Gnat invasion at Antelope Island prompts warnings for visitors


4 photos
Save Story
Leer en español

Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

ANTELOPE ISLAND STATE PARK — It's tough to take a bad picture here.

Chuck Piersall and his wife were on their way to Idaho from Colorado, but had to stop at Antelope Island State Park Friday for the views and the animals.

"Especially this time of year, with the snow still on top of the mountains. It's just gorgeous," Piersall said.

Although the Bison just might be the most popular animal on the island right now, there is definitely something else getting a lot more attention.

Gnats.

They're everywhere, and most people don't know about them until they get to the entrance station.

"We have what comes out as a biting gnat. It's called a no-see-um, and they bite," said Charity Owens, a naturalist park ranger at Antelope Island.

Locals know about these gnats that come out every year, from about mid-April to mid-June. Only this year, because of all the water from the above-average snowpack this season, they're about as bad as they have been in maybe 15 years.

"We don't want to scare anybody away, but we want people to be prepared to come out," Owens said.

Bug spray doesn't seem to work on them, she said, but covering up does — especially your face.

"The best thing is a fine-mesh head net. You can't use regular mosquito nets because gnats are too small. They'll go right through them," Owens said.

Rangers also say you won't necessarily get sick if the gnats bite you, the bite area will just bump up and itch for a few days. It's more of an annoyance than anything.

"You can come out and be prepared for them and still enjoy your day," Owens said.

That's what the Piersalls did — enjoyed their day. They said even if they knew about the gnats, the bugs wouldn't have kept them away.

"Not at all," Piersall said. "The views are just gorgeous."

Those views will always be here. Fortunately, the gnats won't.

Photos

Most recent Utah stories

Related topics

Utah
Alex Cabrero

    STAY IN THE KNOW

    Get informative articles and interesting stories delivered to your inbox weekly. Subscribe to the KSL.com Trending 5.
    By subscribing, you acknowledge and agree to KSL.com's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

    KSL Weather Forecast