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Gnats!! Help!

__ Posts: 6,651
edited June 2010 in All Encompassing Trip
Does anyone know what I can do about all these damn gnats or fruit flies or whatever they are that seem to have created their own Gnat Nation in my home?? They're driving me nuts! One just flew up my fucking nose and I've had it!! :evil:

I don't know where they came from - I don't have any old fruit lying around or dirty dishes in the sink or anything. My co-worker says she's having a problem with them at her house too. I read online that you can put vinegar and dish soap in a bowl and they'll be attracted to it and killed, but that hasn't gotten even one of the little fuckers. I have pets, so I don't want to bug bomb the whole house. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Thanks! :)
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Comments

  • idlebutterflyidlebutterfly Posts: 28
    I also had a problem with gnats and/or fruit flies a year or so ago. I did some research, and found one thing that worked better than others...

    A soda bottle trap!

    Here's how to make one:

    1. Remove the lid and label from a clean, empty plastic two-liter soda bottle.

    2. Carefully remove the upper third of the bottle by cutting along its circumference at approximately where the top of the label used to be.

    3. Fill the bottle with a mixture of vinegar and water. Either white or cider vinegar will work. I put at least 1/4 cup of vinegar and double the amount of water so the smell isn't too strong (but is still strong enough to attract the little buggers).

    4. Turn the cut off bottle top upside-down and insert it into the cup-shaped bottom part of the bottle. Seal the seam at the top of the bottle with tape.

    5. Fruit flies find their way into the bottle and can't get back out! You'll notice an improvement right away! After the flies are trapped inside, simply seal the bottle in plastic shopping bag or something similar and throw 'em out!

    Hope this helps! It worked wonders for me.

    Laura
    "makes much more sense to live in the present tense"
  • Thoughts_ArriveThoughts_Arrive Posts: 15,165
    We always get them in Autumn, there's always a cloud full of them, they all move at the same time.
    Sucked as a kid when I was playing outside, they get in your hair and mouth, eyes, nose.
    Adelaide 17/11/2009, Melbourne 20/11/2009, Sydney 22/11/2009, Melbourne (Big Day Out Festival) 24/01/2014
  • Slap upside the headSlap upside the head Posts: 904
    celebrity-pictures-johnny-depp-gnat.jpg
  • 8181 Posts: 58,276
    we had em last fall. don't know where they came from, but man are they the suck.

    we put our garbage can in the garbage for a week and killed them whenever we saw them. it seemed to clear the issue up pretty quick. after the week was over, we washed out the garbage can and haven't had issues since.
    81 is now off the air

    Off_Air.jpg
  • AyedavanitaAyedavanita Posts: 1,443
    Slap upside the head wrote:
    celebrity-pictures-johnny-depp-gnat.jpg


    Lmao!


    We've used cider at work when we had a problem. Maybe fly strips at night while your sleeping to catch the majority of them and you can throw them away when you get up....although I know those things are gross.
    "You think I got my eyes closed but I'm lookin' at you the whole fuckin' time..."
  • 8181 Posts: 58,276
    I got bugs
    I got bugs in my room
    Bugs in my bed
    Bugs in my ears
    Their eggs in my head
    Bugs in my pockets
    Bugs in my shoes
    Bugs in the way, I feel about you
    Bugs on my window
    Trying to get in
    They don't go nowhere
    Waiting, waiting...
    Bugs on my ceiling
    Crowded the floor
    Standing, sitting, kneeling...
    A few block the door
    And now the question's:
    Do I kill them?
    Become their friend?
    Do I eat them?
    Raw or well done?
    Do I trick them?
    I don't think they're that dumb
    Do I join them?
    Looks like that's the one
    I got bugs on my skin
    Tickle my nausea
    I let it happen again
    They're always takin' over
    I see they surround me, I see...
    See them deciding my fate
    Oh, that which was once...was once up to me...
    Now it's too late
    I got bugs in my room...one on one
    That's when I had a chance
    I'll just stop now
    I'll become naked
    And with them...I'll become one
    81 is now off the air

    Off_Air.jpg
  • Who PrincessWho Princess Posts: 7,305
    They have suddenly invaded my house too! Beyond annoying.
    "The stars are all connected to the brain."
  • __ Posts: 6,651
    idlebutterfly wrote:
    I also had a problem with gnats and/or fruit flies a year or so ago. I did some research, and found one thing that worked better than others...

