Rid of Gnats in the Home Environment, for Good

Borrowed from Heather Shockney, Yahoo! Contributor Network
May 13, 2007 (Google search, with key phrase, "How to rid of gnats", http://voices.yahoo.com/how-rid-gnats-homemade-gnat-tra p-338583.html

                               With Permission Rewritten by Tess Anderson, Press Release Agent©September2012

gnat's diet

With the warm weather comes fresh fruit and vegetables. This can also mean annoying little gnats invading your kitchen. These little gnats will swarm around any type of fresh produce you might have laying on the counter, or on the window

gnat-cloud in a back yard, look familiar?

ledge. You can try sprays and fly swatters, but they keep coming back. They will get into the sink drain and breed. We did some research on ways to remove the pesky gnats and found instructions to make a homemade gnat trap. The gnat trap can be made from items found in most kitchens. They are very inexpensive to make. The gnat traps will put an end to the gnat problem in your home.

To make the homemade gnat traps you will need the following items.
Soda bottle: this can be a two or three liter bottle.
Sharp knife: this will be needed to cut the top off the bottle.
Vinegar: apple cider works the best, but you can use regular white if that's all you have on hand.
Sugar: just plain granulated sugar.
Water: enough water to fill the bottle half full.

1. Rinse out the soda bottle.

2. Using a sharp knife, carefully go down about two inches from the top of the soda bottle and cut the bottle top off. You Don't want to cut to much or the top will not stay on your gnat trap when you turn it upside down. (See picture 1)

simple to make gnat -trap Hotel California for pests, lol

3. Fill the bottle with the vinegar (1/2 cup), sugar (1/2 cup), and enough water to fill the bottle half full. You can stir the liquid mixture around to mix the sugar in. Don't fill the bottle to full, or the gnats will be able to escape. The liquid should not be touching the opening of the bottle.

4. Place the soda bottle top that you cut off on the bottle upside down. The opening of the bottle should be inside the bottle. If you find the top keeps falling inside the bottle you can use a piece of duck tape to keep it in place. ( See picture 2)

Easily made gnat-trap

This simple to make homemade gnat trap will attract the gnats with the sweetness of the cider vinegar and the sugar. Once they get inside the bottle they have a hard time getting back out and usually drown in the liquid. You should notice a big decline in gnats within a few hours. Gnats are attracted to any types of food crumbs, bread, moisture, sink drains, fresh produce, etc. Keep your fresh produce in the refrigerator. If you find gnats around the bread, place it in the fridge too.

If you observe gnats coming from the sink drain they can be stopped with a simple homemade recipe.
Pour baking soda in the drain. Next pour about a cup of white vinegar down the drain. If there is still baking soda left in the drain after the mixture fizzes add a little more of the vinegar. Do not run any water down the drain for one to two hours. You can also use bleach instead of the baking soda and vinegar mixture if your nose can stand the smell.

These simple tips can help to rid your house of pesky gnats.

My mother says to keep fresh basil herbs growing in your home. The flying pests do not like it and stay away. Also if the problem is as bad as it has been for me with them, flying in your nose and diving into your eyes while you're doing your job on the computer, its time to ge the ripest banana and take the peel off and put it in a container with some plastic film over top. Secure it with a rubber band around the top of the container. Poke holes in the top of the plastic film. The gnats can get in. They can't get out. It's Hotel California time for them.

how to rid of pesky gnats

Gnat trap strategically placed in the home environment. can cut down on numbers pests.

Another thing that can be done is, putting some cider vinegar in a container and a little bit of Dawn dish detergent. They fly in, can't get out and drown. At least you'll be free of a nuisance. One less thing to bug you in life. LOL This alone has been most helpful in keeping gnats to a near zero population in the home.  Thanks, Mom.