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Gnats in the house?

The Sum of Awe

Brought to you by the moment that spacetime began.
I feel like my house is pretty clean, I wash the bedding every couple of weeks, I throw garbage food out every day (nothing stays in the indoor garbage overnight) and I wash my countertops once or twice a week when I do the dishes, and my dishes I rinse off before leaving them in the sink.

Yet I see a couple of gnats flying around. It's not like I have a swarm but they're there. It's bugging me. The only way I see them getting in is through the window screens tbh.

Anyways, it's only a couple but it's often enough to disturb me. Should I worry about this? I see they're able to crawl between the cupboard doors and that's where I store my food like chips and cereal (which are rolled shut).

I don't want to bug-fog again until November because that's when the bugs really start to move in.
 

JustGeorge

Not As Much Fun As I Look
Staff member
Premium Member
I feel like my house is pretty clean, I wash the bedding every couple of weeks, I throw garbage food out every day (nothing stays in the indoor garbage overnight) and I wash my countertops once or twice a week when I do the dishes, and my dishes I rinse off before leaving them in the sink.

Yet I see a couple of gnats flying around. It's not like I have a swarm but they're there. It's bugging me. The only way I see them getting in is through the window screens tbh.

Anyways, it's only a couple but it's often enough to disturb me. Should I worry about this? I see they're able to crawl between the cupboard doors and that's where I store my food like chips and cereal (which are rolled shut).

I don't want to bug-fog again until November because that's when the bugs really start to move in.

Fly strips help, if you can find the right area to put them in..

Pests with wings just seem to happen this time of year in this region...
 

exchemist

Veteran Member
I feel like my house is pretty clean, I wash the bedding every couple of weeks, I throw garbage food out every day (nothing stays in the indoor garbage overnight) and I wash my countertops once or twice a week when I do the dishes, and my dishes I rinse off before leaving them in the sink.

Yet I see a couple of gnats flying around. It's not like I have a swarm but they're there. It's bugging me. The only way I see them getting in is through the window screens tbh.

Anyways, it's only a couple but it's often enough to disturb me. Should I worry about this? I see they're able to crawl between the cupboard doors and that's where I store my food like chips and cereal (which are rolled shut).

I don't want to bug-fog again until November because that's when the bugs really start to move in.
If they are gnats, they won't cause any trouble in the house.
 

The Sum of Awe

Brought to you by the moment that spacetime began.
Fly strips help, if you can find the right area to put them in..

Pests with wings just seem to happen this time of year in this region...
Thanks for the tip! Oddly I haven't had much a problem with them before this, only occasionally, but that could be because I've always lived in upstairs apartments.
 

The Sum of Awe

Brought to you by the moment that spacetime began.
If they are gnats, they won't cause any trouble in the house.
Are you sure? I don't want them throwing parties or breaking anything when I'm out of the house.

LOL - I was mostly just worried about them spreading diseases or anything. They do land on my clean plates and bowls, I don't know if they poop on things like houseflies supposedly do.
 

exchemist

Veteran Member
Are you sure? I don't want them throwing parties or breaking anything when I'm out of the house.

LOL - I was mostly just worried about them spreading diseases or anything. They do land on my clean plates and bowls, I don't know if they poop on things like houseflies supposedly do.
The problem with houseflies is they lay eggs on faeces or dead flesh and thus have dirty feet and can (in theory at least) spread disease to uncovered food. Gnats don't do that. They seem to lay eggs on damp vegetable matter: leaf mould etc. is what their larvae eat. So they are clean and won't contaminate food in your kitchen. If they are gnats, that is.

More details here: Gnat - Wikipedia
 

dybmh

דניאל יוסף בן מאיר הירש
I've found the best solution for gnats is to half fill a mason jar with apple cider vinegar, put a few small holes in the lid, and leave it on the counter near the sink. Gnats are attracted to the vinegar and get trapped inside and die.
 

JustGeorge

Not As Much Fun As I Look
Staff member
Premium Member
The problem with houseflies is they lay eggs on faeces or dead flesh and thus have dirty feet and can (in theory at least) spread disease to uncovered food. Gnats don't do that. They seem to lay eggs on damp vegetable matter: leaf mould etc. is what their larvae eat. So they are clean and won't contaminate food in your kitchen. If they are gnats, that is.

More details here: Gnat - Wikipedia

I've had trouble with them on my tomatoes; I sometimes buy under ripe ones and leave them in the window, but if a gnat finds them, you're looking at a wasted tomato.
 

