The drought is over, but now L.A. is being swarmed by bugs.
Normally, the office gets about 25 phone calls a day; lately, it’s been around 80.
“They’re getting frustrated and maybe a little freaked out seeing so many insects around their home.” The majority of calls have been about two insects in particular: crane flies and fungus gnats.
Crane flies are sometimes called mosquito hawks or mosquito eaters.
The little black bugs that look like fruit flies are most likely fungus gnats, Sun said.
Though fruit flies and gnats aren’t closely related scientifically — flies are of the family Drosophilidae, gnats are Sciaridae — both are small, winged, black and irritating to find flying around your house.
Crane flies also flourish in damp conditions.
Sun said the best way to prevent fungus gnats is to make sure your yard is cleared of debris or leaves, so that the ground can dry quickly after it rains.
Both crane flies and fungus gnats are seasonal “nuisance insects,” according to Sun: They don’t spread diseases, and as we move closer to summer, you should be seeing a lot less of them.
4:45 p.m.: This article was updated with information about phone calls that the Greater L.A. County Vector Control District has received.