Gnats, also known as fruit flies, can be a common problem in the kitchen. They are attracted to overripe fruits and vegetables, as well as fermenting liquids like beer and wine. Here are some tips to help you get rid of them:
- Clean up: The first step to getting rid of gnats is to clean up any sources of food that they may be attracted to. This includes throwing away overripe fruits and vegetables, cleaning up spills and crumbs, and making sure that your trash is sealed properly.
- Trap them: You can use a variety of traps to catch gnats. One effective method is to use a mixture of apple cider vinegar and dish soap. Simply mix equal parts of the two ingredients in a bowl and set it out near where you’ve seen the gnats. The gnats will be attracted to the vinegar and will get trapped in the dish soap.
- Use essential oils: Certain essential oils, like peppermint and clove, can repel gnats. You can add a few drops of the oil to a diffuser and place it near where you’ve seen the gnats, or you can mix the oil with water and spray it around the area.
- Set up a fan: Gnats are weak fliers, and a fan can help to keep them away. Set up a fan near where you’ve seen the gnats and leave it running to help blow them away.
- Keep them out: Make sure to keep windows and doors closed as much as possible to prevent gnats from entering your kitchen in the first place. Consider installing screens on windows and doors to keep them out
- Use sticky tape: Sticky tape like fly paper or double-sided tape can be placed around areas where you see gnats. The flies will land on the tape and get stuck.
- Call a professional: If you’re unable to get rid of the gnats on your own, consider calling a pest control professional. They will be able to identify the source of the problem and use professional-grade pesticides to get rid of the gnats.
Homemade Tricks to get rid of gnats:
From bleach to dish soap, vinegar traps to bug spray, there are many practical ways to eradicate the scourge of midges infecting your precious kitchen. But not only do you have to wipe away the suckers, you have to stop them from entering the kitchen in the first place. We’ll teach you how to stop gnats at their source.
- The vinegar trap
Vinegar is an extremely popular trap, especially since you undoubtedly have a bottle of vinegar lying around somewhere in your cupboards. All you need for this trap is vinegar, a little dish soap, a touch of water and a container. Oh, and don’t forget the sugar.
You want to take half a cup of water, pour in some dish soap, add 2 tablespoons of vinegar and one of sugar. Gently mix the solution and you have a homemade gnat jail. Leave the jar in a strategic gnat-infested area and wait for them to swarm. They will go diving for the vinegar and sweet sugar, then get stuck in the dish soap.
Keep in mind that a vinegar trap will not solve all your gnat problems. It won’t solve any of your problems, in fact. You want to place a bunch of them in the infected area until you get the bug plague under control. At least three or four to keep the gnats from buzzing around your face while you cook.
- Stale Wine Trap
You probably have wine somewhere in the house, and probably an open bottle that can save a few ounces for this important task. The wine works the same way as the vinegar trap but without all the ingredients. All you have to do is leave a few shallow containers of wine around the kitchen and the gnats will go crazy for the sweet fruity scent.
When the bats dive for a glass of wine, they will of course drown. This is extremely useful since you don’t have to go out and buy anything, and it’s quite effective. Beer works too, as the yeast ferments and the gnats love it. Still, something fruitier will attract the gnats in greater numbers. Add a pinch of dish soap for extra effect.
- Banana Trap
The banana trap works on the same principle as the wine trap. Because bananas rot quickly, they excrete the delicious (to the gnats!) smell of fermentation. All you need is an old rotting banana peel or a few banana slices. Stick them in a jar, cover the jar with cellophane wrap, poke a few small fly-sized holes in the plastic, and the rest is history.
The gnats fly into the container and find themselves trapped in a prison of rotting fruit. Even if it’s the banana trap, any fruit will do. Berries, apples, peaches.
- Anti-Gnat Spray
Spray is a proven midge destroyer. You can pick up any bottle of spray at your local supermarket and spray the infected areas of your kitchen. It’s a great way to kill massive amounts of gnats in one sweeping motion. If you don’t feel like spending money, you can make your own midge spray.
It’s as simple as midge traps. Mix water, about two cups, with a few drops of essential oil – that means something like peppermint – and start spraying. The oils will help take care of pesky gnats. The only downside is that you are spraying oil around your kitchen. Use your discretion for this.
- Fruits and vegetables
As disgusting as it sounds, the main breeding ground for midges is fruits and vegetables. The midge will lay its dirty little eggs inside a banana, an apple, anything fruity, and the eggs will spawn hundreds and hundreds of little baby midges. The process then repeats exponentially until you are overrun with bugs.
Obviously, you want to keep all the rotten fruit outside the house, preferably in a compost bin. You don’t want a single place in your kitchen where these demons can multiply. Keep your good fruit in the cooler inside your refrigerator wrapped in the wrapper until you need it. Don’t leave garbage lying around to attract gnats.
- The Sink
We are all guilty of neglecting dirty dishes. This may be acceptable in the winter, but in the summer, your sink of dirty, scud-covered dishes becomes a breeding ground for gnats. Leftover food is a great incubator for bugs, and they quickly take advantage of it.
You want to clean your dishes as soon as they get dirty. If you don’t, at least rinse them – but don’t just rinse! Get rid of food scum. If you leave it in the filter at the bottom of the sink, it will start to rot. You are practically begging for an infestation at this point.
- The garbage can
Finally, the garbage can. Every home’s nightmare is a big beacon calling for midges to breed and infest. Rotting fruit, a half-eaten pizza, a bucket of old fried chicken. It’s a gnat’s dream. Not only them, but cockroaches and house ants. Never leave your sensitive waste to these monsters.
Recycling is the number one solution to this problem. Keep your food waste outside in a garbage can (if possible). Keep your kitchen garbage strictly for garbage and non-food waste. This will keep your kitchen sanitary and won’t attract truckloads of bugs. This helps to change the normal garbage bag consistently.
Another tip is to keep your kitchen dry. General cleanliness will get rid of your gnat problem. Doing this regularly will prevent you from having a gnat problem to begin with. Don’t leave puddles of water on the counter and keep the floors dry. Like mosquitoes, gnats love moisture.
Conclusion:
While gnats can be a huge pain in the neck, they are fairly easy to deal with. If it’s too late and you already have a full-blown infection, run to the store and get a spray and traps, clean your kitchen until it shines like a jewel and your gnats are gone. Don’t panic and lose your marbles and call the exterminator. This is a situation you can handle yourself.
Keep in mind that the gnats will not go away on their own. If your kitchen is a pigsty, they will stay and suck on all the dirt and grime they can find laying eggs and infesting your home. If you have an infestation, cleaning up now rather than later can be crucial.
Have you tried any of the tricks proposed? Let us know in the comments if this work for you ..
