Gnats are very much in need of a public relations department. Actually, a gnat could be one of several different small flying insects that are related in those biology classifications. The most common are called fruit flies (Learn how to get rid of fruit flies) and some types are called fungus gnats or vinegar flies. Regardless, they are always pests. They are completely harmless in every way except that they are one of the most annoying insects on the planet. They tend to buzz around our heads, clumsily bouncing off of our faces and occasionally get into our ears. The gnat has an average life span of around four months. It would be a very rare and unusual thing to see just one gnat flying around. This is because they spend most of those four months laying eggs. Each gnat can lay between two hundred and three hundred eggs during its life.
Most gnats love the smell of rotten food. It’s their main choice as a place to eat and to lay eggs. This is why you see them so often around your trash cans and sink drains. Most likely they are busy laying eggs there. They also seem to like over-watered plants. Since they really do not serve any practical purpose, are pests, and you’re reading this guide; you most likely want to get rid of them. The best way to get rid of gnats is to not let them come around in the first place. If you cover you trash cans, wash out you sink, and don’t leave dirty dishes in the sink, you shouldn’t have to worry about them. Also make sure not to over water your plants. If somehow, despite all your preventive measures, you still have gnats inside your home, there are several ways to go about getting rid of them.
- Nuke Them. This is a good choice if you just have a few that wander in from outdoors. Just about any flying insect spray will kill them and very quickly. If the situation becomes an infestation, a fogger might be a better way to get the job done. If you use a spray and have pets make sure that you check the labels, and follow all directions for safe use. A less caustic approach would be to use insecticidal soap sprays.
- Track Them and Kill Them. If you’ve got a swarm, you need to eliminate the source. It seems gnats are attracted to vinegar. Fill a jar almost to the top with vinegar, poke several small holes in the lid and then set it out. The gnats will come to the jar, wiggle down into the hole, and will not be able to climb back out. Set several of these traps around your home and monitor them to determine where the highest concentration is and use that information to find the source. Understand that the gnats that pester you in your home require moist or wet organic material in which to breed – it could be anything from a grimy drain to the drip pan under your refrigerator. Check your door and window seals also – they could be breeding right outside and wandering in.
There are other home remedies that have met with success, but most of them use vinegar, and work pretty much like the vinegar trap above. Mixing a half cup of vinegar and a tablespoon of Dawn dish detergent attracts the gnats. They will feed on the mixture and die. Apple cider vinegar and baking soda works also. Be careful with this one. Vinegar and baking soda react and foam up, so make your mixture slowly. A cup of ammonia poured down the kitchen sink can also encourage the little pests to go elsewhere.
Gnats are harmless pests, and like many such household pests, the best way to get rid of them is to prevent them from coming around in the first place. It takes just a bit of protective sanitation to take away their breeding grounds. Also, most commercial flying bug sprays will wipe them out with little or no trouble. For more information regarding this article, read how to exterminate gnats.
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For gnats in potting soil sprinkle a layer of diatomaceous earth on the top surface.
For household plants, put a layer of sand on top of the soil. They lay eggs in your plants, the sand will smother the eggs and prevent anymore attraction to them.
Put water in a spary bottle, than add Lemon Joy dish soap, until the water turns a medium yellow (has to be lemon joy). Carefully tilt it back and forth to mix the soulution well. Spary the Gnats with the solution – kills them almost instantly!
If Gnats are in your home then put vinegar into a bottle and and poke several holes into the top.Gnats are are attracted to them,so when they climb in there they wont be able to climb out!
I had bad problem with gnats this week in my home, I had forgot and left banana inside my sons diaper bag and it was left alone in corner of my kitchen for weeks ! I cant believe I didnt check there first it was horrible MESS… anyhow I had hundreds of gnats in my kitchen and bathroom, I got rid of them in one night using fly paper !! I got 6 for only 1.00 🙂 also for few left over I used the vinegar method 🙂 good luck
For gnats in soil, just sprinkle some cinnimon on the top layer!
This might sound a little bit off the wall, but i had gnats so bad in my house that i tried a few thinsg but i wanted them out right that minute. So I took out my vacuum cleaner, and started sucking the pests away. Im still gonna do the other things suggested, however i got the majority of them gone, Just use the hose and it sucks them in!
I have had the problem for a few months now, and I put the dishes away after every meal, as well as clean the counters with a disinfectant cleaner. I have a covered trash can, and when I throw any sort of organic material in it, I first put it in a plastic bag and tie it tightly. I also make sure to empty the drip tray in the espresso maker frequently. We only have 2 houseplants, which were never a problem in the past, and they’re certainly not overwatered. So the option of spraying them does not work for me. They’re not congregating in any one place, that I can notice, but every time I go in the kitchen, or the living room, or the bathroom, or the bedroom, I’ll see at least one buzzing around. I’ll try the vinegar trick, and report back if it works. Wish me luck!
Put cooking oil around your sink drain, gnats will get caught in the oil and will not beable to escape. keep kitchen and trash cans as clean as possible.
GETTIN RID OF THOSE GNATS in the kithcen
WHAT REALLY WORKS
gnat traps with vingar and wine etc: dont work cause you feed them and they lay more eggs and they come back. this only catches the living but the unhatched will get you the next day
CLEAN THE GARBAGE DISPOSAL: CLEAN UNDER THE REFRISGRATOR (pans vents)
REMOVE HANGING BASBOARDS AND REPALCE THEM…THEY WILL LAY EGGS IN THIS AREA.
THROW AWAY THE SPONAGES THE EGGS ARE HIDING IN THE SPONGES YOU USE…
REMOVE ANY BABY POOLS IN THE BACK YARD THAT HAS WATER …..
try all this you shudl be fine,
I found some flying around my sink. As i looked over from my perch upon the toilet i notice probably about 10 of them flying and crawling around the drain. i got up and grabbed some aerosol spray air freshener and waited until they had all landed then sprayed them down. it worked well, after washing them down the drain hopefully they wont come back up or something.
Everything sounds good, but what do you do about the no-seems? Nothing seems to work; most things, candles, wrist bands, etc, seems to attract them.
I called a local pest control and he said he never heard of them. So, I’ll put out the traps and keep the plece clean,,, or move out!
I swept and mopped the kitchen floor really well. Cleaned the countertops, too. Trash is kept w/ a lid on, though they still find a way in. (Keep toilets/bathrooms clean, too)
* Tried the jar/vinegar trick yesterday. IT WORKS! Use 1/2 pint (8 oz.) jars, fill mostly full (leaving a little room), poked four SMALL holes (I used a small screw and hammer) in lid and watch them crawl in! Used cheap off-brand apple cider vinegar. As of this morning there are 20+ in the jar! I will set others throughout the house, too.
I think they are coming in via crack b/t door and weatherstripping. Will fix that and see what happens. We live in SC and have loads of gnats. We now enter house via garage and no longer use front and back doors to provide extra layer of security from these buggers! (One just buzzed me as I type!)
UPDATE: I would say we have now caught almost 100 using the vinegar and jar method, and have seen a very noticeable decline in gnats in our house. There are still some here, but less now. We placed two jars in the kitchen and one in each bathroom. You don’t realize how many are in your house until you start seeing them inside the jars. Hope this helps and good luck!
had to fight the little demons just to sit and eat. i was ready to scream decided at midnight one night to start spring cleaning in the middle of september. Have had 7 surgeries so things had gotten a little dusty. i had managed to get rid of the flies now i had gnats. washed the walls from one end of the house to the other, took everything down off the walls and cleaned it all. washed curtains and mini blinds. took the ceiling fan apart and cleaned it. then shampooed all the carpet and scrubbed and waxed the tile. move all the appliances and cleaned around behind and under them. Still had gnats. set out the vinegar and dawn and they are all gone after only 4 days. I love it when a plan comes together. now i can sit in my little corner and set my coffee on the table and enjoy a movie without being worried that my coffee will be full of gnats when it cools down enough to drink it!
I feel your pain Lisa…I think Im going nut’s….The more I kill, the more I see…You know its getting bad when your 3 year old twins challege one another everday on who can kill the most gnats! Im going to try all the suggestions above…I pray something works, if not, the gnats can have this place…IM MOVING OUT!
I too am suffering with these bugs… I was gone for 2 weeks on a business trip and when I came back my toilet was leaking.. I think the standing water from the leaky toilet caused me to have gnats.. I certainly didn’t have them when I left.. Anyway I feel like I am going crazy over these things…I’ve set traps, bought flying bug spray and even set off a fogger this past weekend. My whole family thinks I’ve gone nuts and my boyfriend thinks I’m crazy too. I spend most of my time chasing the little buggers and smashing them… this is ridiculous.. I’m going to try getting rid of my sponges (I hadn’t thought of that)But I’m soooo tired of this.. The exterminator is coming Tuesday.. I pray there’ll be some relief soon.. Nice to know I’m not crazy and others understand how bothersome these little critters are…
Apple cider vinegar & joy detergent works really well. They attracted within seconds
I think that I am convinced that the best method is the vinegar method from reading all of the above comments. My gnat situation has become an obsession with me because my daily mission is to kill as many as I possibly can. Tomorrow I’m going to use a fogger and then set up those vinegar traps. Will keep you posted!
I have tried a product called Bug-Out, also Raid…they keep showing up even right after I spray…..I will try the vinegar….i am desperate!!!!
