Kentucky residents are being driven from their homes after gnats swarm town: ‘You can't even stay in the house'

Independent

6 days ago

A gnat infestation in Kentucky is making it difficult for residents to cook, clean, and go about their daily lives, and many blame a nearby recycling facility for the unwanted insects.
Residents, like Ila Thomas of Logan County, say the gnat problem began around 2019 when Logan Aluminum started storing sticky recycled aluminum bales at a site known as DC4. Many residents are now part of a lawsuit against the company, claiming the cans attract gnats and larvae, overwhelming homes with swarms of bugs in nearly every corner of their homes.
'I just have a lot of gnats,' Thomas, who has lived in her home for 70 years, told the WBKO. 'Last year, they were bad. But this has been the worst year. You can't even enjoy sitting in your kitchen, drinking your coffee, or anything.'
Now in her 90s, gnat traps dangling from light fixtures and capturing thousands of the insects every day mess with Thomas' otherwise spotless home.
'About every day or every other day, you have to change them all [the traps] or you can't even stay in the house,' she told the outlet.
Thomas' grandson, Josiah Head, and his family also struggle with swarms of gnats in and around their nearby home, which his wife, Chelsey Head, says makes caring for their young daughter especially difficult.
'When you're changing your daughter's diaper, and you're having to swat gnats from her genitalia, that's pretty traumatizing, no matter how many times it happens,' Chelsey Head said. 'You don't even have time to wrap up the diaper before those same gnats are landing on the feces in the diaper.'
The situation has gotten so bad, that th Head family moved into a camper at Lake Malone to escape the gnats. They say Logan Aluminum paid for their stay, which is evidence they cite in the lawsuit to show the company knew it was responsible, the family claims.
But the company suddenly stopped helping and cut all communication with the Head family, resulting in their decision to sell their home and move to Florida
'They're basically calling us liars, ' Chelsey Head told WBKO. 'We have tried to play nice, and I feel like that niceness has not been reciprocated – and there's a large lack of understanding.'
Logan Aluminum denies most claims in the lawsuit, including that the materials at DC4 are compressed bales or contain insects. The suit also names Novelis Corporation and Tri-Arrows Aluminum, which court records show have ownership stakes in Logan Aluminum, WBKO reported.
The Independent
A hearing in this case is set for August 21.