat bites:
Atlantic Coast:  Maine,  New Hampshire, Massachusetts,  Rhode Island, Connecticut,  New York,  New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida (Atlantic).
Gulf Coast:  Florida (Gulf), Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas.
Pacific Coast: California, Oregon, Washington, Hawaii, Alaska (Pacific)
Arctic Coast: Alaska (Arctic)
Also some cities got high nuisance by buffalo gnats such as in Illinois the central western part (60miles north of st.louis and 50miles south west of springfield (Latitude: 39.42085 / Longitude: -90.394127).
In England and called Blandford fly (Simulium posticatum).
In The New Zealand “sandflies” are actually black flies of the species Austrosimulium australense and A. ungulatum.
If you do not how the nats come into your house? Please read this.

  • Appear in late spring and early summer when they swarm and bite birds and mammals, including domestic animals and people.
  • Areas with streams or rivers provide an excellent atmosphere for the buffalo gnat. Because its eggs live in water, the reproduction rate in moist areas is high, including climates with heavy precipitation. The buffalo gnat is commonly found in wooded areas, as well as arctic areas. Buffalo flies are popular in Canada.
  • The odd thing is that the cleaner the water in rivers and streams is, the higher the population of buffalo gnats tends to be.
  • Black flies are usually found around fast running water, such as river rapids and waterfalls,
  • The buffalo gnats have a 3-week life span, and transform from eggs to adults insects as the temperature rises, 
  • Adults will fly 10 miles or more in search of blood, their birth place have not such source of food. Which look a bit like horse flies, spend most of their roughly three weeks of life looking for blood to provide the protein needed to lay eggs.

Do gnats bite human or animals?
All living organisms are pruned to bites of buffalo gnat. Buffalo gnat bites on human are painful and may be very dangerous to those have allergic reaction towards knats, pregnant woman are in danger of getting bitten by nats, also kids and infants are most likely to be affected and may be killed due to weakness of their bodies and immunity response, in many cases the knat bites treated in no long time and the bitten person get well soon.
Identify the gnat species and types easily.

Why to kill buffalo gnat?
Are the gnat bites dangerous?

  • In tropical areas and places with warm, moist climates, buffalo gnats can cause diseases in humans, Black flies are central to the transmission of the parasitic nematode Onchocerca volvulus which causes onchocerciasis, or “river blindness”. It serves as the larval host for the nematode and acts as the vector by which the disease is spread. The parasite lives on human skin and is transmitted to the black fly during feeding. They spread several diseases, including river blindness in Africa (Simulium damnosum and S. neavei) and the Americas (S. callidum and S. metallicum in Central America, S. ochraceum in Central andSouth America).
  • Like mosquitoes, buffalo gnats can be carriers of encephalitis. 
  • Black gnat bites can kill the domestic animals, especially poultry due to the very weak defense of their skin, as well as exotic birds, Buffalo gnat attack cattle and other animals causing Consequences include extreme weight loss, anaphylactic shock, and death. Turkeys and other types of poultry may have parasites or diseases after being bitten by buffalo gnats. 
  • Do Black gnat bits cause death? Black flies are not known to transmit disease to humans in the United States because they are not vectors for any life-threatening illnesses. However any reported human deaths are assumed to be from allergic reactions.

What does work to stop gnat bites?
Is there a buffalo gnat bites treatment to be effective?

Previously I put a concise help with very effective remedies to kill gnats, and many of my readers send me emails that they worked and the gnats vanished, you can read those simple techniques here.

In the next few days I will post a full guide of suitable treatment for every severity degree of bites. That’s because some buffalo nat bites only painful, and others accompanied by swelling and bleeding wound, some bites with infection inflammation, bites cause allergy, buffalo gnat bites on eye, etc., so that I have prepared a concise guide with buffalo gnat bite pictures to know how to treat buffalo gnat bites and what does work to stop itching and what does not.
Other home insects repellents.
Other natural remedies to kill flies and bugs
The government operates black fly control programs to assure the quality of life for residents and to the tourism industry.

4 thoughts on “44 Buffalo gnat bites facts uncovered

  1. Lyz P

    I have some gnat bites I got in Florida late March. They’re on both ankles, knees, and my neck. I have since moved to Germany and they still itch like crazy! I’d really like them to go away as I’m constantly scratching and they look unsightly. I’ve tried the common OTC remedies. Any ideas? Thanks for your help.

  2. Scott

    I need to keep my epipen handy most days! We call them no see ems in nevada, they leave quite a huge bite and bad reaction for me. Seem to seasonal and my neighbors have lost a lot of chickens because of these little blood suckers

  3. M+J + J (3 hikers survived 9 days of biting)

    Thanks to write this article
    just left
    the wonderland trail (93 miles of)
    Mount Rainer • Washington
    with muchconfusion of what the …. happened
    As to say :
    With not less than
    9 bites
    on each calf and super scratchy

    Now That we have the answers to what the ….
    As given here
    It is all a gradual downhill again


Leave a Reply