I have been trying the vinegar treatment, not working. I have thrown away my sponges, poured bleach down the sink, and can’t spray bug spray (have a 3 week old, 1-1/2 year old and 4 year old in the house. I’m going out of my mind with these things. I think I know why I have them, but I live in an apartment complex that does not fix anything, so I don’t know what my other options are. I am going crazy with these things!
I don’t have a tip yet but I have read responses on this web site. As soon as I get results, I will share.
I have been trying to get rid of gnats for 4 days now. I have been putting vinegar down with some dawn liquid mixed into the vinegar. Not having much luck. I have cleaned all counter tops, put away fruit, mopped floors and washed out the trash can. No change yet. I then cleaned out the drains in the kitchen sink and still no luck. Not sure what to do next but I will go and purchase some flying insect spray and see if that works. It seems that the gnats are worse than ever. If you have any suggestions, I am opened to listen.
Thanks for your input!!!!
I found something that is working at the moment (after trying the vinegar and sugar water). I put liquid hand soap on the outside of a glass and put it on the bathroom window sil less than an hour ago and already got probably 20 of them stuck to it. So far so good.
I have been dealing with gnats for over two weeks and I am slowly losing my mind! I have tried the vinegar and dishsoap trap. I have caught a few of them but the others are too smart to fall for it! I have poured vegetable oil down the drains and that seemed to do some good. My bathroom is the main issue. It is very small and it seems like there are so many in there daily. We leave the fan on because it is used so often. I spray the gnats with flying insect killer and they fly right through it! I must have a group of super gnats! The only way I have been able to get rid of them is to smash them. They must hide after that because the next day there are even more buzzing around! There is no food or garbage in the bathroom and yet they love it there,. I need more options. Please give me a tip that will work.
BTW it began with a flood in the bathroom. Do I need to replace the floor tile now?
Ya, I tried the vinegar, dishsoap trick and it didnt work the gnats didnt even go near it. So any other useful ideas? Next I am going to change the soil in my plants I hope that will work.
I live in a small studio apartment, and I’ve asked numerous people what to do about getting rid of the gnats. One solution that hasn’t been mentioned on this page was Ant Traps. I haven’t yet tried it, but two girls told me that the gnats are attracted right to them, and they’re pretty small so they don’t stand out as much as a jar of vinegar does. It solved their problem, so I suppose its worth a shot.
what do you do after you catch them in the jar????
i hate gnats! thanks for all the good suggestions and wish me luck! they are so annoying and seem to appear at the wrong times.
ah, sarah – kill them! throw the jar away or rinse and place in your dishwasher to prepare for the next time.
Didn’t have them until Saturday ….. and the whole family came a running……help
I sprayed ant spray in my bathroom where the gnats had accumulated after placing a jar of vinegar on my sink. Now, my bathroom floor is black with dead gnats. Good luck!!!
I have so many here too and going berserk with them. Does it need to be apple cider vinegar or can white distilled be used in a pinch.
Hey Jenifer, are you sure we are not in the same complex? 🙂 I have a leaking bathroom ceiling that is just disgusting due to tub issues with the floor above me. I think it started with an inexpensive bag of potting soil but the bathroom is keeping them alive. Some plants just had to go out and the others I am not watering at all.
They are certainly annoying. Thank goodness they are not bigger then they are. Thanks for the tips everyone. Best of luck to you!
I too am having this problem- I just made the vinegar jars with a bit of dish soap, how full do i fill the jars? I put saran wrap tightly over the jars and then poked tiny holes with a skewer… Ran out of white vinegar, so I used apple- this OK??
Im just so frustrated! Im the type of girl that wont even eat if they are around, Im PARANOID, and after a week, Im ready to start crying! Haha! CROSS FINGERS**
I have been using cheap whiskey about halfway full in a shotglass. I catch bunches, but there are still a lot left. I have birds, so I can’t use chemicals. I am going to try the vinegar in the jars now. These gnats are driving me to drink!
oh my god..this is crazy..i thought i was the only one with this horrendous problem. Everything is out of my kitchen, cleaned everything but of course still see those crazy flying critters. I’ve been using leftover white wine in a covered glass and it’s working, but not fast enough for me. What causes the to hover in the bathroom…is it just the dampness??? any advice would be most appreciated. I’ve never had this happen in all my life..is this a bad season for gnats???
I scrubbed everything down with bleach cleaner. My bathroom smells wonderful but the gnats are still flying around! I tried the joy and water spray. Some of them died and some didn’t. I put baking soda and vinegar in all the drains. I even ripped up the bathroom floor and replaced it. The gnats were gone for a day and then yesterday they were back and worse than ever! I assume that they had some eggs hatch and these are a new batch.
The apple cidar vinegar trick only caught a few for me. Mostly it made my house stink! I am going to try the ant spray and ant traps. What has worked for me the best is catching them and squishing them. It’s a little therapeutic for me as well.
So now, its back to the drawing board, scrub down bathroom, clean all drains and add the ant spray. If this doesnt work, the men in white coats will have to come and take me away!
My neighbor and i came up with the same idea just joking around, put a piece of fruit or anything that attracts them, which is about everything, in the microwave on a plate with the door left open. When a lot have accumulated in the microwave, quickly shut the door and nuke them. Of course you would have to really clean the microwave but it might work. Neither of us have had the nerve to try it.
OMG!! im going crazy!!! I kill one, 10 more come back. I cant git rid of these things, everytime one crosses my path which it often, I start itching, i think its a bad season or something. I use witch hazel and i left the bottle open one day, I found 12 dead gnats in the bottle, they crawl in and they cant get back out mayvbe they like the smell…ugggggggghhhhh one just flew by me, help me, their moving in, im moving out =(
Well, this is the first time I have ever had a gnat problem in my house. I am not sure why or how they have appeared and I am so upset about them. They are only in my kitchen and bathroom. Ugghhh!!! I went ahead and did the cleaning of course, but that didnt work. Then I tried the apple cidar and dish soap. I did catch a lot last night, more in the kitchen than the bath. The ones in the bath fly around it but not in…how are they smarter? hee Anyway, while online today I found a great tip I am going to try next. Take a glass of wine or even better, drink a few glasses first, we need it, and then leave the wine bottle out. They LOVE wine I guess and it works. I got this tip from some people who make wine at home and have the problem from the fruit. They say it really works. I am praying it will. Good Luck to all!!!
I am going crazy also with gnats. I have and have had alot of household plants all of my adult life. Moved in a brand new home 8 mos. ago and the gnats are really getting on my nerves. I have gone without watering them, I have used otc sprays and nothing works for me. I will try the vinegar, I hope it works or if anyone else has a fool proof solution please let me know. Thanks
Several years ago, I had a problem and a gardener told me to use diluted rubbing alcohol on the plant in a spray bottle. They all died and never came back.
We have been having gnat problem for now almost 4 days (actually had to coax my wife to do something about it) and had my daughters start on the lookout as well- am now called “gnat patrol” for killing those. It even drove me so crazy that when i got up at 2 am to get a glass of water, I was looking for gnats to kill !! Have left a bottle of half vinegar in jar with holes – but caught only two in it…The best way is to go to the source…under refrigerator, under oven, under sofa…and clean it up. Cleaned all sofas last weekend…next we plan to clean under refrigerator & ovens…Good luck to all of you who have responded on this “pesty problem” !!!
I just decided to mix some sugar with regular vinager as I do not have the apple cider vinager that everyone says is the only kind that works. I have a feeling either way that it won’t work. I also do not have ammonia so I am going to try bleach tonight in the drains and also I will tape the top of the drain with clear plastic tape to keep them from escaping. Again I do not feel confident that it will work. But I have decided that I am going to war and like the Bushman says failure is not an option. I do not plan to lose unlike our great war commander in DC. who seems to be the only person left who feels that we are in a real war and not in the middle of a civil war that has nothing to do with us. Pretty soon I hope to raise the banner “MISSION ACCOMPLISHED”.
I work in an area where we have to confiscate items from our residents in the form of alcholic beverages. Since they have been sitting in our office for about a month, I guess the yeast in the beer has attacted gnats and I’m so tired of them flying towards my face. I’m definately going to try the vingar method. My friend told me that a baby food jar would be a good way to catch them in.
I’ve been having a problem with gnats for over a week. I will try the vinegar in a jar. I also placed bleach down the drain. Wish me luck i will keep you posted about my sucess with these remedies.
i dont have any idea how to get rid of these pesty gnats. i just know they seem to follow me from room to room.i tried the oil in the kitchen drains it seemed to have helped i ate in the kitchen after work and did not see any. i think the toilet bowl brush in bath room could be harboring some gnats .because each time you clean with the brush you leave water from the toilet brush in the holder ,im going to clean my toilets and through out my brushes if i have to buy new ones every week .and yes this is the year of the gnat, fly sray does not phase them. i think i will try the dawn soap method hope something works, everyone thinks i am nuts.they dont seem to bother my husband just me, also ther are such things that you cant see. that bite the heck out of you. we bought some repellant sheets at lowes and the lable read repels the cant see um
dont have a tip for any of you but im getting the same problem for about 2 weeks now and have no idea were there comming from i dont ever see more than 1 or 2 at a time and its usally at nite when im on the computer buzzing my head in front of the screen or when watching tv at nite ive been living were im at for 8 yrs and have never had a problem with any tpye of bug’s i dont have plants or animal’s or kids that live with me so im at a lose to were there comming from help helllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllpppppppppppppppppppppppppp
Try salt in some beer and set it out. Not sure why this works, but I put salt in my beer and they keep landing in it. I set my beer down for 30 mins and there were like 10 gnats floating in it. Yuk!
