How to Keep Gnats Out

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By mstexasladybug
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Gnat

We all hate these pests and once they infest your office, home or apartment, it’s nearly impossible to finally get rid of them. I had a huge infestation on year and thought I was going to go crazy trying to get rid of all of them. I swear one night, I saw them fly away with my dinner... plate and all! So I said to myself “THIS IS WAR!.” I began doing research on all the techniques of how to trap them and kill them. The truth is, you can’t really kill them because they have a breeding cycle that is nonstop. Your apartment exterminator can’t even kill them because they fly around all the time. So frustrating, right!! You may manage to kill most of the adults, but before long here comes what I call the “no see ums”, these are baby GNATS. They do get in your hair and your pet’s hair and bite and those bites can become infected. If you live in an older apartment or house, you may have noticed them doing a sky dive right for your food, your pet’s food and even your face. I’ve tried the vinegar trick and all it did was make a mess when I accidentally knocked over the jar. I finally figured out where they were coming from, and what attracts them the most. Here’s what I discovered:

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

Fly Strips
Household Bleach
Fingernail Polish Remover

Step 1

GNATS love fruit. Put your fruit in a pillow case. They also love coffee grinds from a freshly made pot of coffee. After you’ve made your coffee, take those grinds, put them in a paper shopping bag and store in the freezer until trash day.
Step 2

GNATS also come up from your drains. Have you ever noticed that as soon as you turn on the water one or two will come flying out? The best way to stop this is to pour a little household bleach in your drains at night before you go to bed. Keep your drain plugged up and take some toilet paper and plug up those little holes in your sink so they can’t escape. Tacky? Yes! But who cares when you are at war! Make sure you plug up all the drains in your house. When you go to wash your hands or take a bath, let some water fill up in your sink or tub before unplugging the drain. This will wash those critters down the drain before they have a chance of escaping. GNATS tend to go back to the same place of breeding every time, so see if you can follow them to their home base. I also discovered that they were nesting in my toilet brush holder, so I put some bleach in there as well, although pine sole works best. If you live in an apartment, I don’t recommend putting garbage in your kitchen trash bag. You may think it’s sealed with that little twist tie but those little critters get in anyway. Take that garbage to the dumpster and if you can’t get to the dumpster, and you have room in your freezer, put it in a paper bag and keep it in your freezer until you can take it to the dumpster. It’s going to freeze anyway and won’t smell up your freezer.
Step 3

GNATS know how to sneak into your place thru the slightest crack in your windows. So take your bug spray and make sure that you spray all around the outside of your windows, especially where the top and bottom windows meet. I’ve also found that a strip of masking tape not only keeps the air out but keeps the GNATS out as well.
Step 4

GNATS are stow aways! As soon as you or your kids open that door, they hitch a ride on your hair and on your pet. Try to remember to rub your hair and your pet’s hair a bit before entering the house.
Step 5

Another thing I’ve noticed about GNATS is that they can squeeze thru that little opening in your door even when it’s closed. So to keep this from happening, just hang a fly strip right beside your door. They will try to follow you in but they get snagged by the strip. These fly strips are nontoxic and are safe around children. GNATS also love to nest in plants on your patio and in your home. Put your plants outside if possible. Keep the watering to a minimum and hang some fly strips behind your plants and trees where no one can see them.

Comments

AbbyNormal said

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on 8/31/2008 Pouring bleach down your drain is not good for the environment nor your septic tank (if you have one). When I notice gnats (hitched a ride on my fruit), I have a bottle (just for this) of hand sanitizer that I open and the gnats just love this and once in, they get caught in the gel. There are other articles that say beer, etc. I agree that you shouldn't water your plants excessively.