Table Of Content
Also, you should look for gnat entry points and seal them up where possible. While these methods may thin the pests' numbers, they are not a permanent solution. Traps only catch adult gnats, which limits their effectiveness since a new generation will soon emerge to begin the infestation again. With warm weather comes a noticeable increase in gnat activity, both inside and outside the home. Fortunately, learning how to get rid of gnats is a simple task that requires just a few supplies. Use this guide to learn how to get rid of gnats in your house, in your garden and in your house plants.
Avoid Overwatering Houseplants
Finding tiny black bugs in your bathroom can be uncomfortable, to say the least. Especially if they are persistent, or they appear in very large numbers, which they often like to do. In fact, probably the best way to get rid of annoying larvae is to repot your plant with fresh soil. They love damp soil, so any plant that has been watered recently is like an all-inclusive resort to them.
How does a gnat infestation in the house start?
Fungus gnats have a very distinct odor when crushed between your fingers. If you're up for it, catch one, squish it, and take a whiff. Pepper Moran is a pest control expert with over five years experience in educating homeowners on affordable and earth-friendly ways to protect their homes from pests. The soil must go into a drought for a short time to dry out the eggs and larvae. This is a good practice regardless of whether or not you have fungus gnats, but a MUST if you have them already.
How to Get Rid of Gnats in Your Home for Good
So one way to fight them is to cut down on watering and let the soil dry. Generally, moth flies lay their eggs right under the drain opening on the sink. Often, the bottom part is covered in slime and scum, making it an ideal breeding place. There is likely to be rotting fruit, vegetables, and other matter inside your garbage. These are all attractive to gnats, which is why many are near your home. These traps usually last for a few months and use a solution to attract gnats to the traps.
Gnats are attracted to sweet scents, moisture, garbage, houseplants, and other warm, moist environments like your bathroom or kitchen. Gnats also live and reproduce in sink drains and garbage disposals due to the food residue, water, and shelter that drains provide. We already mentioned houseplants, above, in relation to the moisture that brings gnats to a house. The specific type that indoor plants can encourage are fungus gnats.
Kitchen Sink
'Genius' 89p trick that banishes fruit flies from your home this summer - Daily Record
'Genius' 89p trick that banishes fruit flies from your home this summer.
Posted: Tue, 04 Jul 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]
To clean the inside of your trash can, use a mixture of hot water and dish soap with a strong scrubber, such as the Non-Scratch, Super Long-Lasting Scrubbing Pad. These are multi-purpose and come with a “No-Nonsense Lifetime Satisfaction Guarantee”. Another example of integrated pest management happens in the garden soil. Each spring as the fresh strawberries start finding their way to my kitchen, the fruit flies show up as well. Now trust me, I am not letting those delicious strawberries rot on my countertop, but they do ripen and get sweeter by the day. The lovely fragrance of ripening fruit will attract pesky gnats.
For Heavy Infestations Consider Pest Control Professionals
These are fungus gnats, also known as house plant flies and sciarid flies. They're mostly harmless – adult gnats cause little or no harm to plants, but they can become a nuisance in the home. Their tiny worm-like larvae live in the top 5-8cm of compost, where they feed on algae, fungi and plant roots. Healthy house plants usually tolerate this minor root damage, but the larvae can harm seedlings or weak plants. Remember that traps and zappers only kill adult gnats, not eggs and larvae.
With smaller food scale production, more integrated pest management methods can be employed to combat pests. The good news is that there are multiple ways to eradicate gnats in and around your home. Along with vinegar, fruit flies like the smell of fruity beer and wine. Leave out an almost-empty open bottle of stale beer or old wine — the skinny neck will keep the flies trapped. Planting basil, lavender or mint around outdoor seating areas can help repel gnats.
Alternatively, these gnats may be drain flies that live in the sink or tub drains. To get rid of flies, try fly traps made with vinegar and dish soap, clean the drain with bleach, or call a professional pest control. Do you have small black flies living in your house plant compost?
Place 1 to 2 inches of sand on top of the soil to discourage standing water and deter gnats from laying eggs. For fruit flies, the easiest DIY option is a vinegar trap, which is simple and cost-effective to create. Simply place a few tablespoons of apple cider vinegar or white vinegar, a few drops of dish soap, and a tablespoon of sugar in a bowl and stir.
Simply by watering less often and using a gravel mulch you can break the fungus gnat lifecycle and stop them breeding in your house plant compost. Male gnats feed on plant nectar, while female biting gnats prefer to feed on blood as they need it to produce eggs that will develop properly. By using their specially-designed cutting teeth to puncture a host’s skin, gnat bites are different from bed bug or mosquito bites. When a gnat bites a human host, it injects an anti-clotting agent to prevent the wound from closing before they get an entire meal. Due to the way in which a gnat bites, it can be more painful than bites from other common pests. We chatted with Diana Ludwiczak, a home pest inspector certified in New York City, where unwanted bug invasions are quite common.
Thus, if you have a lingering gnat infestation, a professional pest control company can help address it. Licensed professionals have access to better equipment, insecticides, and training, so they’ll be able to spot the source of the infestation and treat it efficiently. The best companies have expertise in ridding your home of eggs, larvae, and adult gnats.
This product is an insecticide that has low toxicity and prevents the larvae from completing metamorphosis. For gnat problems on and around your houseplants, consider using diatomaceous earth. Sprinkle the fine powder in a thin layer on the soil; it will work to kill gnat larvae. “Cleaning is the number one thing you can do to get rid of gnats,” says Morgan.
Once you’ve successfully eradicated the gnats that have been bothering you, it's time to focus on prevention. Be sure to implement the following habits on a regular basis to keep gnats at bay. Gnats are like flies in that they’re usually spurred to go indoors by what they perceive as tasty scents. These range from obvious to less obvious, but you can usually pinpoint what attracts them with little fuss. Gnats are drawn to things that smell sweet and fruity, so if you use a lot of hygiene and beauty products with fruit scents, the gnats might well be drawn to you. If you already have a gnat problem, you definitely don’t want to make it worse by using these types of products.
Now, stir the content and place the bowl in locations frequented by gnats (such as your kitchen or bathroom). The sugar and apple cider vinegar mixture attracts gnats, while the dish soap traps and drowns them. ‘Fungus gnats are smaller than fruit flies and about one-sixteenth of an inch long and are a gray to black color.
Put your pan on the counter, add a bit of dish soap to the water and light the candle before turning the lights off. Since the gnats are attracted to the flame, they'll either hit the flame itself or fall into the water and drown. While the candle is lit, we recommend staying in the room to observe the flame until it's time for it to be blown out. Overripe fruits and vegetables can attract gnats, so keep your kitchen clean and trash properly disposed of. Pest control companies have access to strong commercial pest control chemicals as well as years of experience dealing with live bugs and larvae. They’ll know how to pinpoint where your infestation is coming from as well as how to treat the area so gnats don’t return.
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