Please Read: After going through 20.00 in bombs and 20.00 in house and garden sprays I could not get rid of the gnats! I could say it was getting infested!! called my landlord and we thought it was coming from water sitting in front of my window so he covered the area with dirt. still had them terribly!! WELL LISTEN MAKE SURE YOU CHECK EVERY AREA IN YOUR HOME,I FOUND 1 ROTTED POTATOE BETWEEN THE FRIDGE AND COUNTER AND YIKE THAT WAS THE PROBLEM!! SO CHECK THROUGHLY TO MAKE SURE NOTHING WAS NOT FORGOTTEN ,MUST HAVE FALLEN OFF WHEN I WAS COOKING.. I WENT TO FOOD CITY AND BOUGHT AGAIN 20.00 WORTH OF APPLE CIDER VINEGAR AND DAWN AND 8 TIN POT PIE PANS AND PUT THEM AROUND MY HOUSE TO SEE IF THIS WILL HELP. I KNOW I GOT RID OF THE SOURCE BUT OMG!! THEIR EVERYWHERE. WAITING TO SEE..
we have had an infestation of gnats/fruit fly things for about 2 weeks now and my husband and i are going absolutely crazy trying to get rid of them. we havent tried the vinegar, but we have stuck those sticky fly and gnat strips up on 4 different windows, and they are all FULL of gnats! tonight, we are going to super clean the kitchen. This is awful. gnats are the worst.
grrrrrr i hate even cooking i have to cover everything,well i saw alot of them in my drain where my garbage disposal was,I haven’t done anything yet,I did buy garbage disposal cleaner and i saw alot come up out of the drain,this just all started last week for me,they are annoying little creatures lol,I think i may buy the bombs some people mentioned,I wanna make sure they go away,they are invading my home,it sucks,thanks everyone for some good tips,I didn’t know what to do until i found this site:)
I have had this TERRIABLE problem for about 2 weeks now. I don’t have any plants in the kitchen so I don’r know why its their favorite place to hang out! I am constanly cleaning the counter tops and sink. Right now I have flying insect traps hanging in the kitchen (looks terriable) but this does work. They cover the whole thing (so disgusting) I have never had this problem and go crazy with a kitchen towel swatting them. I hate being in the kitchen around them. I am going to try the Dial hand santizer/ apple cider vinager/ and Joy dish soap. Ath this point I will try ANYTHING!!
Hey fellow gnat haters!! haha
I have had a terrible problem with Nats, MOSTLY the husbands fault as I was cleaning the kitchen a couple of days ago noticed the coffee pot still had coffee in it, he is the only one the drinks it, opened the lid, and AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH Maggots!!! needless to say I gave him a piece of my mind, and gave the coffee pot a new home in the garbage. I have had luck with the vinger, plus some stuff, my daughter was sick, so I made her a drink with 1/2 cup of red gatorade, and 1/2 vernors pop, and the gnats just swarmed to her drink!!, so I decided to add some apple vinager to the drink, put clear wrap on top poked holes, and the LOVE IT! I am talking tons of them are gone, still have some, but nothing compared to what it was, hopes this helps people, I am still trying to get rid of the last little bit I have. TATA
Have had an OLD bottle of Ultra Palmolive Concentrated Dish Soap/ Antibacterial hand soap LEMON Scent — it’s about 1/20th full and the gnats LOVE it – dive in and sink in goo. It’s actually getting stinkey with dead bodies. I’d guess at least 1000 in there. With everything clean and tight there is no other place for them to go. Tried a Citrus scent at my mom’s and they ignored it.
Fantastic(orange action)kills them dead when flying around so no need of insecticides.
My wife and I have had a horrible time….the gnats started to appear after our 3 year olds birthday party in September, ever since we have noticed these pesky critters flying everywhere..We thought it was a temporary seasonal thing. After taking turns killing these things with all kinds of objects, we bought fly traps which filled up quickly and I finally got to this web site and saw the vineager idea….but we have to be honest as I was going to the kitchen to grab the vinegar I found a rotten potatoe under our sink behind some stuff and never noticed it…We are clean people really we are! so we got rid of the source and used a vacuum cleaner to suck em up and vinegar to kill the rest….Thank God this might be the end of the annoying little bugs…we thought it was becoming a bad horror film or bad dream that we were in having to constantly kill these things and having our daughter ask us what we were doing?
The only place they really are bothersome is around the moist cat food!!!
Should I just put put a container of vinegar next to it?
Okay, so I did the cider vinegar thing and even sacrificed some red wine (they went for the vinegar — go figure), poured ammonia in the drains and covered with plastic wrap to fumigate them. Well, I thought I had ’em but noooooooo I was out-smarted again! Back to the cider vinegar. Body count in three glasses around 60 to 70 PER NIGHT! Holy cow — where in the world were these little buggers coming from? Then the light came on. Eureka! I’d found them! My garbage disposal has TWO rubber drain thingies – pulled the removable one out and — yuck —- found their home sweet home. It’s been two days now and the body count is zero. I win!
Poke some holes in a beer bottle top that has a little beer in it. The gnats fly in, get drunk and drown…..seriously. I left a beer bottle opened once and found like 50 dead gnats floating around so I started doing it on purpose! Really works!
PLEASE READ THIS WORKS!!!!
Went to the local Walgreens and bought fly ribbons from the bug spray section they were only a $1.00 each and place one outside my front door and by my kitchen trash can and over the kitchen sink and it caught 100’s of gnats in one week.
The gnats in my house are not in swarms. It is one or two larger ones flying around. We have cleaned our house to death, but reading this they may becoming from our broken dishwasher. I will be bleaching it down tonight. I will try the all of the remedy’s suggested. I will keep you posted..I am afraid to cook for Thanksgiving…
I have used bug sprays and Boy it stunk!!! I then bought some fly traps, hung them where the gnats were the worst (above sink). Caught alot of the gnats. I also put some bottles of apple cider vinegar on my counters and the gnats are falling for the trick. Slowly but surely, they are starting to disappear…thank goodness!!!
I’ve been meesing around with these little pests for about two weeks and had no clue what else to do (except clean). I am going to try the vinegar trick and hopefully it will work. I’m sick of them flying around my house being pesty. Thanks to all for the suggestions!
I had gnats really bad in my apartment, I went on vacation for two weeks away from home, but I left fly paper. Upon returning home the fly paper was full with gnats I was so disgusted. But I noticed that they weren’t gone so I put more fly paper up then also tried the vinegar trap which also reduced the number of gnats now I’m down to maybe a little less than I noticed I started with but they are everywhere you have to watch what you eat and where you sit cause they land on your food and inside your toilet. What a disater. Also glasses of fruit juice leave them out overnight and notice the amount of gnats floating inside the juice in the morning.
im only 16, and i can’t stand them.
i’m trying the vinegar thing, and im hoping that it’ll work, if you have any more suggestions, keep me posted? 😀
I had 1 gnat in my bathroom lastnight. I quickly killed it and am praying that there arent any more! I will tell you what I did that actually works!
1) Scrub EVERYTHING down in your kitchen and bathroom with bleach.
2) Buy a kitchen and/or bathroom garbage can with an airtight lid.
3) Leave the bathroom fan or window open after taking a shower until the rug and towels are dry.
4) Pour baking soda and vinegar down the drains and leave overnight. 5) Put all bags of cat/dog food in sealed containers.
6) Empty trash, change litter box and clean the toilet regularly.
7) Gnats love water, keep the toilet lid down and the sink empty.
8) Squash or vacuum any gnats that you visibly see before they lay more eggs and make the problem worse!
Follow these steps and you will see a big difference! You have to prevent them from multiplying and cut off their food supply in order to get rid of them permanently.
I have gnats really bad . I will try the fly paper and the vinegar tonight , and i hope it works . I also have about 20 house plants and i do not know what to do about them . I think thats where they are coming from , but i dont want to get rid of my plants . ( HELP )
I have been battling this gnat problem for about 1 month. I have tried the soap and vinegar thing and I do catch some. I always find a few in the kitchen, but those few seem to avoid the mixture. I put some on my living room window sill by my plants and only caught a few after a couple of days. I did move a couple of plants to another area and have caught about a dozen over night. I think I will try changing the soil on my plants and seem if that solves some of the problem. I also found some in my bathroom but the vinegar and soap hasn’t produces any gnats in it. But, in any case I will persue this problem. It is driving me and my husband crazy. Anyone have any other solutions to this annoying problem? HELP!
Ugh. We’ve had gnats since our older guinea pig (she’s gone now, but when she was alive, the problem was worst in the summer; the gnats did NOT originate with her, though, some *** let the trash outside go for weeks and they accumulated there and came into our building 🙁 ). Now we have two guinea pigs and a rabbit (and a bunch of rats) in the apartment and right now the gnats are attacking with a freaking fury, even though we clean our pets’ cages often. I AM GOING OUT OF MY MIND. It was bad enough when I had just one guinea pig and they just congregated around her, but this is insane. I’m trying that apple cider vinegar/soap thing now and praying it works. otherwise, I’ve got molasses in the cupboard as well…maybe setting some of that out will attract those suckers. >____>
Well, the apple cider vinegar didn’t work (and succeeded in giving me a headache, I can’t stand the smell of it), so I tried something else and it worked.
