How to Get Rid of Indoor Gnats

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From Quick Guide: Remove Garden Pests

Summary: Indoor gnats, which are also known as fungus gnats, are not only annoying. Their larvae feed on plant stems and roots and can cause considerable damage to seedlings and small plants. Luckily, you can get rid of these obnoxious little pests without using harsh chemicals.

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By Willi Galloway
eHow Contributing Writer

Willi Evans Galloway loves to read, write, talk about, and teach people how to garden organically and grow their own food. For the past five years, she has worked as the West Coast...read more

Difficulty: Moderately Easy
Instructions

    Preventing an Infestation

  1. Step 1

    Select healthy, bug-free plants for your home. Avoid the problem in the first place by keeping them away from your home.

  2. Step 2

    Isolate new plants from your existing houseplants and keep an eye out for signs of insects and diseases. If you don't notice any problems after two weeks you're in the clear to move the new plants to their permanent locations. This is a super easy way to prevent spreading problems to your healthy plants.

  3. Step 3

    Fungus gnats thrive in warm, moist environments. Allowing the soil to dry between waterings kills gnat larvae and makes your plant less hospitable to adult gnats looking for a place to lay eggs.

  4. Ousting the Bugs

  5. Step 1

    If your plant does develop a fungus gnat problem, the first thing you should do is isolate the affected plant so the problem does not spread to healthy plants.

  6. Step 2

    You can then trap and drown adult gnats by placing apple cider vinegar or wine in a small bowl near the problem plant.

  7. Step 3

    Remove 1/4 inch of topsoil and replace with sand. Fungus gnats prefer moist soil with a lot of organic matter and will avoid plants top dressed with sand.

  8. Step 4

    If you can't get the gnat population under control you will need to repot the plant in sterile potting soil. Gently remove as much of the original soil from around the roots and trim out any diseased or rotting roots prior to repotting in fresh soil.

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on 5/5/2009 Thanks for the info it really helped

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on 3/20/2009 What the heck happened to the set up of the article??? Banana peels also make gnats in warm weather. Make sure to empty the trash frequently.

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on 11/19/2008 Thanks for the info!

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on 10/29/2008 Great advice Thanks for sharing

Angel

hilltogo said

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on 7/28/2008 I have gnats in the freezer! Why? How? They are lying on the shelf above the ice tray and also frozen in ice cubes. Will try the sweet coffee but not sure that will work. Maple syrup is too expensive to use! They are in the kitchen and elsewhere in house. Yuck.

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eHow Article: How to Get Rid of Indoor Gnats

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