    A soda bottle trap!

    Here's how to make one:

    1. Remove the lid and label from a clean, empty plastic two-liter soda bottle.

    2. Carefully remove the upper third of the bottle by cutting along its circumference at approximately where the top of the label used to be.

    3. Fill the bottle with a mixture of vinegar and water. Either white or cider vinegar will work. I put at least 1/4 cup of vinegar and double the amount of water so the smell isn't too strong (but is still strong enough to attract the little buggers).

    4. Turn the cut off bottle top upside-down and insert it into the cup-shaped bottom part of the bottle. Seal the seam at the top of the bottle with tape.

    5. Fruit flies find their way into the bottle and can't get back out! You'll notice an improvement right away! After the flies are trapped inside, simply seal the bottle in plastic shopping bag or something similar and throw 'em out!

    Hope this helps! It worked wonders for me.

    Laura

    Thank you!!!! I'm totally going to try this! And I'm hopeful since you said it worked for you! :D

    Slap Upside the Head & 81.... you guys are cracking me up!! :lol::lol::lol:

    (I would watch a movie about gnats, if it had Johnny Depp in it!) :mrgreen:
  • peacegirlpeacegirl Posts: 835
    Luckily I've never had problems with them in my house but my mom has and I know the vinegar worked for her as well....they usually show up in the fall around here
  • PureandEasyPureandEasy Posts: 5,799
    My boss swears by the following - place a glass of wine (or vinegar) with ONE DROP ONLY of dish detergent - she says the gnats/fruit flies are just drawn to it like crazy.
  • AnonAnon Posts: 11,175
    If you aren't crafty:

    http://www.gardeners.com/Soapstone-Box- ... lt,cp.html
  • __ Posts: 6,651
    PureandEasy wrote:
    My boss swears by the following - place a glass of wine (or vinegar) with ONE DROP ONLY of dish detergent - she says the gnats/fruit flies are just drawn to it like crazy.

    That's what I did! And it didn't kill even one gnat. Though I did put more than one drop. What I read said to put a table spoon. I'll try the one drop method and report back. Thanks!
  • __ Posts: 6,651
    LoveOnTwoLegs wrote:
    If you aren't crafty:

    http://www.gardeners.com/Soapstone-Box- ... lt,cp.html

    Thanks! (I'm not crafty.) :)
  • idlebutterflyidlebutterfly Posts: 28
    PureandEasy wrote:
    My boss swears by the following - place a glass of wine (or vinegar) with ONE DROP ONLY of dish detergent - she says the gnats/fruit flies are just drawn to it like crazy.


    I also tried this before coming across the soda bottle method. I think the bottle thing works for the most part because once they fly in they can't get back out.
    "makes much more sense to live in the present tense"
  • eeriepadaveeeriepadave Posts: 41,834
    could be worse. Few years ago I had a major flea problem. One of my cats snuck out on my porch (i never gave her Frontline Plus or anything before). Few weeks later my apt. was infested with fleas. Management threw bug bombs in there, didn't do anything. I used Raid which worked great.
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    Tres Mts.- 3/23/11- Philly. PA
    Eddie Vedder- 6/25/11- Philly, PA
    RNDM- 3/9/16- Philly, PA
  • __ Posts: 6,651
    eeriepadave wrote:
    could be worse. Few years ago I had a major flea problem. One of my cats snuck out on my porch (i never gave her Frontline Plus or anything before). Few weeks later my apt. was infested with fleas. Management threw bug bombs in there, didn't do anything. I used Raid which worked great.
    :shock: Thanks for the perspective! ;)
  • mickeyratmickeyrat Posts: 38,038
    scb? Do you have any kids? Years ago my young cousin had put some halfeaten food in her CLOSET!!!!! HAd finally tracked to there. With no food source they die out rather quickly. Check anywhere and everywhere.
    _____________________________________SIGNATURE________________________________________________

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  • __ Posts: 6,651
    mickeyrat wrote:
    scb? Do you have any kids? Years ago my young cousin had put some halfeaten food in her CLOSET!!!!! HAd finally tracked to there. With no food source they die out rather quickly. Check anywhere and everywhere.