Gnats (my gnats, at least) are attracted to fruit punch flavored Gatorade + water (I noticed this long ago when I spiked my rats’ water with Gatorade…the little gnats were stuck to their bottle like magnets). So take a near-empty bottle (well, maybe enough for a few sips) of fruit punch Gatorade, dilute it with water, THEN put in some apple cider vinegar, dish soap (and maybe a little extra sugar, we put in some Karo syrup) and wait. I did this last night and now there are literally dozens in the bottle, dead. HA! Finally solving my gnat problem with a little help from Gatorade. 😀 I don’t know if the gnats will go for other flavors, but probably. They just seem to love the stuff. o_O It’s only been a little less than 24 hours, but the problem has decreased significantly, so if you can get your hands on some fat-bottomed bottles of Gatorade (less likely to tip over), try this trick…it really works! 🙂
HOW I GOT RID OF MY GNATS. first I got rid of the source ( a over watered plant and my animal cage) If you don’t remove the source of their food and breeding ground you wont get rid of the gnats. I threw out the dead plant and repotted all my other plants. and did not water the newly repotted plants for 2 weeks. cleaned my animal cage and made it more absorbant to prevent a moister build up. Instead of using a bug spray I used heavy spray starch and arisol air freshner to disorient them inorder to smash’em. use the vinigar in a jar trick to get rid of the rest. I used a small amount of sweet room temp coffee in a cup over night for the rest. TADAH!! NO MORE GNATS. You have to find out where there comming from!!!!!!!!!!!! If you live near a water source(pond, river, lake, ocean), buy a bug zapper light. If their comming from your sink,there is a leak SOMEWHERE most likely in the basement where your pipes connect causing a puddle. If their swarming around your kitchen or garbage, theres a piece of food or water puddle you can’t immedately see. Regular garbage don’t cause gnats. Pull out the fridge and stove and sanatize your garbage can. Gnats come when dirty moister sits for too long. (over watered plant soil, a leak or a piece of food (usually fruit or veg). Catching them in a jar without getting rid of the source is false hope. You may have caught 50 in a jar, but hundreds are going to hatch. You can fogg everyroom in the house, but if you still have the source, they will come back SOON!!. Please do what you have to do to GET RID OF THEM. If they really irritate you, you will. If not name’em and call them moochin realtives because there not leaving as long as your feeding them and giving them a place to breed.
I seem to have gotten rid of my gnat problem, thank God! I decided that the vinegar trick didn’t get rid of all my gnats. I decided to check out my plants and there I found my problem. As much as I hated to do it, I got rid of all but 2 of my plants I really wanted to keep those 2. I repotted them. But before putting them in the new soil, I removed as much of the old soil on the roots as i could and ran the plants under water to help wash away as much of the remaining soil as I could. I then repotted them with fresh soil and covered them with a plastic bag after spraying them with a mixture of water and alcohol. I left them under the plastic for a few hours. I haven’t seen any gnats in about 5 days. I hope I never see another gnat.
I have been fighting these pests for months and an anxious to try the vineger thing and sand on houseplants. Bleach in the drains works well also. This Christmas I decorated with angel hair. Strange as it may seem, it was an instant gnat trap. They were all over in that stuff. Especially around the windows. They must like light. I bought some more and decorated for Valentines day with angel hair so maybe the stupid things will all die!!
Thank Goodness – A support group for those plagued with gnats. I have tried everything mentioned and out of desperation I decided to look on line for a solution. They are multiplying faster than I can kill them.
My next step is foggers. They are driving me crazy! Fogger kill everything but they are such a pain to use and not very health. Has anyone had success using them. I’m getting desperate.
I am having a severe knat problem and I believe they setup a nest in my apartment. The vinegar/dishwater and wine did not work for me, the knats only swarmed around the cup, very few were drawn into the cup. Then I saw the true population of knats in my apartment. I have killed between 150-300 for the past three nights and I am tired. The exterminator is coming on Tuesday to hopefully bring me relief and kill the nest(s). As I am typing a knat is flying across my screen.
What I have been doing to kill these pest is the following:
— close all drains (kitchen, bathroom sink and tub)
— make sure no food particles are on the floor countertops
–make sure all trash (which I never see them near) is removed from premise.
–poured bleach and olive oil down kitchen drain and coated an infested area under my countertop
–wipe down areas with ammonia
I also took someone’s advice and vacuumed them to ****.
FIN
My gnat problem, started at the end of the summer. I am knocking on wood, but they are finally going away. I live in the South & had never had this problem. We have lived here for 20 years. I got on line, & read how other people were dealing with the same problem. I took a lot of tips. The main thing, is trying to find the source. One of our problems, was the grill next to our patio door. Some greased had spilled, & my husband, had not cleaned it out. One day, when I was taking the cover off, they flew out from everywhere. After, that I would notice them, on the glass. It was 3 months, before we figured that out. I was absolutely, worn out. They were driving us crazy. I poured vinegar down all of my drains, cleaned under my fridge, my stove, inside my kitchen cabinets. Especially, the one under the sink. Yes, they were getting trapped in there. I also, noticed they were laying their eggs, in the dirty clothes basket, where we put our towels. I guess the moisture. I still use baking soda, on my kitchen drains, ever so often. Then rinse them out with real hot water, so it doesn’t build up down there. I don’t believe covering them up, really helps. You have to get rid of those eggs. There were certain places, that I had to clean over & over, until I finally got them, so they couldn’t lay anymore eggs. The magic trick, was the fly strips, after cleaning the grill real good. We still have one hanging outside by the door & another in the master bathroom. I believe, the drains & us coming in & out, our patio door was the source of our problem. The vinegar & stuff, really helps you find the source. Then vaccuming & clean, clean, clean, is the only way to get rid of them. I am holding my breath, as I type this, but I am hoping it will help others. Those gnats are good, at testing your patience. Good luck, to all of you.
This comes from someone, who understands, what desparate really means. 🙂
As yet, I have no tip but this morning I was so desperate I tried an online search and found this site. Am making a list to take to the store and stock up on apple cider vinegar, Joy and fly strips. I have a ton of plants in my townhouse, on all three floors becaue I had to bring in a zillion of them that wree on my patio and deck since it gets too cold in my part of VA for them to stay outdoors now. I have lived here for nearly five years now and NEVER had a gnat at all!
I have 68 plants inside now and checked them all for signs of gnats. Saw nothing to indicate that they were there laying their eggs, so am hoping I won’t have to get rid of the plants or repot them all.
I never keep any fruit sitting on the counter and the bowls of onions never have any gnats around them like bananas do, so I don’t think that’s a problem.
I have no idea what the difference is between this winter and the ones from prior years, but they are driving me absolutely mad! I wonder if this is one of those seven-year things like with locusts or wooley worms or such. I am not as fast as these pesky flying bugs are and my score for smashing them is about the end scores of my poor St. Louis Rams this past season! Hope using some of your tips will bring my score up to par with that of the Patriots this past season(except for the Super Bowl, of course!)
Thanks to all of you for your help … I’ll try to remember to get back and give an update. Good luck to all of you as well.
I’m going to try the vinegar tip today. I find them everyday after work on my windows. I smash dozens of them. It’s become an obsession and my wife too, thinks I’m crazy. I can’t figure out where they come from. Every window in the house has a dozen or more everyday. I kill them one by one. I re-check the windows constantly and kill the stragglers all night long. I only go to bed after I think I’ve gotten them only to come home from work the next day with my windows covered. I am at a loss. I’m lucky, I guess, because they seem to only hang out on the windows so I know where to find them. We have replaced all of our windows recently so I know that they are sealed properly. Any ideas? What kind of gnatsmosquitos are these? How do I get rid of them?
Vinegar in a jar trick didn’t work for me, but the vinegar and Dawn trick did. I put the container with the mixture directly underneath the flypaper. Within a couple of days, all I had were a few stray hatchlings, and now I don’t even have those.
Those donuts you can buy for mosquitos, broken up and placed on top of potted plant soil then water the plant, work well. I am told they aren’t harmful. I buy them at hardware store. I didn’t keep using them and the gnats came back – finding them in the dog’s water bowl. So I’ll break up more and put again on potted plans.
I have been having gnats in my kitchen and bathroom for months. I bought spray and they just fly right through. I need some help. They land in my drinks and food. I know there has to be something out their to get rid of these things .I know they are not holyer than thy.
i dont think the vinegar works going to try the fly ribbons from walgreens and see if that works. you would think we would have more options to choice from in the stores. heres a hint walmarts kmarts sears home depo lowes aco have i left any out bring us the consumers more products other then whats already on the shelfs to help us get rid of this nasty knat problem . help
only the cold weather has solved our gnat troubles…humidity and moisture seem to be the main cause. we have to put coasters on top of our glasses to keep our drinks gnat-free! we’re about to try the vinegar trick but certainly aren’t getting our hopes up. drains seem to be the biggest trouble, bleach, thorough cleaning, etc really helps. we’re losing our minds…tried to have a beer/cheese pairing activity tonight and had to fight to keep our yummy stuff sanitary!
Holy ****! I hate these things! I have spent $884 on a “natural” exterminator and the knats are still here. I brought a plumber in and I have poured plumbers acid in my drains in the kitchen and bathroom… to no avail. I have tried the vinegar treatments with no help. I am going crazy!!! i have a housecleaner who cleans my whole house every week and it is always spotless. I live alone… no pets, no plants, no kids, no leftover foods or garbage left out. I don’t get it! What do I have to do to get rid of them?!?!!?? I can’t just move out… I own the place! HELP!!!!
