You do your best to ensure you clean up sugary spills, sweep the floor regularly, and even reach your arm in between the refrigerator and counter when your children throw food down there.
Even though you’ve seemingly done everything right, you still have a gnat problem in your home. The bad news is, gnats are annoying. They buzz loudly around the house, and you worry about friends and family, thinking you keep a dirty home.
The good news is, they’re easier to get rid of when you follow the right steps. In this article, we’re providing you with all the tips and tricks you need to learn how to get rid of gnats and keep them away for good.
In This Article
1. First Understand Why You Have Them and From Where
The most important thing you need to keep in mind is the reason why you have gnats in the first place. They intrude into your home for a reason, and if you don’t find that reason, you’ll waste a lot of time getting rid of them; because they’ll come back.
While gnats are most commonly found outdoors, there are a few reasons why they might come inside your home:
- Wet or rotted indoor potted plants (the roots can rot too)
- Moist conditions (basements, refrigerator drip pans, etc.)
- Rotting food (garbage disposals or forgotten fruits and vegetables)
While trying to rid your home of gnats, you want to look for the previously mentioned causes of these pests before you try to kill them. If you eliminate the comfortable breeding environment, you won’t have gnats.
2. The Apple Cider Vinegar Trap
Once you’ve discovered the reason behind your gnats, you can work to drive them out of your home. The most popular strategy is taking two teaspoons of apple cider vinegar, a spoonful of sugar, a few drops of dish soap, and putting it into a half cup of room temperature water.
The sugar draws them in, and when they go to take a drip, the soap makes it difficult for them to escape, and they eventually die in the mixture. Whip up this formula and place it wherever the gnats seem to be the worst.
3. Try Sticky Fly Paper
Something is satisfying about seeing all the pests you caught on fly paper. This strategy works, and it’s easy to set up. Of course, you don’t want these sticky ribbons hanging all over your house. It works best if your gnat problem is in a basement or somewhere that is away from the main living areas of your home.
Be careful using these if you have pets because cats and dogs will be curious and especially attracted to the gnats trying to escape from the sticky glue.
4. The Candle Trick
If you’re looking for a simple and more discreet trick, you can light a tall candle and place it in a small pan of water. Dim the light in the room and watch the gnats fly towards the light. When they get close enough to the flame, they will fall and land in the water below.
The only downside to this strategy is you may have to supervise the candle while it’s lit, but it’s an effective method of getting rid of gnats.
5. Lure Them in
We might be contradicting ourselves here, but go ahead and take some rotten bananas or apples and place them in a large bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and poke small holes in it using a toothpick. The rotten fruit will attract the gnats, and they’ll make their way inside the bowl. Once they’re in the bowl, they won’t be able to get back out.
6. Pay Attention to Your Drains
An often overlooked reason for gnats are sink drains, and basement floor drains. Gnats will lay their eggs in moist areas, whether it be rotten food, wet soil, fungus, or drain buildup. If there are any dark and damp places in your home, gnats will breed there.
Locate any drains in your home and treat them with bleach or a drain cleaning solution. Make sure you protect yourself and don’t breathe in too much of the fumes. If you pour the mixture into the drain and you notice a bunch of fleeing gnats, you know you found the breeding ground.
7. Consider an Insecticide
We don’t recommend spraying a ton of chemicals throughout your home, but sometimes you have to do whatever it takes to get rid of gnats. There are healthier solutions compared to the traditional insect sprays, but you can use your own judgment as to which product you choose. Be careful if you have pets or small children and only spray the insecticide in a safe location.
8. Call in the Professionals
When all else fails, you can always reach out to a professional pest control company in your local area. If the gnats become unbearable and they are interrupting your life, you’ll want to call upon the assistance of a professional. They’ll take the necessary steps towards locating the source of the gnats and eliminating them for good.
8. Final Thoughts
Learning how to get rid of gnats is an ongoing struggle for many people, but it doesn’t have to be for you. Use the tips outlined in this article, and you should have no problem finding peace and tranquility in your home once again.
Keep in mind that you can also use these tips if you have an outdoor gnat problem on a porch, patio, or outdoor living space.
