How to Get Rid of Gnats or Fruit flies

So here are these tiny little guys flying all around your house. They look like fruit-flies but there is no fruit, there is no reason that these things should be hanging around. It does not matter where you live or what season it is, these pests show up and plan to stay. Read on to learn how to get rid of them.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• 1 slightly tall clear jar
• vinegar
• sugar
• funnel
• bleach

How to get rid of fruit-flies/gnats

1. Pour a good amount of bleach down the drain on your basement floor because sometimes those little buggers will come up through there.

2. At night before you get ready for bed, take the jar and fill it about half way with vinegar and then throw in about a cup of sugar. This is not a recipe so do not worry about accuracy.

3. Stir it up real good until the sugar is dissolved. Place the funnel in the jar as if you were planning to pour something into it.

4. If you have multiple floors in your home add a jar on each floor. Now you have to make sure that the kitchen does not have anything laying around that is more appealing to the bugs than that solution is as they are attracted to it for some reason.

5. Make sure the dishes are all done, counters cleared off, stove wiped off, and trash taken out or these pests will find a different spot to hang besides in your jar. When you wake up, all or most of the bugs will be trapped in the jar because they can get in but they can not get out of that funnel.

Tips & Warnings

• The more jars that you place, the higher your success rate will be.
• If you see any that you did not capture then you may have to use the jar more than one night.

[angelaluvskeith]

on 10/15/2009 I was wondering if these type of flies/gnats are also due to any kind of water backup or mold, etc.. We have a leak in our laundry rm and it was "fixed" by the company we rent from and I dnt think the work was fixed properly, so now our house is infested with these and I'm going broke buying "sprays that kill fruit flies/gnats" I mean I've never seen anything like this. We never leave dishes in the sink or food out, etc.. Also I was wondering if anyone knows of a "bomb" treatment we could setoff while we're at work. I've got to get rid of these things, there absolutely driving me insane.. please someone help me... thanx

[onestaorganics]

on 6/27/2009 I like this article, I use a similar homemade trap myself and I really appreciate the thoughts on cleanliness and keeping fruits and veggies out of reach. However, I'd never use bleach and pour it down the drain. In my opinion, this just adds to our environmental problem even if the sewage water gets 'cleaned' (bleach is a concern and I only use it sparingly, never in a wash either, I live with off-white clothes if it comes to it).
If I'd like to clean my drain with something, I'd use boiling water and or ozonated water.
Heidi @ www.onestaorganics.com

[artistserious]

on 6/11/2009 yeah in summer flies get up and down at edibles. now best way is to keep your place and items clean. even one should keep oneself clean.

[kymmie87]

on 5/13/2009 ps this started working within minutes, although if you only have a few here and there it make take a little while to capture the few around.

[kymmie87]

on 5/13/2009 i dont know if the last one posted.you can also do 1/2 cup vinegar and 1 tbsp of dawn dish liquid soap. you can also use tin foil and poke holes in it with a pin or toothpick