Gnats Are Getting on My G-nerves!

If you are a wine drinker leave a quarter of the bottle in the bottle (red wine). Leave the open bottle out. The smell will draw them in and they will drown in the wine. Leave it out for a couple of days.

I have them too. I put fly paper out and bought flying insect spray. It has helped but they are still there. My friend says to put out an open bottle of juice or wine & they will all go to it??? I'm going to try that tom. Good luck.

We had a minor leak in the fridge water lines, the water was under the fridge and we didnt see it. But they loved it!

No worries, Becky, everyone gets them! I've brought fresh produce home from the grocery store that had gnats and it drives me crazy.
We've done the soap in apple vinegar, the wine, etc. Sometimes the soap smell is too strong and they don't respond as well. The best solution I've found is to take a glass and put a piece of fruit in the bottom. Banana or fresh pinneapple work great - the riper and sweeter the better. Cover the glass with plastic wrap and use a rubber band to secure it. Poke a small hole in the top and set it near where most of the gnats are. They'll be attracted to the fruit and climb in but can't get out. After a couple of days you should have caught most of them. I just run water through the hole and drown them.
Be aware that they lay eggs and it may take a couple of days to hatch so you may have to do this a couple of times. I know, totally disgusting to think about! but this solution works every time for me.

People mentioned the garbage disposal, but don't forget about your trashcan. Sometimes they are attracted to little drips on your trashcan, so be sure to wash it thoroughly too (inside and out).

Good luck!
L.

I had this problem during the summer. The dish soap didn't work for me so I used the clorox bleach spray and sprayed as I saw them. They could be flying any where and I misted them. Day by day and they were eventually eliminated. Good luck!

set out a bowl of vinager and water....works every time. and who knows where those darn gnats come from?? good luck, may take a few days

You can also get pheremone traps for houseflies or gnats. Some are like sticky traps, others are liquid in a jar that they fly into and get trapped. I also read a tip online to create a trap. Create a funnel out of a sheet of paper, place on top of a bottle or jar that has bait in the bottom (juice, banana peel, apple cider vinegar, etc). We taped around the paper to make sure they couldn't get out around the edge. They fly in, but can't get back out. It worked pretty well last time we had them. They are odd how they will appear out of no where. Usually, it seems bananas, fruit or something in the garbage attracts them.

Flying insect spray from the store works for us! Sometimes they can breed in the garbage disposal, and that's where ours were coming from.

I agree with Stephanie. I have issues with them from time to time. Apple cider vinegar with a drop of dishsoap (that kills them) works. I've done it many times. Leave it overnight and you'll see them dead in the mixture in the morning. Sometimes they are just around - bananas, oranges or maybe something you can't see. We all get them so don't fret. They ARE annoying though!

I'm not sure how to get rid of them, but I can recommend a wonderful pest control company. Call Tommy Everest with National Pest Control - he's half the price of anybody else, delivers quality work and is a reputable family business. His number is ###-###-####
M. Rowe
James Rowe Plumbing, Inc.

I figured out how to get rid of them in my kitchen. I had them really bad and they were driving me crazy too. I took a piece of fruit and put it in a small cup with a little water. I used a peach and cut it in half. Then I topped it with plastic wrap and punched some small holes in the top with a toothpick. The gnats were drawn into the cup to eat the fruit but couldn't get out and they fell into the water and died. I left 2 cups out for about a week where I saw the gnats and they were gone.

Don't know if this will work for you, but it is worth a try.

They are pest and let me tell you, you do not have to have any of that stuff for them to be in your house, its winter and they just show up! I bought the Gnat strips from Lowes, you just hang them by the sink for a couple of days and they are gone. they don't stick to it, they will just die!!!!

wisegeek.com - Fill a jar with vinegar and poke holes in the lid. The gnats will climb into the jar, but they won't be able to climb out. For those that remain in the house, try putting vegetable oil around your kitchen sink drain. Gnats finding themselves coated in the oil will be unable to breed. If you're not interested in potentially clogging your drain with vegetable oil, pouring a cup of ammonia down your kitchen sink is said to get rid of any flies hovering around that area. Let it sit for a couple of hours before using the sink again.

As mentioned, I have always heard to use apple cider vinegar.

Are you sure that they are gnats? They aren't usually around this time of year. If they are "softbodied, they are probably gnats. If they are "hardbodied" they aren't gnats and you may have an infestation of "bugs" that love flour, crackers, cereal, etc. Look in your pantry for these.

About a cup of red wine in a bowl with a DROP of dish detergent.

They could be in your drain. Take an old tooth brush and pour liquid soap all over the bristles. Stick down into the area where your disposal is while the disposal is off and swab around and around. If they aren't there then I have no other ideas.

Not sure if this only works on the gnats that come in with fruit, in the summer, but might work on all gnats:

Put about 1/2"-3/4" of apple cider vinegar in small jars (baby food jars work well!), add a drop or two of dish detergent and cover with plastic wrap and rubber bands. Poke holes in plastic wrap, and place around your house. The apple cider vinegar attracts them, the dish detergent traps them in it. It takes a little time, but it works and it is non-toxic and easy.

I haven't personally tried this but I read that if you put some wine in a bowl, cover it tightly with plastic wrap, quickly turn it upside down and then back(to coat the plastic) and then poke some small holes in the plastic- you should set this on your counter or where you have gnats- they will be attracted to the wine but unable to find their way out of the bowl because of the plastic wrap.
Good luck!
~C.

We have a pest guy come out a few times a year and about 3 months ago we were having the same exact problems. He told us that usually there is a cause somewhere in the house and that you just have to find it and eliminate it. Our cause ended up being the garbage disposer. No matter how small you think the food particles are some still get left behind and don't get washed down the drain. The gnats breed in there and end up everywhere. What we did was poor some bleach down the drain and closed off the sink pipes for a few hours (we did it while we weren't home) We found you do have to do this a few times to get all the gnats but we haven't seen a single one in a few months. Good Luck. I know how annoying those little bugs can be.

We had them in the bathroom (they would migrate to other areas of the house) a few years ago. It took forever to find out where they were coming from. Finally found out that we had a cracked sewer pipe under the foundation what fun. But during the process of trying to figure out where they were coming from we cleaned everything including the air conditioner vents in the house, and poured bleach down every drain once a day. So they can come from anywhere that has a water source for them. I am sure that you do not have any cracked pipes but the bleach down all of the drains should take care of the problem. Good luck.

I have heard cleaning with vinegar helps to control them.
GL

I put apple cider vinegar in a little bowl with some lemon scented dish soap. They love it.

At night, put a little bleach in the drains of all your sinks and plug them before you go to bed. It should help tremendously, too. Don't forget the tub drains. I think they lay their eggs in the moist drains.

Another thing that is a culprit is fresh fruits that you have out on the counter. I kept getting gnats and read somewhere that putting all fruit in the fridge instead of on the counter will help. I saw a huge difference when I started doing this. My bananas get dark quicker but they are fine when I peel them.

Any potted plants you have in your house- cover the dirt with sand, just regualr sand box sand. I promise it will work!

For those attracked to your sink (e.g. garbage disposal), you should periodically pour boiling water and a little bleach down the drain. It also helps with any odor.