ST. PETER, Minn. (AP) - An invasion of gnats is presenting a risk to the health and lives of livestock in a southern Minnesota town.
Gnats cause weight loss and stress for any animal with their bites and by gathering around eyes and in airways, the Mankato Free Press reported.
Brooke Knisley, who runs an organic produce farm with her husband in St. Peter, said one of her friends has lost 16 chickens to the gnats this year. Knisley lost four chickens to gnats a few years ago, she said.
“The chickens piled on top of each other and they get smothered,” Knisley said.
She noted that she’s trying to reduce the risk for her own flock by running fans in the chicken coop, hanging fly strips and placing vanilla-soaked rags near where the gnats congregate.
Gnats can kill large livestock, too. In the Deep South, ranchers often lose cows to the gnats, which get up in the cattle’s airways- causing anaphylactic shock. They can die from blood loss because of all the incisions made by gnats.
Megan Willette’s horses are also affected by the gnats.
“They bite, they irritate, they make them anxious,” said Willette, who has three horses on her place on the outskirts of St. Peter. She said wiping and bathing them has helped.
Despite the annoyance to her and her horses, Willette stays in the saddle.
“I still ride. I try to ride in the morning - it’s much better than the evening.”
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Information from: The Free Press, http://www.mankatofreepress.com
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