Are gnats invading your home?
What can be more annoying than tiny gnats buzzing around your kitchen and landing in your food! We have a couple tips to help you rid these pesky insects.
First, determine the source. Where are the gnats coming from?
Since gnats are very small they can easily make their way in through holes in your window screens. And if you tend to leave your doors open that is an invitation!
Once inside they are attracted to overly ripe fruit, garbage, and especially moist areas in the home. They will also gravitate towards light.
The most effective way of getting rid of these insects is to apply the methods near the source. Below are a few homemade techniques.
Vinegar Traps
You’ll need apple cider vinegar, sugar, dish soap, water, and a container.
In the container, mix two tablespoons of vinegar, 1 tablespoon of sugar, a few drops of soap, and 1 liter of water. Mix it well then place the container around the area where you see the most gnats. The insects get attracted to the smell of cider vinegar then succumb to their death when they touch the liquid mixture because of the soap. You may want to set up several small containers around the house to get a better idea of where the gnats are breeding.
Red Wine
Much like the vinegar trap, the trick here is to attract the gnats and fruit flies to the scent of red wine then drown them as soon as they make contact. You may also want to mix the wine with a bit of dish soap so the gnats are unable to fly always. Pour the wine into a small container. Wrap the top of the container with plastic wrap then punch a few holes in it. Set it up near the presence of the fruit flies and gnats overnight and let the magic happen.
Rotten or overripe Fruit
Take your overripe fruit and place it in a container, put plastic around the container and poke a few holes in the plastic. The gnats will fly in!
Do you have indoor house plants? It’s possible that the gnats are coming from the soil.
While these techniques help in the short term, finding the source of the gnat problem is key.
1. Clean up dirty dishes and don’t leave them lying around in the sink
2. Make sure your trash cans are covered. If your kitchen cans don’t have a cover, try using newspaper on the top of the trash (in between taking your trash out). The goal is to contain any odors.
3. Do you have indoor house plants? It’s possible that the gnats are coming from the soil. Change out the potting soil and invest in top-quality potting soil.
4. Get rid of damp areas. Gnats are attracted to damp areas in your kitchen, laundry room and bathrooms. Be sure and keep these areas as dry as possible.
Gnats are a big nuisance. Getting rid of the gnats seems simple, right? Well, it’s not quite that easy. See, gnats have a total life span of about four months, and a female can produce as many as 300 eggs, in small batches, in fermenting or decaying organic matter. This means that if you notice that you have a gnat problem but don’t know where it’s coming from, several dozen females can each lay a few hundred eggs in the time you spend looking for the source.
It’s a vicious cycle!
Hopefully the homemade techniques will rid you of these gnats!