Waxahachie

‘This is Horrid': Gnats Invade Waxahachie Neighborhood, Nearby Business Blamed

'You can't eat. You can't sleep,' one homeowner says

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A North Texas neighborhood is battling a nasty nuisance.

Gnats have invaded yards and homes in the Katy Lake neighborhood of Waxahachie.

It's so bad homeowner Tom Hoffman said it's hard to eat or drink without swallowing one.

From his garage to bedrooms and bathrooms, fly ribbons hang like streamers around his home and are covered with gnats. Fly zappers and traps cover his tables and counters.

Gnats are becoming a big nuisance in an Ellis County neighborhood.
NBC 5 News
Gnats are becoming a big nuisance in an Ellis County neighborhood.

“I have an electronic fly swatter, and I use this. I work from home, while I'm on conference calls and I'm constantly swinging it trying to keep them away,” Hoffman explained.

He said he's spent hundreds of dollars trying to control the problem. Still, he said enjoying his pool is impossible and cooking is out of the question, too.

“Take your worst day camping, with bugs and flies, multiply it by 100 and that's what we're living in our houses, not outside, in our houses,” Hoffman said.

Gnats are becoming a big nuisance in an Ellis County neighborhood.
NBC 5 News
Gnats are becoming a big nuisance in an Ellis County neighborhood.

The suspected source of the swarms, according to the city of Waxahachie, is on a piece of private property nearby, specifically a plastic recycling company that recently moved in.

A representative for the property ownership told NBC 5 that the plastic recycling company began renting a warehouse a couple of months ago. The representative said the company has been given 30 days to fix the problem, and that they could be forced by the city to vacate if they don't.

The representative told NBC 5 the company plans to treat the problem every week until they can get the product out of the building.

NBC 5 reached out to the company by email and no one answered the door when we knocked.

Our camera spotted gnats flying from holes in the warehouse. The city said the company had the issue treated Saturday and has implemented a treatment plan.

For Hoffman, relief can't come soon enough.

“This is horrid. We can't continue to live this way. My wife had surgery. She's had three casts on. Each cast they've taken off, she's had gnats inside her cast,” Hoffman said.

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