ChristineM

"Be strong", I whispered to my coffee.
Premium Member
I feel like my house is pretty clean, I wash the bedding every couple of weeks, I throw garbage food out every day (nothing stays in the indoor garbage overnight) and I wash my countertops once or twice a week when I do the dishes, and my dishes I rinse off before leaving them in the sink.

Yet I see a couple of gnats flying around. It's not like I have a swarm but they're there. It's bugging me. The only way I see them getting in is through the window screens tbh.

Anyways, it's only a couple but it's often enough to disturb me. Should I worry about this? I see they're able to crawl between the cupboard doors and that's where I store my food like chips and cereal (which are rolled shut).

I don't want to bug-fog again until November because that's when the bugs really start to move in.


It's that time of year, don't be too concerned about gnats. The bigger problem is flies that can spread disease through feces, regurgitated food. or mosquitos that bite to suck blood and spread disease.

Simple to do's, most you already do anyway
Fly strips, fly sprays or invest in a bug zapper
Don't leave food out. Cover it or store it in the fridge.
Clean your worktops.
Close windows at evening
Don't leave standing water (buckets etc) outside.

A couple of more drastic solutions.

We are troubled with wasps, our solution, take and empty pop bottle, cut off the top 1/3. Pour a little sweet fruit syrup, honey or sugar in the bottom, turn the cut off top upsidedown (screw cap removed) and fit it into the bottom.

And an effective and cheap way to kill insects. Use an empty spray bottle, fill with a mixture of 10% washing up liquid and the rest water. Spray the insects. The liquid gets into the spiracles and foams up preventing them breathing.
 

exchemist

Veteran Member
I've had trouble with them on my tomatoes; I sometimes buy under ripe ones and leave them in the window, but if a gnat finds them, you're looking at a wasted tomato.
Hmm. Perhaps American ones are different from British ones. Fruit flies do that here, but not gnats.
 

SalixIncendium

अग्निविलोवनन्दः
Staff member
Premium Member
If you wish to rid yourself of them, get a bottle of apple cider vinegar and a mason jar. Pour apple cider vinegar, warm water, and a few spoons of sugar an eighth to a quarter full, put a lid on the jar, and poke very small holes in the top and place it wherever the gnats are most populated (alternately, you can use plastic wrap and a rubber band and poke small holes. The get in, but they can't fly out.

Every once in a while, set the jar outside to and open it up to let them out.

I find this to be a bit more humane than fly strips.
 

Dan From Smithville

What's up Doc?
Staff member
Premium Member
Gnat isn't a taxonomic group, so a lot of fly species get called gnat because they are tiny and annoy us in some way. The name covers a lot of small flies that are in a number of different families and in different suborders. Most of those that are being described as attacking fruits and vegetables and being lured in by vinegar and sugar are more than likely some species of fruit fly. Most of the species commonly considered to be gnats are in the suborder Nematocera. They are tiny to small, have somewhat spindly-looking legs, relatively long antennae, mostly aquatic larvae and are either biting or not. These are the flies that swarm over your head or pester your eyes. Some species bite.

The suborder Brachycera includes a number of small to tiny species, but are more robust looking, have short antenna with a reduced number of segments and larvae that live in moist, but not necessarily aquatic habitats. These are the fruit flies, house flies, soldier flies, robber flies.

I did a Google search on controlling gnats and most of the hits were really about controlling fruit flies with vinegar/fruit/sugar traps.

The nematoceran gnats are sometimes associated with houseplants. Some species can develop in the moist soil. When people bring the plants in for winter, the adults can develop in the warmer conditions and cause a brief, sometimes serial, infestation. Sprays may work the best or putting the pots up in closed-off area so that adults can't get in the rest of the house. Gnats also like moisture, so bathrooms may have them flying about. Again, sprays would be the quickest way to get rid of them, but physically killing the with a swatter or something like that might work if there aren't many.

The fly strips that @JustGeorge mentions may be the best passive means of controlling them. Safer than spraying and no traps to empty and refill with bait. The flies get stuck in the sticky material and when the strips are covered, they can be thrown out. Variations of these are used to control a number of pests in greenhouses.
 

Dan From Smithville

What's up Doc?
Staff member
Premium Member
The problem with houseflies is they lay eggs on faeces or dead flesh and thus have dirty feet and can (in theory at least) spread disease to uncovered food. Gnats don't do that. They seem to lay eggs on damp vegetable matter: leaf mould etc. is what their larvae eat. So they are clean and won't contaminate food in your kitchen. If they are gnats, that is.

More details here: Gnat - Wikipedia
I still find Wikipedia to be an excellent source of information despite the naysayers. That is a very good article.
 