This is the third year I am being driven crazy trying to get rid of these pests. I have no plants, no dirty food or dishes, no “moist” places they might be breeding. I have spent a fortune on fly strips, as the flies are attracted to the windows, I put them all over the windows and t.v.s. I have been able to trace the “source” to my master bathroom (thank God they have not seemed to infiltrate my children’s rooms!) I scrubbed my bathroom top to bottom a few days ago. I don’t see where they could POSSIBLY be coming in from! I have bombed the room as well (and bombed my attaching bedroom), and it didn’t even phase them!!!! The fly strips are loaded within a week, and I change them. I have checked my windows to make sure they are completely sealed. I have drowned the bathroom window with bug spray, and the only dead flies are on the fly strips…none on the window seal. I had an exterminator out who identified them as “fungus flies,” and suggested I “dry my windows up,” which were moist from it being cold out and hot inside. Now it’s in the 80’s here, it’s dry, and STILL these things persist. WHERE else could they possibly be coming from???????
I cant find any info on getting rid of gnats OUTDOORS please help
Clean your house for God sakes
I recently got 2 bassett hound pups, 5 months old. (I have them in my backyard which is rather small.) The dogs **** is rather large and I do clean up daily. This has created a fly problem it just seems like they are all over my grass. I hate it. In the morning there are no flies, but once the sun breaks through, it’s crazy!! I have tried bleach with water but its a temporary fix. Please give me some ideas.
I have to say, the fly strips work pretty well. I’ve noticed Gnats just fly aimlessly, often running into my friggin face. So this has fairly well. I think I’ll try the vinegar and dawn tonight. You all have great tips, thanks!
Help. I have tried vinegar/dawn traps. I have tried foggers. My gnat strips are empty. I closed off the windows but the ones that got inside are still here. Will a bug zapper work?
If you are having gnats in the bathroom then u might have a wet floor and they are living in there. we had a wood floor and the boards were rotten under the toilet, we replaced the wood floor and put in tile and have not had a gnat since and that was over a year ago.
Im having problems with coffee grounds seems like they like them. so how can i get rid of them si a spray going to help?
keep da house clean in da first place
I just discovered gnats recently…they are buzzing around my computer, I can’t eat without keeping a watch for them…I’ve done everything clean wise that people have suggested ( which I’m very clean anyway ) I live in a condo so I take garbage out to dumpster daily. There is rarely trash in here. I clean floors every other day on my hands and knees so I get in the corners well. I cleaned under fridge, stove. I have no plants. One outside on patio. I’ve had extra time for cleaning since I’m unemployed. But looking for a job online is driving me crazy…trying to sit here now with a few buzzing around me..never had them before. I’ve lived here only 3 months…I have to watch my 6 year old grandson for 2 nights, I don’t want them to bother him…Any advice???
Mean spirited comments implying that people keep dirty houses are not helpful. As the article brings out, gnats come from organic sources – it can even be on fruit or plants that you BUY from the market. Clearly, if you have found your way to the site, you have a prolem with these pests too. I think I’ll try the vinegar trap tonight it’s seems simple and non-toxic.
The vinegar trick works pretty well. Thanks. Also be careful of things you bring in your home that may have gnats on them, it makes it even harder to get rid of them.
They love my coffee I cannot keep them out of it, I’ve lived here seveeral years and never before had any troubles. How can I get rid of these annoying little creatures….I live in the country also.
Seem to have plenty to find around the house. I clean daily but they still come in…..Going mad in KY.
leave a plate with some tasty morsels of food on it, and a little bit of water in your microwave with the door open for about an hour. then go to the kitchen and slam the microwave door real quick. cook for 3 minutes. They’ll die the horrible death that they deserve.
Dont know about ya’ll….but I have tried everything…even i read on another site about leaving fruit juice in a contained and letting them go in there..nothing…I hate these things..and i anit never had them before…seems like they are everywhere..its so disturbing..from the kitchen to the bathroom to the bedroom…I went and opened the fridge and they were in there..and in the freeze…how they heck they can live in such cold…I dont know wut to do…
I keep a very clean home and I can’t seem to get rid of these little pest. I have been daily and throughout the day spraying them individually with a spray that kills them instantly but I can’t seem to get rid of them. Do they have a nest or something that I need to look for. I am going to try all the suggestions on this website, I just want to get rid of the source to these so I can elimitate this problem.
I’m fighting the horrible things too and I attack them in my bathroom with Lysol spray. They fall into the tub & sink then I wash them down the drain. I’m also using the vinegar & dish liquid and it works a little. I keep amonia in the drains, I leave no food out and take the trash out every night. This is not a clean or dirty thing so those comments are not necessary. But I agree there has got to be a solution to this madness.
Guys I’m back and I have to tell you that the vinegar and dish liquid is working better than I thought. I took aluminum foil and covered the container and punched little holes in it. I put one in the bathroom and one in the kitchen and you can see them all over the bottom.
i have NEVER had gnats before and i have lived here for 8 years almost. now i have gnats EVERYWHERE. i have bombed my house not once, but twice and when i come back in afterwards, there are still gnats flying around…i spray them when i see them and think i have gotten them all, then i leave for an hour and come back to them everywhere again…they are in my sons room, my laundry room, the bathroom, kitchen, around the computer…but not in my room or the living room…its really annoying. i am gonna try the vinager now. hope it works.
First off don’t think that you have to have a nasty house to have Gnats!! I keep a clean home and this is the first i’ve ever had this kind of problem. I thought it was just a couple… o no..LOL.. Well I used the 1/2 cup of vinegar and 1 tablespoon of Dawn. Wow within 3 min I had my first victim… Thanks Thanks Thanks… TRY THIS IT WORKS!!!!!
I too have those buggers all over. In my kitchen and laundry room and garage. I’m trying the vinegar but it isn’t getting all of them.
I am trying the vinegar trick tonight, I have those horrible little creatures in the kitchen and in the living room, nowhere else, theyre driving me crazy. I really hope this trick works, I just started, so hopefully by the end of the night I get some relief.
I’m going to try the vinegar and Dawn. They are in my kitchen, bathroom
and basement. I been here 4 years and this is my first year having them also, does anyone else think that’s strange. That everyone is getting them this year.
I have a really bad problems with gnats. They are all over my house and there seems to be more and more of them all the time. I am getting ready to try the vinegar trick and hopefully it works cause I want those guys gone!
rid my bin of rotten potatoes and onions. like everyone else i’ve had a few but nothing like this year. they are so quick they can get in your frig when opening the door. it doesn’t take long for watermelon or other foods to go back. rid many of them by mixing dish dawn & bleach. going to try the vingegar with dawn to catch these pesty creatures & put ammonia down my sinks. thanks & have a peaceful summer.
Thanks for the tips! We’ve been in the same area for 7 years and this year it’s unreal! Over the years, I think I’ve killed 3-4 a summer. We have a swarm this year! Several, in fact. In the kitchen, bathroom… Thanks for the tips. It is very appreciated!
Have a lovely summer, dear folks!
Karma
Thanks for the tips – I think this is the year of the gnat- I thought I was going crazy – I moved everything and re-cleaned everything but still saw the things. I will definately use the vinegar and dawn and the amonia because these things are every where.
Omg people quit saying to keep a clean house. That may be the case for some people sometimes gnats just appear out of nowhere no matter how clean your house is..
My husband and son get them swarming around their faces while doing yard work. My son also does other yards for his summer job and they swarm him there, too. Does anyone have any tricks to get them away from their faces while they work? I’ve suggested goggles and bandanas wrapped around their faces but that’s a nuisnace, too, on hot days. I’ve put the vinegar traps around the outside of the house and not many have gone in. They aren’t in the house yet either, just outside.
Gnats are everywhere! We are clean freaks so it’s not about that. Did find that we had company one night and they used a veg sink in our kitchen to rinse plates. We don’t normally use this sink. They did not run the garbage disposal. I think this was the inital attraction. I have coated the bottom of the sink with dish soap. On top of that I poured apple cidar vinegar plus some down the drain. Several gnats within minutes. Because soap is sticky you have time to smash them. Yuck! This is working!!!
Folks… this gnat/fruit fly… whatever you want to call them… is unreal this year! I cannot believe it! Our neighbors say the same thing… others not even our neighbors. Is this a TERRORIST scheme or what? ha. But seriously, I’m 57 and have NEVER seen anything like this year with the gnats! My neighbor says he and his wife use a candle inside and it seems to work at least for a few days at a time. I’ve looked at Wal-Mart and other places and all they have is OUTDOOR candles, such as the Citronella ones, which are not recommended for inside. I will ask my neighbor which candles he uses. They have a newborn baby so I know they are concientious about that sort of thing. I’ll let you all know what he uses as soon as I find out. Someone else has said this must be the year of the gnat. Sounds like that might be true. They’re everywhere ~ They’re everywhere! Maybe I’ll call and exterminator and see what they have to say, without and all out service call. Don’t know if they’ll want to give me that kind of information or not. All I can do is try. I’ll let you all know. In the meantime… don’t give up! We’ll win!
