‘It’s unbearable’: Dozens of residents consider leaving their homes due to gnat infestation

LEWISBURG, Ky. (WBKO/Gray News) – Residents in a Kentucky county are dealing with what they call an “unbearable” gnat infestation that is making dozens of people considering selling their homes.

One of those residents is Ila Thomas.

For nearly 70 years, Thomas has called Edwards Road in northern Logan County home. Now, in her 90s, she’s wondering if it’s time to sell her house and walk away.

Thomas lives near Logan Aluminum’s recycling facility in Lewisburg and says a persistent gnat infestation has made daily life unbearable.

Many are now part of a lawsuit against the company, claiming the recycling plant is to blame.

“I just have a lot of gnats,” Thomas said. “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.”

Thomas keeps her home spotless and carefully maintained with relics of the past. She’s still trying her best to keep it clean, but her house is now lined with gnat traps dangling from light fixtures, capturing thousands of the insects every day.

“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 said.

In the bedroom, the traps are caked with thick clusters of black specks – the minute creatures, their tiny wings stilled at last, dead on the glue.

Using the bathroom is a nightmare, with gnats drawn to the stench of human waste.

Thomas has been a lifelong cook, something she picked up from her grandmother. For years, she took pride in cooking for family and friends. But she says it’s been a long time since she’s been able to do that.

“You can’t cook, and you can’t hardly eat [because of] them,” Thomas added, swatting gnats from her face while speaking with WBKO Investigates.

Residents say the gnat problem began around 2019, when Logan Aluminum started storing bales of recycled aluminum at a site known as DC4.

They claim the bales are loaded with used drink cans, still sticky with soda and other sugary beverages – and when those recyclables arrive, they bring gnats and larvae along for the ride.

During a visit to three homes in the area, WBKO Investigates witnessed thousands of gnats and flies, dead in window sills, floating in food, swarming through living spaces, and coating sticky traps and windows in droves.

Even as we interviewed residents, gnats continued to fill the air around us. We found ourselves swatting and waving them away from our faces, an effort that never seemed to end. The bugs were relentless.

Within view of her home, Thomas’s grandson Josiah Head and his family face the same unrelenting gnat problem. Bugs were swarming the air and covering surfaces in and around their house.

His wife, Chelsey Head, said the problem is particularly awful when taking care of her young daughter.

“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,” said Chelsey Head. “You don’t even have time to wrap up the diaper before those same gnats are landing on the feces in the diaper.”

It’s gotten so bad that the Head family has spent time away from their home, opting to live out of a camper at Lake Malone. They say Logan Aluminum paid for their campground stay, a point they highlight in the lawsuit, claiming it shows the company knew it was at fault.

But then the help stopped. No more payments. No more communication.

“All of a sudden, the story changes, and there’s no more help,” Chelsey Head said. “They’re basically calling us liars.”

The Heads say the company hasn’t been of any help for several months. That disregard, in their eyes, is why they’re selling their home and moving their lives to Florida.

“We have tried to play nice, and I feel like that niceness has not been reciprocated – and there’s a large lack of understanding,” Chelsey Head said.

Logan Aluminum, in its formal response to the lawsuit, neither confirmed nor denied whether the recycled aluminum is housed at DC4.

However, photographs provided to WBKO Investigates appear to show the bales stacked in the area named in the lawsuit. A photo posted on Logan Aluminum’s website also appears to match the material described by residents.

Logan Aluminum declined to comment on the pending litigation but said it’s aware of the reported insect activity in various parts of Logan County.

“We, along with others in the community, are working to understand the issue and help,” the statement said. “Logan Aluminum values being a responsible community member and is committed to working with residents of Logan County.”

Logan Aluminum has denied most of the claims in the lawsuit, including whether the materials stored at DC4 are actually compressed bales, and whether those bales contain insects when they’re brought into Logan County.

Novelis Corporation and Tri-Arrows Aluminum, Inc. are also named in the lawsuit. According to court records obtained by WBKO, both companies control portions of Logan Aluminum.

A legal hearing is scheduled for Aug. 21.

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