Bugged by bugs? Here are some tips

How many bug bites do you have on your body right now?

If you’ve spent any time outside in the area, it’s likely you have a few.

The weather has not been giving the area many favors.

“There are more this year, and it’s not just in Wisconsin,” Viterbo University biology professor and entomologist Ted Wilson said. “It’s Iowa, Minnesota, Illinois and here. A lot of it is due to the wet soggy weather we’ve had.”

There are different remedies to help relieve the itch or keep gnats away.

“You can use insect repellent,” Wilson said. “That doesn’t work for everyone though. Other medicines are DEET or vanilla.”

Wilson added that gnats are taking on the personality of another pest.

“The buffalo gnat is hitting us like a mosquito,” Wilson said. “As opposed to a hypodermic needle, though, they give us little cuts — which I think is worse — and drink the blood that way.”

Wilson encourages homeowners to avoid any standing water on their properties.