My family and I live in SW Bloomington, 1/4 mile from Normandale College, off of France Ave and 98th St. For the past 3 weeks, our 2 dogs have been bitten over 40 times. We originally saw them breakout in a ring shaped rash at the same time, and I thought it was ringworm. We treated them with antifungals for 1 day. The next day, my daughter shared a Facebook post with me showing dogs with the same rash on their bellies, and it referenced Buffalo Gnats. Within a day, we had to start swatting them off of ourselves and the dogs before coming back into our apartment, and they swarmed my daughter!!! I contacted apartment management with links, photos of the bites, and identified them as Buffalo Gnats/Black Flies. We sprayed the dogs with a vinegar and water solution before going outside each time, which seemed to work. We hadn't seen any in a week or so, and figured they were gone, and stopped spraying them. Well, they're back! I went searching for more current info about the gnats, and saw articles about a new species of black gnats that emerged last year that are more aggressive. But I can't find any photos or size descriptions, or identifying features to differentiate between the different types of gnats. I killed one that I combed out of my dog today, and it was filled with blood. They seem to be about the size of a fruit fly, which is what we thought they were weeks ago when we saw some in the house. One article said we have 12 species of gnats in Minnesota. Which ones bite, are easy to see, are black or darkish, and like dogs and humans? Our dogs are clean indoor dogs, and white with light tan spots. One is a 12 lb Pekingese (spaniel type coat), and the other is a 45 lb Boxer mix with a very short coat. The gnats prefer my dog over the big dog! My dog had 30+ bites on her belly, in her armpits, behind her ears, on her muzzle, neck and chest. The boxer mix (my daughter's dog) was only bitten where her fur is super thin and velvety, mostly belly, chest, neck and upper inner legs. My dog's bites were more raised and for twice the time of the bigger dog. The bites seem to have a few different looks; 1. a raised mottle edged circle with a tiny red dot in the center, 2. A pencil eraser sized dot that is dark, red and purple, like a tiny hickey or bruise, 3. days later, there are just scabs. When I washed the bites, some of them opened up and oozed a bit of pinkish orange liquid, and there was a strong weird, sweet, metallic odor coming from them!!! It reminded me somewhat of the smell of blood, but way more pungent and fruity almost. I would appreciate photos if possible, or any visible or bite differentiation between the biting varieties, tips on keeping them away (does Vanilla really work?) and any resources to learn about the gnat species of MN. I've lived in MN my entire life, was raised in Ely, all over the Iron Range and Duluth. I moved to Lakeville in 2001, then to Faribault in 2014, and to Bloomington in 2017. I've NEVER seen these larger gnats before this past month... just next-to-invisible noseeums or sand flies, mosquitoes, deer flies, horse flies, and pine sawyer beetles, but in Ely we called them "Jack Pine Beetles", and they are HUGE, nasty and take a decent chunk out of people! Anyways... I've attached photos of the bites, and the one I killed today (next to the flea comb side of a dual comb for size comparison). The photos aren't the best quality, as my phone doesn't have macro capabilities and I don't have a steady hand. Unfortunately, most everything I've read or looked at don't have side by side comparisons of MN gnats, and most seem to have a variety of mix and match names, or they're all 'black flies', but up close, the Buffalo Gnat don't look much like 'Simulium tuberosum' (the new species here a year ago). I also can't tell the difference between buffalo gnats and turkey gnats either, but my glasses are old and my eyes are dry, gritty and blurry, so I don't see what I need to. I'd appreciate any help, resources, or advice! Thank you so much for your time and consideration!!! I look forward to hearing from you. :) ~Lisa Seliskar