How Do I Get Rid of These Stupid Gnats?

I have the same problem with those pesky gnats too. I also tried the vinegar and dish soap. It did work a little. The cup had a lot of dead gnats in it, but the smell was horrible. I don't know what was worse, the gnats or the awful smell! They have come back since I don't have the vinegar sitting out anymore and they are all over the house not just in the kitchen. I don't leave fruit/veggies out and I don't have a cat! I would love to know of any other solutions also. Sorry A., I know I didn't really help you much, but maybe we will both get an answer!

I am in the same boat as you! I asked the exterminator and he said he has seen a lot of problems this year with gnats. He told me to put bleach down the drain and plug the drain. I don't keep fruit out either so it is very frustrating as I don't know where they are all coming from. I did have fresh flowers but already had the gnats before the cut flowers and now those have been thrown out and still I have gnats. House plants can be a culprit and there is something to treat the soil for that. The exterminator said I can make a trap for them by setting out a glass of red wine vinegar that will attract them. As I am writing this to you one is flying around me. Very gross.

From what I've seen on the 'net, I think my answer is to buy finer mesh screens & seal around them with tape. My little black gnats appear to come from outside; they don't really venture into the house, thank goodness. As a new resident to this area of Ks City Missouri, I am told 'everyone' in the area has them. They appear to come in trhough the screen of any open window - especially our sun porch (which is closer to a nursery) - and then literally hang out on the screen until they die, presumably trying to get back out, or just staying warm in the sun. Some of the screens get coated with them until we vacuum them or shake them off. I like the fly strip tip below .. They are highly annoying! -GB in KC MO

I don't have any suggestions but wanted to let you know that I don't have any pets and am having the same problem. I'll be watching for suggestions. Mine seem to stay around my sink. Not sure why. I haven't been leaving stuff in the sink for more than a couple minutes.

Have you tried a fogger? You set the fogger off and leave the house for 2 hours, come back and air it out. Those are pretty effective.

Hi, A.. I got an e-mail from a friend just recently about getting rid of gnats and bugs...by putting Listerine mouthwash in a spray bottle and spraying it where needed. I spray it around my doors and windows, countertops, cat box (yes, I have cats too) etc., and it won't hurt you or the cats if it happens to get near food. I was skeptical myself but since I had such a bad problem with the gnats and fruit flies, I tried it and it actually worked! Good luck to you!

Do you have any house plants??? Check them because sometimes they are the ones infested with the gnats. Treat the plants and say goodbye to the nasty gnats. :) Hope that helps.

I will be reading these answers thoroughly! I just wanted to let you know we've got them this year too (we've never had them before) and they have been at everyone's house I've been to and at the store. They just must be really bad this year from the wet weather or something! Take heart, it isn't just your home!

if you have a garage you might want to put the litter box in the garage. I never liked the litterbox smell so we put a small pet door that opens both directions in the inside door to the garage and put the litter box in the garage so it doesn't smell up the house. If we get a lot of flies, gnats, mosquitos, etc flying around in the garage usually because someone left it open with the light on at night we plug in the bug zapper light overnight and that gets rid of the pesky flying insects in the garage. Just a suggestion for the litterbox if you have a garage. We also have the cats food in the garage as well. To train the cat to go through the door, we just put him through it back and forth a few times and took him to the litterbox and food and he seemed to use it right away whenever he wanted to eat or use the box.

Where do you store your potatoes? You might want to check that area as well. If potatoes were rotten and the residue is still on the shelf or wherever you keep them that could be the problem too. I have a potato bin and put a trash bag in the bottom to line it so if the potatoes do rot it isn't soaking into the wood. The potatoes were our last problem with gnats. We had tons of them and couldn't figure out where they were coming from until one day I opened the potato bin and they were getting rotten and were thousands of gnats in there. GROSS! but we never did smell the rotten potatoes so you might want to check those if you have any in the house. It took a week to get rid of those gnats but have a few fly around once in a while especially if we have bananas in the house. Once the potatoes were thrown out it helped the gnat problem.

To get rid of pesky fruit flies or gnats, take a small glass, fill it 1/2' with Apple Cider Vinegar and 2 drops of dish washing liquid. Mix well. You will find those flies drawn to the cup and gone forever!

They may not be fruit flies. Termites swarm at certain times of the year. Dont know what time of year. Maybe an externimater could help.

We had this problem, too. This year was the worst, but I have succeeded in getting rid of them - YIPPEE!! I poured a cup of bleach down each sink and shower drain. I took three small glass storage dishes and filled each about 3/4 full with cider vinegar and Dawn dish soap. I covered each dish with Glad Wrap, then poked several holes in the top of the covering. I pleased these in 3 different areas of the house. After 2 days, I saw several gnats in the liquid. They can get in, but can't get out. I left this out for a little over a week. I haven't seen a gnat in the house since. Good luck to you.