This works folks………..go to walmart and buy PIC Fly Stick….cost 1.88……..fill the bottom of it with a chip fruit wine (I got strawberry)……..place it into position and wait….I caught 15 gnats overnight……..it works!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
oops………….I meant……….CHEAP FRUIT WINE
can someone tell me something different then the vinegar trick because it didnt work. we have them everywhere. its hard to have friends over because you know they say that its from not cleaning but i just cleaned really good. i dont understand this. thanks for your help
I just cleaned my whole kitchen, cupboards and all because these gnats were around. Then I go up stairs to put laundry away and found them by my bed! I could scream! I have a window air conditioner and I think they come in through that! I feel like I’m being invaded! I will try the vinager but I feel like bombing with those bug bombs. Has anyone tried it??? Thanks
I’m going to have to give these ideas a try. I live in Tennessee & gnats are AWFUL this year. I’ve never had gnats this bad & they were so annoying on a ride up to the mountains we just had to leave. I’m currently using a sticky fly strip & it works, but there’s still tons more.
Try a half a bottle of beer for the fruit flies. OR any type of soda. I had a whole mess of them in my house. For days I cleaned and bleached to no avail. One day I went to pull out the potatoes to make dinner and FINALLY found the nest. So make sure that you don’t have a rotten banana or potatoes or onion somewhere. They love dark wet places. Not sure what to say about the gnats. Use bug spray. It seems to work on my kids when they go outside to play. Oh and as annoying as it may be… if you find fruit flies in clumps somewhere… take the vacuum hose to them. That works too!
Since I’ve been sitting here reading the news on my computer, I have caught at least 25-30 of those little suckers with the vinegar/dish soap method. I put a cereal bowl with the mixture in it near the kitchen sink and there are a ton in there. Just over the course of 1/2 hr!! This really works! Thanks 🙂 I was going crazy with those little things flying around my kitchen.
The gnats were out of hand at my house too! I purchased these bug strips from Home Depot that looks like large air freshners they are white. They cost approx. $6.50 each. I brought 4 and put they around the house. They worked fantastic for about 2 months. But now they are back! I will try the vinegar and soap now just to save on cost. If this doesn’t work I will go back to the strips. Hope this helps you too.
To Barbara, whose son and husband get gnats swarming around their faces…. You can’t exterminate them outdoors but you can buy those military insect face nets, available in army surplus stores and maybe camping stores. I bought mine in the closeouts department of a local store but haven’t seen them since. Try one on first to make sure you don’t mind looking through the netting. It does cut back some on visibility. It covers the entire head when worn over a wide brimmed hat. It may look goofy but it does keep the pests out of your face and ears.
These gnats are killing me. Usually in the summer there are a few buzzing around for a couple of days. NOW, there seems to be thousands and they don’t seem to ever die. I have to practically inhale my food to keep them from ruining it.
My parents and brother are absolutely disgusting so I know they contribute to them but I keep my room spotless yet this is the room they seem to congregate in. I’m trying the vinegar/dish soap trick and hopefully that works but I’m not going to get my hopes up. They are ignoring the bowl and instead flying around my face.
This year is the pits. I’ve never had an insect problem like this in my life. We had some plumbing issues two weeks ago (Hot Water Heater) but everything is dry or put out. I’m not sure what the problem is. We are using tons of bug spray and it is not working as well as we would like. The other day I had a glass of wine. Fell asleep and when I woke up the glass was filled with dead gnats. Is it me or do these things bite? I feel little pinches. We have been scrubbing and cleaning like crazy. It seems that if the keep the windows closed (even though we have screens)it help. They must be slipping right through the screen holes. I’m just tired of fighting gnats all day. If anyone is into smudging sage I have found this to work.
I’m having a huge problem with gnats. And it’s because of my kitty’s litter box! It’s so gross, and they’re everywhere. So, that could be another source of anyone elses’s gnat problem. I put some vinegar in a jar like said and it seems to be working jsut fine! Just make sure to clean out your kitty litter frequently and even more frequently to scoop. Cat’s don’t like dirty boxes anyway =]
I just moved into a new apt and I AM SO SICK OF THESE GNATS!! Ive tried all of the old school remedies, beer, vinegar,…so now I have about 10 Fly tapes hanging around my house…Its pretty funny to see me, a 32 yr old woman mocking the little bugs as they get caught on the sticky stuff. Anyways I hope they go away in the fall/winter, becuz Ive had it!!
HELP!!!!!!! These little buggers are driving me crazy. I have NEVER had gnats before. I am not a neat housekeeper by any means, and I do have several animals around but this is a first for gnats. I have some exotic birds and the gnats are driving them crazy as well. I went to the pet store and purchased some of those round bird cage protectors and I put one by my trash can, one by my kitchen sink and one in the cage of one of my birds. So, now we wait and see if they work. I don’t have any “over watered” plants but I do bring in a lot of fruit for my birds and, of course, there is always lots of poop from them which the gnats seem to like. Hopefully, the cage protectors will work and then I will figure out something that is less costly.
I don’t know what it is this year has been horrible with these darn pests!! I usually get them but never this bad, I am most definately going to try the vinegar and dish soap remedy. If I have to clean up one more smashed gnat off my skin or off my computer screen I am going to scream. They are gross nasty little insects, I have now went through 3 cans of fly spray an it seems like they just are eating the stuff and laughing at me. I caught a couple the other day having sex in my bedroom on my dresser, well that will be the last time for those two!! LOL Anyways thanks for all the tips because I am most definately going to try them all!!
I get these little nasty things every summer especailly when I have fresh fruit around or new plants. This year I did not buy flowers but as soon as I started with the fruit they are back in the kitchen and in the basement. I’m wondering if they are breeding in the drain from my air conditioner in the basement? Well I’m going to try the vingar & Dawn plus I buying some ammonia as well.
I have no tip, cause I can’t get rid of these stupid pests, they have all but controlled my kitchen. I have done the vinegar and sugar trap trick, poured bleach down the drains, eliminated all produce, etc…and yet they persist. I went and got some of those stickly fly things today, gonna give that a shot. I kill every one I can by squishing the spit out of them, but they seem to alert their families and send in another round to harass me 🙁
this is the absolute worse I have ever seen them…
OMG. I’m so glad i’m not the only one with millions of these pests! I don’t know where they’re coming from or what they’re after, I’ve never had this problem before. Must be the summer for gnats. I haul every little piece of trash outside now and i’ve sprayed….and they still take over my kitchen. Cooking has become impossible. I will try some of the tips here!
No tip here just going nuts over these stupid gnats!! I’ve never had them before, but I swear they are driving me nuts. I keep my trash tied up and dishes washed and clean up any “drips” from every day eating and cooking. I even throw my dish rags in the washer as soon as I’m done with them and they won’t go away!! I’ve been spraying them with lysol . . . they don’t seem to like that at all! Ughhh! Just talking about them makes me feel like they are crawling all over me! :[
WOW As soon as I poured the vinegar they started buzzing my head. I hope this works!! IT lookes like it might though! Cause hate having to try and cook with them around! I poured bleach down my drain, hope that does the same as amonia . . . if not i’ll be getting some tonight. And maybe some foggers to get rid of them one and for all!
I’m having the same problem as everyone else. Cheryl I had the same wine problem you did. Worse, while watching a movie the other night I put the glass down for maybe a minute and already 2 flew into the glass! There has to be an easy way to wipe em all out!
No tips here, I have like a Million Gnats i have tried the fly strips and i poured ammonia down the drain now i have a 2 Liter soda bottle with vinegar, sugar and water in it and i poked 3 holes in the lid hopeing it will kill them off.
No tip here. I am over run by these gnats!!My hubby and buddies leave empty beer cans down stairs in the workshop and the little buggers find their way to my kitchen! If anyone was to “peek” in at me they’d think I lost my mind or was on drugs. I stand in the kitchen with a fly swatter or a notebook to smash them. Have also tried hairspray. It makes them not be able to fly and then I kill them. Hubby has gotten the beer cans cleaned up but I just can’t get rid of the bugs. ARG!!!!!!
I dunno where the gnats in my apartment come from (I’m leaning toward from OUTSIDE) where they fly into my apt and begin the evil infestation.
I accidentally left the top off a bottle of tequila the other day.. between that and the cup of coffee my roomate left on the stove we managed to drown ALL of the bugs…
how crazy accidental is that?
French Vanilla Coffee seems to attract them…they eventually drown.
Pour a quart of ammonia down each drain in your home. Let it set for an hour or so before using the drain again. Gnats nest in moist damp areas such as drain pipes, basement bathrooms and laundry rooms…under sinks etc. Use a home and garden spray to spray these types of areas, especially around baseboards close to a drain and under sinks. Do this in addition to the ammonia in the drain pipes. I got rid of gnats once and for all with this method and I repeat twice a year to discourage them from coming back. Once you get rid of them repeat each spring and fall.
The important thing to remember is that you have to treat every drain in your home at the same time. And spray the moist damp areas, again at the same time you treat the drains. You can’t treat one drain and expect to get rid of the gnats, they just pack their little bags and head for the first moist damp area they can find.
I am currently doing a whole house over haul!! The natural bug repelent Teatree oil is a bit of a deterent but not much, I am wiping every thing down with Spray Nine( household cleaner) that seems to make me feel better and I am sending my husband out for amonia and KONK asap. Poor man, he wants to be setting up deer stands and is my bug killer. THey have moved in to every room they seem to like floral sented candles,(now in a sealed container), toilets, sinks, glasses of water, the only cupboard I have not found them in is the dog food one???
Who knew, anyway they dont seem to want to go where the Spray Nine was or TSP(wall washing in paint department)is so I am hopeing this fall clean will be a good one. They even like any towle that has been hung up damp.( now in every F******* room in the house). LOL i look like some freak to the whole street all my curtins are down, the widow sills wiped, washed ewwww one just flew by me go to go and kill some more.
