{"id":285828,"date":"2026-04-25T18:48:22","date_gmt":"2026-04-25T18:48:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/285828\/"},"modified":"2026-04-25T18:48:22","modified_gmt":"2026-04-25T18:48:22","slug":"california-officials-warn-of-increase-in-tiny-black-flies-known-for-painful-bites-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/285828\/","title":{"rendered":"California officials warn of increase in tiny black flies known for painful bites"},"content":{"rendered":"

Black flies<\/a>, a tiny insect known for a small, but painful bite, are on the rise in the foothills of San Gabriel<\/a> Valley in California<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Black flies, also known as “buffalo gnats,” are known for biting around the eyes and necklines of humans and domestic animals<\/a>, according to the San Gabriel Valley Mosquito and Vector Control District<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The flies travel in large numbers and long distances and thrive in flowing water, where they breed.<\/p>\n

They are very tiny, only 2 to 3 millimeters long.<\/p>\n

Their bites are small and painful, but in Los Angeles<\/a> County, they do not transmit diseases, according to the SGV Mosquito and Vector Control District.<\/p>\n

In communities throughout the San Gabriel Valley foothills, black flies are a recurring, seasonal nuisance.<\/p>\n

To reduce the impact of the flies, the district routinely treats black fly breeding sites by using a natural soil bacteria that is highly effective in controlling black flies and mosquitoes.<\/p>\n

Black flies frequently increase in activity in the summer<\/a>, and are often triggered by scheduled water releases from upstream dams.<\/p>\n

Additionally, unmaintained features like decorative fountains and backyard waterfalls can become unexpected breeding sites if water flows are left running, the district said.<\/p>\n

In order to avoid the bite of black flies, the district said to use DEET on exposed skin, as it’s the only repellent that works on black flies.<\/p>\n

Wearing a net over the face can also help prevent black fly bites, since the eyes and neckline are their primary targets.<\/p>\n

The district said it is actively treating breeding sites, but expects activity to remain high for a few weeks while the treatments take effect.<\/p>\n

Get the latest updates on this story on FOXWeather.com.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

California<\/a>Wild Nature<\/a>Weather<\/a>Health<\/a>News<\/a>Health<\/a>Weather<\/a>Wild Nature<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Black flies, a tiny insect known for a small, but painful bite, are on the rise in the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":284400,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[1184,7,9,8,1570,100,645,1181,19,16359],"class_list":{"0":"post-285828","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-california","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-california","10":"tag-california-headlines","11":"tag-california-news","12":"tag-health","13":"tag-news","14":"tag-science","15":"tag-us","16":"tag-weather","17":"tag-wild-nature"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/285828","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=285828"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/285828\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/284400"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=285828"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=285828"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=285828"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}