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Bridget Reed Morawski is a contributing writer for USA TODAY Homefront. She most often covers energy, environment, sustainable design and travel. And enjoys train travel, volunteering at her local botanic garden and cooking up dinner parties. In Arizona, the peak gnat activity months are generally from April to October. During these months, the conditions are more favorable for breeding, leading to increased gnat activity.
Tiny Bugs in Your House—And How to Get Rid of Them
Sometimes called "no-see-ums" due to their tiny size, gnats are commonly confused with other flying pests. A gnat infestation is often fungus gnats, but your unwelcome flying visitors could also be drain flies, fruit flies, biting gnats, midges, or mosquitoes. Chances are you have a bottle of apple cider vinegar and some sugar sitting in your kitchen or pantry, and these two ingredients can help you get rid of gnats. Place a bowl near the infestation and fill it with vinegar before adding a teaspoon of plain sugar, which is what the gnats will be drawn to.
Common Types of Gnats
Tips and Tricks to Banish Fruit Flies From Your Kitchen Permanently - CNET
Tips and Tricks to Banish Fruit Flies From Your Kitchen Permanently.
Posted: Wed, 24 Apr 2024 11:15:00 GMT [source]
They seek shelter to keep them from frying in the sun, so they come into the house. They’re generally seen in the household around May to June, sometimes a month before or a month after. The word “gnats” is a large family of different species all encompassed under one name. They like sewers, septic systems, sinks, showers, gutters, spouts, and drains. They’re also seen around recyclables, eating the residues of alcohol bottles.
Insects That May Be The Small Black Flying Bugs in Your House (That Aren’t Fruit Flies)
Even a leaky pipe causing minimal mold or wood rot can provide gnats and other pests with food and water sources. If you can't find the source of your issue but know it must be somewhere, think outside the box to determine where it could be. Found throughout North America, fungus gnats, part of the Mycetophila genus, are typically the culprits for indoor gnat issues. Fungus gnats generally are between 1/8 and 1/4 inch long (4 to 7 mm) and can be brown, black, or yellowish. Pepper Moran is a pest control expert with over five years experience in educating homeowners on affordable and earth-friendly ways to protect their homes from pests. If none of these homemade bug traps seem to work, or if you don’t have all the ingredients present, there are plenty of premade gnat traps available to purchase.
Gnats vs Fruit Flies
Make sure there’s proper ventilation in the room when you do this and for an hour afterward. For best results, also scrub infested drain pipes with a wire brush and enzymatic cleanser. Gnats lay their eggs in the places they love to feed and hide, namely, dirty garbage disposals and drains, compost bins, garbage cans, and anywhere moist and humid. They will also lay eggs into rotting fruit and vegetables, including those in your fruit bowl or pantry. Pouring one cup of baking soda down your drain, followed by one cup of white vinegar, can help clean a kitchen sink drain and flush out the gnats along with it. What's more, it deodorizes your sink, so gnats are less likely to be drawn to your pipework.
You'll just have to keep an eye on it and replace the trap once it's full. Even without baking soda, vinegar and drain cleaner, you can pour boiling hot water into the sink to kill their eggs. This will also help get rid of any excess food and bacteria build-up. If you're wondering how to get rid of gnats quickly, look no further.
An Expert Guide on How to Get Rid of Gnats Inside Your House - Good Housekeeping
An Expert Guide on How to Get Rid of Gnats Inside Your House.
Posted: Mon, 15 Apr 2024 07:00:00 GMT [source]
If you find that the oils aren’t working, try increasing the oil concatenation by using less water or more oil. You can really go crazy with this and use whatever waste you’ve got lying around as a sneaky bait for the pests. Dish soap is the ultimate DIY technique to kill gnats instantly. It makes for a good homemade gnat killer and you can make a huge batch with very little soap. It also smells nice and only has to be replaced when it’s full of dead gnats because it doesn’t “go bad” quickly. This is when a bunch of mating gnats come together and mate, particularly around dusk.
Then, you can set up quarterly or bi-monthly scheduled treatments to continually prevent any issues in the future. You can also use red wine in place of water, sugar, and vinegar. A simple mixture of red wine and dish soap will also do the trick.
Gnats vs. Fruit Flies
For outdoor infestations, you can purchase an electric insect killer, or bug zapper, to install on your porch or patio. These products kill gnats with an electric charge when they fly into the device. Bug zappers are an excellent way to deter biting gnats in your yard but will not fully eliminate their population, only reduce it. Also, you shouldn’t install a product that’s meant to be used outdoors inside your home. Once indoors, gnats often infest trash cans, rotten fruit, and other moist places where decomposing organic matter exists.
If you decide to give these a try, get one that has decent reviews, a free return policy and is ADVERTISED to work against gnats. Find out before you buy or else you’re just wasting time. Especially if you constantly have gnats inside your house due to environmental conditions you have no control over (rural area, farmland, etc.). When you have gnats coming out of your drain or hovering around it, there’s likely some kind of sludge buildup. It’s also safe for use around people (since it’s edible), but you should still read all warnings first. If you like the aromatic scent of herbs, they can be used as a natural way to repel gnats.
For fruit flies, try a similar method to lure and trap them. This is a good way to remind your household to eat fruit before it starts to spoil. Treatments and solutions for how to get rid of gnats vs. fruit flies can vary, so it’s important to identify your pest properly. Protect yourself and your lungs properly, then dilute one-half cup of bleach with about one gallon of water and pour it down the affected drain. Kitchen sink drains are common spots where gnats lay eggs, especially in garbage disposals. They love the warm, moist environment and any food and bacteria build up that occurs there.
'They normally feed on decaying organic material, but when found in our homes, they are a real nuisance. To prevent and control this species of fly, do not overwater your plants. You can easily monitor for the presence of these pests with yellow sticky traps. There are simple water level indicators or monitors that can be bought from garden centers to ensure that plants are not over or underwatered.
Gnats are attracted to our regular light bulbs, so you need to get rid of them and replace them with sodium bulbs. The mere presence of these pesky insects in your house can leave you feeling twitchy. Take steps to prevent an infestation, and act quickly if the invaders set up shop in your home and garden. In this instance, Kennedy said that allowing “nature to take its course” may be your best option, as the bees will likely die naturally when it gets cold.
If you’re referring to fungus gnats, drain flies, or fruit flies, then no. Have gnats flying around your trash cans, sinks and houseplants? Luckily, there’s a clever hack for how to get rid of gnats, and it only requires a few household staples. If you’ve heard that how to get rid of gnats with white vinegar?
Overripe fruits and vegetables can attract gnats, so keep your kitchen clean and trash properly disposed of. Now that you’ve solved your gnat problem, you should follow these four best practices for preventing them from returning. These tips to remove pests’ food sources can help you keep your home free of other types of pests as well, such as cockroaches, house flies, and ants. One of the most effective ways of getting rid of gnats is to handle the breeding ground.
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