I just used the vineger test and in 15 minutes or so I caught a gnat they are all over my house and it is driving me up the wall.. so i would try the vinegar trap!!!!!!!!!
I’m so sick of trying to eat dinner with gnats sworming my food. I was told to place a rotten banana in a plastic bag and leave it out. Supposedly the gnats would come to the banana and while they were in the bag you could tie it up and take it elsewhere. I got tired of looking at the bag on my counter so I gave up, but maybe someone else could find some luck with this tip. You’re supposed to leave the bag out for several days. Good Luck!
We are having the same problem at my mom’s house. These bugs are EVERYWHERE! Swarms of them! Hundreds! As I’m typing, I’m having to swat with one hand and type with the other! Any you can’t eat, because they swarm your food! I’m having to eat with a paper towel over my plate and sneak a bite as fast as I can! HELP!!!
I just recently aquried gnats, I first noticed them in the kitchen, drivivng me crazy. So I wiped everything down inthe kitchen then I discocered under my sink was leaking so I got that fixed and they almost immendently went away but I came home from hanging out all weekend and they were back ten fold. I tried the spray and the fogger I notice a little less but still there I can’t turn my heaad while im eating my house is clean.
I am going crazy trying to deal with these gnats. thanks for the tips.
I just moved in and having trouble with everything! Infested with fleas, mice and now gnats! Battling all of it everyday. To lighten the situation and add humor I discovered Shop Vac Tai Chi! As I was fighting fleas I would seven dust or use flea powder on my floors and have to vacuum it up. In the process I thought “what if I just vacuum the little sucker gnats?” So the kids get a kick out of watching me in the kitchen chasing them. You have to do it slowly or they run but it seems to be keeping the numbers down and be visibly rid of them for a few hours anyway. Which is especially nice if you’re expecting company. It’s kind of satisfying to hunt them down and eliminate them. I’ll try the vinegar in the sinks and the jar thing seemed to work once couple years ago. Mine started with bananas I think.
I guess there are different gnats because mine cared NOTHING for any vinegar, beer, fruit or other such items I tried to trap them with. Mine only cared about pure water and my plants. I discovered that my house plants’ soil was the host. I tried dish soap in my plant water as suggested by another post and it did absolutely nothing. I got a tip from another site and I repotted all my plants outside then topped the soil with an inch of pure sand. The next day there was only a few I killed by hand and the next day there was none. You should have seen the infestation in my plants and half of them almost died. The gnats didn’t care for the cactus, I guess because I let the soil stay dry a lot longer. So if your annoying gnats are hanging around your plants I suggest this painstaking, but worth it, remedy.
Oh MY goodness… I have done everything change the pipes under the sink, scrubbed th paint off the walls, I have tried the ammonia trick … it seemed to work for a brief moment HELP!! I am going to try the vinegar and dawn now! details later… LOL I HATE GNATS!
ARRRRRRRRGGGG is all I can say.
In my other appartment, the moment a dirty dish or fruit would stay out in the open too long, we were SWARMED with fruit flies/gnats.
We did the vinegar trick which killed quite a few of them but what ultimately worked was just being clean and not letting fruit out.
I moved to a new appartment, my mother in law gave us a plant as a housewarming gift. Since it outgrew its original pot, we bought dirt at home depot and repotted in a bigger pot. HOLY S***! never buy home depot dirt! We are now infested with another kind of Gnat I hadn’t seen before (i’m guessing fungus gnats) and i just squished one AGAIN on my screen. They look so much like tiny mosquitos, it’s frightening.
So right now, I have a little container put upside down on the dirt of the plant and i covered it in oil, as they hover over the dirt (that’s where they all are most of the time) they get caught in the oil and die!
When it stops raining for a few days, I’m gonna go get sand from the next door park, and I am gonna try that tip of putting like an inch of sand above the dirt to hopefully kill them all. Can’t repot because the only new dirt I can get is from home depot, and that’s how this all started!!!
If the sand doesn’t work, I will just get rid of the plant because it’s driving me nuts!!! I always feel like the place is dirty when little flies are everywhere.
oh yes, and make sure you identify the right type of Gnat you have!
Fruit flies are definitely attracted to vinegar so that trick works, but the kind I have doesn’t respond at all, they get caught in that oil trap just cause it seems they are blind and fly into it accidentaly.
If your flies come from your plants, they are most likely not fruit flies!
This is a question comment. I have a lot of house plants, so I have a tendency over water my plants on occasion which could account for the many gnats that I have. I was told to top my plants with sand and this should help kill the eggs. Has anyone ever heard of this remedy?
hey mary, like I posted right under you, I finally bought sand, put as much as possible on top of my soil and miracle: no more gnats! the adults that escape before you manage to put the sand everywhere will still fly around and you need to kill them somehow, but no new ones 🙂
BUY SAND! in canada, it’s about 4$ not even for a giant 20kilo bag of sand
There are 2 types of gnats to deal with-fruit flies and dirt flies. I believe the fruit flies come into the house via fruit, so after finally getting rid of them, I began washing every piece of fruit with soap and water as soon as getting home and haven’t had those kind since. The dirt flies are harder, because they come in the potting soil. My last 3 bags of soil (different brands from different stores) have been infested, so now I have those very bad again. I got rid of them last year finally by just spraying the plants thoroughly with flying bug killer, and almost killed the plants, but am about to have to do that again. Wish I could find someplace that sells gnat free dirt!!! Good luck everyone.
(No tip here, just sharing your pain) We just moved in to our newly renovated apartment. A couple days after, I started to notice the gnats. Then when I really started to pay attention, I could find them everywhere! We don’t have a bathroom sink or a kitchen sink yet (everything new!) so I’m wondering if they came from the pipes. I find them in the bedroom in and outside the windows, in the kitchen (ofcourse) and the living room. We drink wine most nights and they just love that so I guess they are fruit flies. I’m going to try the vinegar and dawn, and pour ammonia down our sinks (once we get them). I was relieved to know that we’re not alone – I share your pain, people!
We made the mistake of not taking out the garbage before leaving town for the weekend and had gnats take over while we were gone. I read everyones tips and tried vinegar, soda, and Triple Sec Liquor all with soap. The Triple Sec and soap trapped the most gnats hands down! I also tried some covered with Saran Wrap with a hole slit in the top and those seemed to catch way more gnats then the uncovered glasses. Im guessing most sweet liquors like that would work but the Triple Sec had both the citus and alcohol that people reccomended. Not to mention its clear so you can see exactly how many of those little buggers youve captured! Its been 3 days since I put out my first cup and except for a random one here and there our home is gnat free! I highly recommend trying this.
I tried the cider vinegar in the bowl trick and it caught a lot of them, but the thing that finally got rid of them was the simplest solution. I poured a big pot of boiling water down my two kitchen sink drains twice a day for a week. I also kept the drains sealed with those little rubber drain stoppers 24/7 unless I was using the sink for something. I am pleased to say they are gone! We had such a bad swarm that I was very close to calling an exterminator. Try boiling water….it worked for me.
Here’s a crazy find. I had a problem with gnats and I tried the vinegar trick but for some reason didn’t have a lot of luck. But by chance one day my wife was cooking dinner and opened a small can of whole kernel del-monte corn and only had to use a small portion of the corn. She had left the remaining contents in the open can on the counter and got busy and forgot about it. Maybe an hour later she realized the can was still out and when she went to throw it out she noticed that a number of gnats had been attracted to the corn juice and had died in the can. Well, nothing else had wotked so I figured we’d just leave it out and see how many we could get. We got alot of them and would you believe we don’t have anymore gnats flying around. It looks like we got them all with the corn juice. It worked for us, you may want to try it too.
OMG!!! I NEED HELP NOW THESE DAMN GNATS ARE KILLING ME I AM SO SICK OF THEM I RATHER HAVE ANTS I CANT LEAVE NOTHING OUT THEY GET ALL IN THE REFRIGERATOR AND IN MY FOOD I NEED IMMEDIATE HELP TOMMROW IM GOOIN OUT TO GET THE AMMONIA AND VINEGAR AND I WILL B BACK IN ABOUT A WK OR SO TO LET U GUYS KNOW HOW MY EXPERIMENT WENT… PLZ PRAY FOR ME…
We had similar problems with gnats although not as many swarms. I was following the tips and trying the vinegar traps with no success. Then, we tried the bleach and amonia down the drains to clean the gnats out of the traps, but that didn’t get rid of them. We had checked all the house plants, but never saw them there. One day, we looked at the plants and saw several on a pot. We immediately went to a nursery looking for some insect plant spray and came home with granular systemic houseplant insect control product, Bonide, that we put in the plant soil. Almost immediately, they went away. It took a little more than a week before we did not see any! And, we didn’t have to repot the plants. Unbelieveable! I hope this helps someone else because we are gnat free.
I heard that spraying the soil with a mixture of ammonia and water will kill the live ones, has anyone tried this??
HELP! THEIR FLYING ALL AROUND & THEY WON’T STOP!!!
STUPID BLIND (_!_) THINGS! I TRIED FLY TRAPS BUT THE LAST TRAP CAUGHT ONLY ONE & THAT ONE WAS CAUSE I GOT MAD & HIT THE GNAT AT IT, CAUSING IT TO STICK TO IT! GRRRRR!
I DON’T HAVE HOUSE PLANTS, SO THEY CAN’T BE THOSE KIND…RIGHT?
