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Get rid of old leaves or flowers that they’ll feed on as well. While they are irritating, do bear in mind, however, that the gnats won’t damage the plants themselves, although they can damage plant cuttings if you’re cultivating new ones. Gnats are inevitably present in nature, but as with keeping flies out of the house, a little know-how can rid your home of them. Good sanitation and housekeeping practices are key to prevention and dealing with any infestations. ‘A female fruit fly will lay over 500 eggs in her lifetime, and those eggs will hatch approximately 24 hours later,’ points out Damian Marcelo.
DIY Pest Control Techniques
Fungus gnats infest soil and feed upon decaying or damaged plant roots as well as fungi found in the soil. While not dangerous to humans, a fungus gnat infestation can be a nuisance indoors, as clouds of these tiny pests swarm and settle repeatedly. Overripe fruits, veggies, decaying food matter and moisture in drains are all culprits.
Where do gnats come from? Here's how to kill the pests, rid them from your house.
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Fill a pan with water and a bit of dish soap and add a candlestick with a tall, tapered candle in the middle. Light the candle, then make sure the rest of the room is dark. After a while, you’ll notice that the gnats have been drawn to it and ultimately perish by the heat or by dropping into the soapy mixture below.
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Garbage Heaps
First, we’ll show you how to identify the type of gnats you’re dealing with. Then we’ll provide some strategies for exterminating them and preventing them from returning. We’ll also give our recommendations for the top pest control companies in case DIY methods prove insufficient. Inside your house, use sterile potting soil to avoid unwanted problems and pests such as the Miracle-Gro Indoor Potting Mix. This mix is designed to be less prone to gnats and contains no compost or bark, which can attract fungus gnats.
Leftover food will attract gnats and create all kinds of unwanted smells in your kitchen. On the same note, throw out your garbage, and until you do, make sure it stays in a sealed container. The same goes for any compost bins you might have — don’t leave them open throughout the day. “Cleaning is the number one thing you can do to get rid of gnats,” says Morgan.
Fungus Gnat Life Cycle
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.
If none of these solutions seem to be working and the gnats keep returning, it may be time to call in a professional. A pest control company can help you tackle a serious or persistent infestation. Position a tall candle into a candlestick, before placing it in a small pan filled with water. 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 gnats reproduce quickly, you may need to try a few methods to get rid of them all. Natural methods are the best first line of defense, so try these before turning to chemical solutions. Other signs of a gnat infestation are your plants wilting, losing leaves, and turning yellow.
Kyle Morgan, owner of Care Pest Pros in Spicewood, Texas, says the bugs are mainly a problem outdoors in spring and summer, but they’ll hang out indoors all year round. Not only are these “clouds” of gnats generally annoying, some species also bite humans and pets. Some gnats lay their eggs in soil, where the larvae can damage plant roots. 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.
Trash the old soil, and wash the plant’s roots as best you can. Thoroughly clean out the container, and replant your greenery in fresh soil. If the gnats don’t appear to be attracted to fruit or vinegar, you can also make a trap out of a candle. Place the lit candle in a dish of soapy water to attract the gnats and turn out the overhead light. They may burn up in the flame or drop into the water and drown.
For me, I typically find them around my ever-so ripe bananas. The scent is also the reason gnats mostly live around flower beds. I suggest using a homemade trap to catch the gnats that come into your home. Below I have identified the 7 most common reasons why you have so many gnats in your home.
To prevent infection, use an anti-itch cream and monitor for any worsening symptoms. There are almost as many ways to get rid of gnats as there are different types of them. However, the following are some of the most tried-and-true methods for getting rid of gnats and quelling the infestation. When you hear the word "gnat," images of tiny bugs may buzz around your brain. While you might have a certain flying foe in mind, "gnat" refers to more than one species.
We back up our pest control recommendations with a detailed rating methodology that we use to objectively score each provider. Invest in an insecticidal spray that's safe for indoor use, like the Zevo Fly, Gnat & Fruit Fly Flying Insect Spray (which also happens to be a GH Seal holder). It uses geraniol and lemongrass oil, which are bio-insecticides that don't need to be registered with the EPA, to kill gnats on contact.
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. Take the right measures and you can do plenty to prevent an infestation of gnats in your home. Although fungus gnats and drain flies aren’t thought to be harmful to human health, that doesn’t mean they don’t cause a nuisance plus who wants them buzzing around? Fruit flies, meanwhile, can transfer germs compromising kitchen hygiene. Know the attractions and you can avoid or lessen the problem.
With smaller food scale production, more integrated pest management methods can be employed to combat pests. These pests are frequently referred to as gnats, even though they don't look much like them up close. Both are generally outdoor pests, but they can end up inside, especially during summer evenings when it is warm, and they are attracted to sources of light around the home. You can do that by leaving an uncapped bottle of vinegar where there’s an infestation. You can cover its opening with transparent plastic wrap and poke holes in it.
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. They may attempt to fly into the flame or simply fall into the soapy water and die.
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