    No, no kids. (I had a roommate like that in college though!) I do have two cats, who seem to have a puking problem lately. Maybe one of them puked somewhere that I haven't discovered. I never would have thought of that. Thanks! :)
  • __ Posts: 6,651
    idlebutterfly wrote:
    PureandEasy wrote:
    My boss swears by the following - place a glass of wine (or vinegar) with ONE DROP ONLY of dish detergent - she says the gnats/fruit flies are just drawn to it like crazy.


    I also tried this before coming across the soda bottle method. I think the bottle thing works for the most part because once they fly in they can't get back out.

    Okay, I am currently trying both of these methods (side-by-side) and I'll let y'all know if either one works and which works better. Wish me luck!
  • elvistheking44elvistheking44 Posts: 4,375
    http://doyourownpestcontrol.com/invade-drain-gel.htm

    If they are sewer gnats, not fruit flies you may have a big problem you dont know of yet. I used this stuff when I found out a sewer pipe had standing water underneath my house and gnats were living and breeding down there. They entered my house through the sub-pump pit, not the drain. None of the previously posted methods will stop the problem, only kill the ones you already know about. Get some of this stuff and follow the directions, it actually has a nice citrus smell to it as well! Good Luck.
  • __ Posts: 6,651
    ofthegirl99 wrote:
    http://doyourownpestcontrol.com/invade-drain-gel.htm

    If they are sewer gnats, not fruit flies you may have a big problem you dont know of yet. I used this stuff when I found out a sewer pipe had standing water underneath my house and gnats were living and breeding down there. They entered my house through the sub-pump pit, not the drain. None of the previously posted methods will stop the problem, only kill the ones you already know about. Get some of this stuff and follow the directions, it actually has a nice citrus smell to it as well! Good Luck.

    That would suck! I don't even know what a sub-pump pit is! Sounds bad though. Thanks for the advice - I'll look into it.
  • PureandEasyPureandEasy Posts: 5,799
    [/quote]

    Okay, I am currently trying both of these methods (side-by-side) and I'll let y'all know if either one works and which works better. Wish me luck![/quote]
    Good luck, please do let us know.
  • florence151florence151 Posts: 597
    We had gnats in the house but not any more.

    They were living in the soil of our houseplants.
    Bought a cheap bag of play sand and used it to cover the dirt with about 1/2 ".
    They were completely gone in a few days.

    No chemicals. Safe.
    Hold On
  • __ Posts: 6,651
    PureandEasy wrote:
    scb wrote:

    Okay, I am currently trying both of these methods (side-by-side) and I'll let y'all know if either one works and which works better. Wish me luck!
    Good luck, please do let us know.

    Neither one seemed to work. That is, I didn't see any dead gnats in the bottle meant to trap them or the glass of vinegar & dish soap meant to kill them. On the other hand, the problem does seem to have lighted up a bit. Maybe they just all decided to move out.
    florence151 wrote:
    We had gnats in the house but not any more.

    They were living in the soil of our houseplants.
    Bought a cheap bag of play sand and used it to cover the dirt with about 1/2 ".
    They were completely gone in a few days.

    No chemicals. Safe.

    That did occur to me, as I acquired my first houseplants int he spring. I didn't see any gnats around the plants though. But I'll be sure to remember that great remedy if I do. Thanks!
  • PureandEasyPureandEasy Posts: 5,799
    hmm, interesting, because like I said, my boss swears by it.
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