REALLY GROSS IS THE FACT THAT THEY ARE IN MY FREEZER! EW! AND BECAUSE OF THAT, THE LAST OUTBURST OF GNATS THAT WE HAD, SOMEONE CLEANED OUT THE DRAIN THINGIE UNDER THE FRIDGE. THIS WORKED, BUT GUESS WHAT…THEIIRRR BAACCKKKKK!
I SHALL TRY THE VINEGAR THING THIS TIME. PLEASE PRAY FOR ME. DON’T PRAY FOR THE GNATS, JUST FOR ME & ME BABIES, OK? TY
WE ONCE HAD A HORRIBLE ATTACK OF…MOTHS! FOR LIKE 1 YEAR, WE COULDN’T RID OURSELVES OF THOSE ANNOYING DISGUSTING THINGS. (THEY CAME IN VIA CEREAL, RICE, PASTA BOXES)
I WOUND UP LYING IN MY BED, TRIPLE HOSE ATTACHMENT ON MY VACUUM IN TACT FASTENED WITH DUCT TAPE (FOR STRENGTH UNDERSTAND) & TOE ON THE ON/OFF SWITCH. SOON AS ONE OF THOSE BAD BOYS HAD THE BALLS TO COME~A~FLYING NEAR ME…~POINT, FLIP, SUCK, GONE!~ UGH!
HELPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP!
I had a real gnat problem, I had to leave town for two week and when I came back the gnats were nesting in the potato basket in my kitchen. They had also taken over other damp areas in my house. I was going crazy. I tried the vinegar and dawn as recommended. I made my own twists to the method and then watched them die. Here is what I did. I used a cup of vinegar, 2 tablespoons blue dawn, 6 oz solo cups cut to a 1 and half inches tall and a coaster from a bar to protect from spills. I got a quart jar and mixed the solution up, shake it up for a little foam, set the coasters around the house in the problem areas, placed the cup on the coaster and filled the cup to the rim with the solution. I sat back and watched, the gnats are attracted to it and it was only a few minutes before I had the first one, it drank and drown. I watched others take a sip and could fly only to die soon. I was getting off watching the annoying SOB’s die. Try this method You will see results immediatly.
This one is going to sound so odd, but if you have live plants near windows, and you have soil gnats, put window decorative clings up (cheap ones work best).
The gnats fly to the windows, and get stuck on the clings. We noticed some black things on them and looked closer — gnats, all right. Not sure if it’s okay to put the clings in the actual dirt, but they don’t fly to the clings when placed on the rim of the plant. Just the ones in the window.
Once they’re a little full, toss the clings and try again.
I have no tips! sorry! 🙁
I have been two days straight. debugging the heck out of my kitchen. I think wow I got em. come back in an hour, hundreds more. There in my walls! yep! Everywhere the wall meets the flooring. There coming out from behind the walls! Under my stove. refrigerator. dishwasher. I’m doing everything everyone has said on here! As of Do It Yourself!
Now I’m even using Raid for Fleas. I don’t even have a cat or dog! Our back yard has em. It’s a rental. The owner never does anything around here!I had. Yes had house plants. I used Schultz insect spray. I guess it works directly on the plants. The problem is horrible! I haven’t eatten anything in the kitchen for two days. I have no clue to why all of a sudden there soo bad!
Here I sit telling you, knowing the problem is still growing in my kitchen.
This is just down right wrong!
I hate bugs of any kind!
My house is clean!
OMG!!!!!
So yeah I believe there are no tips! You just have too be on top of the problem until they’re all gone!
I have had a gnat problem for almost 3 weeks!! >:( the little F@%ks are irrating as hell and i cant get rid of them completely. the only thing i have found that realy works is i bought an iced coffee drank it so only a little was left and put it in my kitchen then a day later it was full of dead gnats and it keeps filling i recomend doing that for a temporary solution otherwise get gnat strips they are like fly strips for gnats.
Alabama gnat killer! THANK YOU!!!!!!
Okay, here goes! These gnats are driving me insane. I have set the vingar in bottles with small holes and the little cups of dawn and vingar. I hope and pray one of these ideas work.
Help, my daughter is in Iraq so before she left she and rented out her apartment. When the renter left,( not telling anyone) food was left in the fridge for 3 months(yeeek)I cleaned out everything, but now I have millions…yes…millions of gnats. I go over to her apartment to clean the empty fridge every day, but I still have millions. How do I get rid of them? Do I have to throw out the fridge? I hate to do that because it is only 3 yrs. old. Help Please
Call Orkin, pay money.Better yet, call Obama to save you.
DANGER! I read a post above about using bleach and ammonia. DANGER!
OMG!! Every time we go to the grocery store, we always buy fruits for the little ones.. which we put in a fruit bowl on the dining table..By day 1, there are a swarm of gnats everywhere!!…so much that my two year old is now saying” flys get on my nerves”!!..To hear that they lay 200-300 eggs a year discusses me!… Ive tried Raid, and they just wont die… I have even tried different chemicals… but obviously did not work! They should make a spray that kills them little demons… Anyone have any ideas? Plllease let me know! Thank you <3
I have a word of warning for you all. DO NOT MIX AMMONIA AND BLEACH! It can get into your lungs and kill you! It says right on a bleach bottle not to mix them. I had a gf once that was cleaning her toilets, mixed the two together and several hours later she was so sick and her lungs hurt so bad we had to leave a Christian Concert we went to. There’s a chemical reaction when you mix the two and really, it can make you very sick or mess your lungs up. Stick with Ammonia down the drain with nothing else….if you have to use that.
I was watching an infomercial and some guy wrote a book 1001 ways to get rid of bugs in a natural way….can’t remember the name of the book, but he had some great tips on how to get rid of flies, spiders, etc. in your house for good, animals in your garden, and much more. Unfortunately, I was broke and couldn’t order the book, but would have if I had the money (only 19.99…) for two sets…what a deal. He said some animals hate organic peppermint oil…there was a lot of info on natural ways to get rid of unwanted pests…look it up if you want to have the info at your fingertips….:) Good luck. (I have a million gnats right now in my kitchen, and they did find their way into my dish soap when I didn’t have the top on…Guess I will be trying the vinegar and dish soap in a jar myself!
Well currently I am using the white vinegar mixed with baking soda and dawn dish washer liquid bottle it is working good right when i mixed the baking soda ( slowly) the gnats were attracted very very quickly
Every year I use vinegar and 2 tablespoons of sugar in a jar with small holes in the lid, in two days my jar is black with dead gnats.
I’m on the hunt for vinegar and jars right now. Excellent article.
For those of you not in the know, mixing ammonia and bleach creates a chemical reaction the inhalant of which is chlorine gas. This is more than just a simple lung irritant, it is potentially lethal. Charlotte was lucky that their “gf” only had to leave a Christian concert early.
First of all, gnats don’t necessarily mean you have a filty home. You have to kill the source. Rotten fruit, vegetable, leaky drain. Find and destroy (literally) the source and gnats will be gone.
I have no idea what to do!! I have made the vinegar traps and they only have a few gnats in them, the rest are still on walls, drains, toilets, everywhere I look the whole house is full of gnats!! I tried spraying them with hairspray and then vacuuming them but I cant keep ahead of the problem!! I dont know what to do!!! HELP!!!
It seems like the only permanent solution is re-pot your plants with fine, high-quality potting soil. Here are things I tried:
1. Watering less frequently. Gnat population was reduced, but they never went away.
2. Replacing topsoil with sand. Gnats came back within a couple weeks.
3. Vinegar and dish soap traps. Killed some but not nearly all of the gnats. But I still keep a little bowl of the stuff next to my plants to keep things under control.
4. Water plants with highly diluted Windex solution. Got rid of the gnats most effectively, but nearly killed my plants.
I’m just going to have to wait until spring, and wash and re-pot all of them. 🙁
Well I live out in the country so I use the plastic baggies, at first it didn’t work but when I hung it near my doors and windows the sunlight’s reflection seemed to mirror a spider web. So I think that’s why they stay away.
Bleach all of your drains. Put bread and fruits in the fridge, and wipe down surfaces. Take out trash daily, and no dirty dishes in the sink or dishwasher.
I tried the apple cider vinegar mixed with 4 drops of liquid dish soap and it had the gnats swimming within 1 hour. I think it caught about 30 of them. Just use a regular clear tall glass with the mixture above, about 2 ounces of apple cider vinegar and it should work. They were attracted to some bananas left out but hopefully this will kill them ALL by tomorrow! Thanks for the tip 🙂
Does it have to be “dawn dish soap” ONLY? Or can it be any dish detergent?
Where do you hang the plastic bags with the water in it? When I first read about this, it sounded like hang it in the middle of the door way. I know we dont leave our doors open. hummm inside door ways? possible I guess.
tx for info.
Not a tip but a cry for help. I have a Ferret and the problem now lies with her. Originally the gnats came in with some fruit from the grocers. Now they are nesting in her needless to say…the litter box. I have tried fly strips and caught several on them. However many i can and kill there’s too many. I used Raid flying insect killer and I got a lot of them killed but still too many left that it didn’t kill. I clean her litter-box daily and scrubbed every part of her cage hope just hoping it would get rid of the problem but still no. Ive tried the vinegar and soap but not a single gnat has gone near it they actually stay away from it more so.
Well I didnt have any jars, so I used a clear glass and a piece of foil on top and punched some holes in that. Lets hope this works!
Using bleach toilet tablets kept them from hanging around the bathrooms since it cut off their water source. Before there were always at least a few flying in the toilet bowl when using the bathroom.