bugs in mulch

Question

I just landscaped my front sidewalk with shrubs. I used pine fine mulch and peat moss to amend the soil first, and after I planted I covered the area with chocolate mulch. Now I see hundreds of bugs flying around the mulch. They look like mosquitoes, but not sure what they are or how to get rid of them. Are they possibly termites? If so, what have I done? Hope I haven’t created a bad situation for my house.

Answer 1

They are likely either midges or fungus gnats. You can treat the mulch with a fungicide and get rid of them quickly or you can just lay off watering for a little while to allow the mulch to dry out some and this will take care of them as well.