Fruit flys are also called sewer flies. They like to hang out & lay eggs in your garbage disposal & your other drains. Notice how you see quite a few of them every time you run water in your sink? Try pouring bleach down EVERY drain & then flush w/water after bleach has been there for 10-15 minutes. You could do the same w/boiling water but I'm too impatient to wait for the water to boil! LOL Anyway, do this 2x's per day until they are gone. You might want to also clean out your disposal by pouring in ice cubes & detergent down w/it on to clean out any crud the flies would love. There is no need to fog your house. My husband says that the foggers you buy do so little while adding so much toxins into your home. He said there are more ways that are safer that do just as good a job if not better that won't harm you & your family. Personally, I wouldn't use a fogger.

BTW, bananas have fruitfly eggs on them 99% of the time, so when you bring them in from the grocery store be SURE to rinse them completely. You won't see them so you just have to rinse them & hope you got them all. Honeltly, I'd wait on buying bananas until you get the fruit fly situation under control. Oh, I also had this problem recently & they liked the litter box & diaper pail as well. I HTH. Good luck!

Put the apple cider vinager in a bud vase and fill almost to the top, put in drops of dish soap and line the rim of the top of the vase with dish soap. This is the ONLY thing that has killed our 3 year problem with fruit flies. It takes a few weeks before they are ALL gone, put I can happily say my house if fruit fly/gnat free!! Good Luck!!

Ive also been wondering what these are...gnats or fruit flies?? or are they the same?? I do find they love cat food....and they LOVE dirty diapers (not that I leave them laying around, but like in the diaper pails, they are always in there..its DISGUSTING!!) I will have to try out the bleach in the drains...to see if that is where they are coming from???? I've never had them until this year...when I added a baby (diapers) and had to start feeding my older cat wet food (yuk)...the flies love that stuff...ewwwww!

We had a terrible problem with gnats at our old house, it went on for a year!! I truly felt like they were making me insane, I started seeing gnats when they weren't even there. We figured out that the problem was our disposal and the pipes leading to the main drain and out of the house. You might try pouring bleach down your drains and letting it sit for a while and see if that helps.

Good Luck, M.

Every year around this time we get flies and gnats terribly. It sounds so simple, but we buy the sticky fly strips that come four in a pack only for a couple of dollars. We put it in an inconspicuous place (thumb tacked to the ceiling), in the kitchen and it works wonders! Seriously, it sounds absurd that something so easy would work, but try it..you'll only be out a couple of dollars if it doesn't work for you :)

Honestly, we have them more in our kitchen, then in our basement bathroom where the litter boxes are! I've heard everyone complaining about them this year, as they are bad. I don't know how to get rid of them, hoping to find ways from your post ; ) LoL But just wanted to let you know, in my case it's not the litter box.... Hope you find a solution!

We have 4 cat boxes and don't have a fruit fly problem now. What about plants or standing water? Is there possibly a wet spot in your basement you have forgotten about? They are breeding someplace. We had a terrible time when my grow room was in full bloom in the basement. We decided to tear it down for the summer to save money since the lights are so hot and then it needs to be air conditioned. Just like that, the flies are gone and we do keep a lot of fruit around the house.

The other thing is, when we've had them in the past we have tracked them down to apple cores being thrown away in trash cans in bedrooms. Could your 6 year old be putting them under the bed, behind the couch, in some corner someplace?

Suzi

We don't have cats, but had them again this year. It was worse than last year. They used to hang around the sink in my kitchen, but this year they were EVERYWHERE and in every room. We don't keep food out either, so I don't know why they were in here. We got some of those Hot Shot bug strips (white plastic cases with yellow strips inside...about 5 or 6 bucks each at WalMart). They are spendy, but those little suckers were completely cleared out of my house within a couple of days. It says not to use them around pets or inside living areas, but neither our kids nor our puppy grew extra body parts or became disfigured, so they dont actually harm anything except the bugs. I only used two of them... one in the kitchen and one in the bathroom, and the entire house was free of them. Well worth it in my opinion.

A., I think what you have are drain flies and not gnats. I have gotten rid of them by pouring boiling water into all my drains and other people recommend using a sink cleaner with bleach to keep them from coming back. Both methods do work pretty well.

Good luck.

Most gnats are soil born so if you have any live plants try treating those as well you can buy a solution you put into the water you pour into your plants soil at any garden center. Next I would look at your disposal if you have one.

I do not have pets or food on my counters and still those pesty bugs fly around. I discovered a lot of them in and around the shower drain. Thinking it might be a big of mold attracting them. I cleaned the drain very well. taking the plate off. It was yucky down there. but after cleaning it and spraying/ bombing the house. There are not so many.
Check out the drains of sinks, tubs and showers. Some of these like the taste of mold / mildew. Like soap scum gets.
Does not mean u have a dirty house, just the hiding stuff, especially around here with the humidity.
some drains have the elbow in them, make sure there is a bit of water in the elbow, some of these breed in the drains and sewer pipes. Come back up thru them into the house to bug us.

Well, it's that time of year. Bakeing soda and vinegar. If that doesn't work you are going have to clean your drains take them apart and scrub them down. Gnats have a life span of 24 hours that is it.