The State Journal-Register (May 15) -- There is a culprit to blame for the thousands of little flies that buzz around your head and make many outdoor activities miserable for several weeks each year. “Gnats are becoming more numerous primarily because the water is getting cleaner,” says University of Illinois Extension entomologist Phil Nixon. “Their larvae live in clear streams, and if they've got some nasty chemicals running in them, or farm field runoff, the larvae don't survive. With efforts being made to improve the ecology, we are getting back to what it used to be like when these gnats were a problem prior to World War II.”