Dan From Smithville

What's up Doc?
Staff member
Premium Member
It's that time of year, don't be too concerned about gnats. The bigger problem is flies that can spread disease through feces, regurgitated food. or mosquitos that bite to suck blood and spread disease.

Simple to do's, most you already do anyway
Fly strips, fly sprays or invest in a bug zapper
Don't leave food out. Cover it or store it in the fridge.
Clean your worktops.
Close windows at evening
Don't leave standing water (buckets etc) outside.

A couple of more drastic solutions.

We are troubled with wasps, our solution, take and empty pop bottle, cut off the top 1/3. Pour a little sweet fruit syrup, honey or sugar in the bottom, turn the cut off top upsidedown (screw cap removed) and fit it into the bottom.

And an effective and cheap way to kill insects. Use an empty spray bottle, fill with a mixture of 10% washing up liquid and the rest water. Spray the insects. The liquid gets into the spiracles and foams up preventing them breathing.
Very good advice. Cleaning up is a good general management technique for lots of pests in the house and out.

You can add a drop or two of dish soap to the bottle trap solution, causing the wasps to sink more readily.
 

Dan From Smithville

What's up Doc?
Staff member
Premium Member
If you wish to rid yourself of them, get a bottle of apple cider vinegar and a mason jar. Pour apple cider vinegar, warm water, and a few spoons of sugar an eighth to a quarter full, put a lid on the jar, and poke very small holes in the top and place it wherever the gnats are most populated (alternately, you can use plastic wrap and a rubber band and poke small holes. The get in, but they can't fly out.

Every once in a while, set the jar outside to and open it up to let them out.

I find this to be a bit more humane than fly strips.
My suggestions aren't often humane, but I appreciate that there are humane alternatives. Getting the pests out of the house and out of competition with us doesn't have to mean killing them. What you suggest is one of the few non-lethal methods that should work pretty well.
 

Dan From Smithville

What's up Doc?
Staff member
Premium Member
Are you sure? I don't want them throwing parties or breaking anything when I'm out of the house.

LOL - I was mostly just worried about them spreading diseases or anything. They do land on my clean plates and bowls, I don't know if they poop on things like houseflies supposedly do.
Even the species associated with potted plants aren't doing direct damage to the plants. The biggest issue with actual gnat species is the annoyance to us.
 

Sedim Haba

Outa here... bye-bye!
Very good advice. Cleaning up is a good general management technique for lots of pests in the house and out.

You can add a drop or two of dish soap to the bottle trap solution, causing the wasps to sink more readily.

They also can live & breed in your drains. Large quantities of boiling hot water dumped down
the drains and especially garbage disposals can help. IF your pipes are up to it, plastic
pipes often can break from the thermal shock, better to use hottest possible tap water then.
 

exchemist

Veteran Member
Gnat isn't a taxonomic group, so a lot of fly species get called gnat because they are tiny and annoy us in some way. The name covers a lot of small flies that are in a number of different families and in different suborders. Most of those that are being described as attacking fruits and vegetables and being lured in by vinegar and sugar are more than likely some species of fruit fly. Most of the species commonly considered to be gnats are in the suborder Nematocera. They are tiny to small, have somewhat spindly-looking legs, relatively long antennae, mostly aquatic larvae and are either biting or not. These are the flies that swarm over your head or pester your eyes. Some species bite.

The suborder Brachycera includes a number of small to tiny species, but are more robust looking, have short antenna with a reduced number of segments and larvae that live in moist, but not necessarily aquatic habitats. These are the fruit flies, house flies, soldier flies, robber flies.

I did a Google search on controlling gnats and most of the hits were really about controlling fruit flies with vinegar/fruit/sugar traps.

The nematoceran gnats are sometimes associated with houseplants. Some species can develop in the moist soil. When people bring the plants in for winter, the adults can develop in the warmer conditions and cause a brief, sometimes serial, infestation. Sprays may work the best or putting the pots up in closed-off area so that adults can't get in the rest of the house. Gnats also like moisture, so bathrooms may have them flying about. Again, sprays would be the quickest way to get rid of them, but physically killing the with a swatter or something like that might work if there aren't many.

The fly strips that @JustGeorge mentions may be the best passive means of controlling them. Safer than spraying and no traps to empty and refill with bait. The flies get stuck in the sticky material and when the strips are covered, they can be thrown out. Variations of these are used to control a number of pests in greenhouses.
Is the Highland midge sometimes called a gnat? That's the only really tiny fly that bites that I've encountered.
 
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