How can I get rid of indoor gnats with a home remedy?
Suzy from Pigeon Forge, TN
Your gnats are coming from the soil in your house plants. Make a mixture of water and dish soap to water your plants, will kill them dead. The ones that are alive flying around your house will disappear in time. You've killed their breeding grounds. (10/23/2006)
By BJ-Houghton Lake, MI
Fill a bowl half full of apple cider vinegar, a little honey, three drops dish washing soap and set on table and when gnats appear, and they will. Fill your spray bottle with rubbing alcohol and set on fine mist, when gnats appear spray, kills almost instantly. Then clean up and be ready for them again tomorrow, this works I just killed five and am ready for more when they appear. (11/06/2006)
By Jimmy J
Be sure you are dealing with gnats. We thought we had a gnat or fruit fly problem and soon discovered we had drain flies. Looked it up on the internet and found that often used drains most commonly get them. Seemed to me like a less used drain would? (11/11/2006)
By Barbie
The great thing about sprinkling cinnamon on top of the soil is it allows you to see the little buggers running around and isolate which pots have the problem. I know I bought some cheap potting soil last spring and filled up one of my pots, but did not have a major problem with the tiny black flies till this season. Dunno. In any event, I seem to have isolated and gotten rid of the problem. Thank God for the Internet!!!! (06/06/2007)
By T
Has anyone tried beer? I heard if you put out a glass of beer they drown in it.
I am having a problem with them around my ferret cage and cat's litter box. (07/24/2007)
By jenny
I have a rubber plant that is infested with flying insects that look like gnats. I've tried everything that was suggested on the internet. However, it hasn't worked. Killing the ones flying around, the solutions are fantastic and works. But, how do you get rid of the the ones that are unhatched? If you are killing the ones that are flying around, what about the ones that are unhatched? To me it's a revolving cycle, therefore the problem will continue to exist unless the plant is thrown in the garbage. What do you think? Please help! I love my plant and don't want to get rid of it.
(b)Editor's Note:(/b) Take the top 1/2 inch of the soil off the plant with a spoon then cover the top of the soil with sand or new soil depth. If you see any gooey white stuff on the leaves, it is spider mites. Take a q-tip and wipe off the leaves with rubbing alcohol. (07/29/2007)
By Mammie
What I found really useful was using the vacuum nozzle for gathering up gnats. Just in case that doesn't work, I would like to mention I use a Rainbow vacuum, so the gnats drown in the water container.=o](b)(/b)(i)(/i)(u)(/u) (08/12/2007)
By Amber
For Drain/Fruit Flies,TRY this. I read on another website and people swear by it; pour ammonia down your drains at night and let it sit overnight before using your drain and get rid of all the fruit sitting out. GOOD LUCK!! (08/13/2007)
By Eric
Fight Fire with Fire I say! Or in this case, bugs with bugs. Gnats are annoying, but if you have an infestation of them in a small area, like a house plant for example, you can easily do this. Take the thing, whatever it is, and set it outside, then go to home depot and buy a box of ladybugs, bring them home and dump them on the infested object. They'll eat all the evil little gnats and then fly away, and you can have your beloved house plant back! Clean up the ones left inside with the vacuum, and then you'll have peace at last. (08/29/2007)
By
First I spent some time spraying rubbing alcohol all over the rooms with the problem to bring the population down. Then I set a little pudding dish of apple cider vinegar with dish soap in each room there is a problem. That should keep it cleaned up. The little buggers are black looking and very small i think it's gnats. I'll keep you posted if I remember. Thanks everyone. (09/08/2007)
By Rachel
Another trick that I have tried is getting sticky fly strips and dipping them in apple cider vinegar before hanging them up. This attracts them, then they land and can't get off just like flies do. I still suggest the other ideas here, but try this along with them. You will catch a bunch that way! (09/25/2007)
By Angel
Dust buster or vacuum with a hose and take outside right away. Also use rubbing alcohol in a spray bottle. (09/29/2007)
By mike
My bro said gnats come from food debris left over in the garbage disposal (10/02/2007)
By deb
The advice about using apple cider vinegar and dish soap was RIGHT ON! I've had these pesky critters flying around in my kitchen, bathroom, and even 1 or 2 drifting into the bedroom and couldn't figure out where they were coming from. I did a little research based on these comments and they are (were!) drain flies. The minute I put out a little dish of the apple cider vinegar and dish soap they went nuts, congregating around the dish and then taking the final plunge. This was yesterday, and I only have 1 or 2 die hard flies still around. Thanks to everyone for the advice, this has been a great help!
(10/16/2007)
By G
Mine were fungus gnats, they originated in the soil of over watered houseplants. repotted them and then made sure I don't over water, voila! (10/21/2007)
By Flo
I read a lot of the suggestion and came up with my own. I took a 1/2 cup of white vinegar (because I didn't have cider vinegar) 1/2 cup of sugar and about 1/4 cup of apple sauce and mixed it together. I also put a piece of banana in the mixture to make sure they smelled it all. I didn't have a bottle or anything like that so I took a cool whip container and placed it all in there. Covered it with aluminum foil and poked some small holes in it. Those buggers started flying around it as soon as I put it out. By night fall there was about 20 floating in the mixture. As for the sinks, I poured rubbing alcohol down them at night> I also poured it around the base of the faucet and they were gone.
good luck (10/27/2007)
By nasty gnat
I thought I was so cleaver when I lured the winged fellows into my microwave, with red wine, and slammed the door shut. But, alas, I found as others have, that those miserable monsters WILL NOT DIE in there!! I'm hoping there's a scientist out there who will tell us WHY? My inquiring mind went to other unwanted creatures. We live in the woods. A spider was an easy catch. He died in 20 seconds. What do gnats have going on that give them "super power"? Maybe the military needs to study them!!! :0) (10/28/2007)
By Rosie
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