Gnats Gnats Gnats

Put small cups (fruit cup size) all around the house of Apple Cider Vinegar with a couple drops of dish soap. That works every time.

Those little creepers are really a bugger! I had a similar problem a few years ago with aphids and a very "green" friend suggested adding dish soap to a spray bottle of water and misting the plants thoroughly several times. Worked like a charm and will cause little lungs no distress. Hope it helps.

When my children were younger, I didn't like to use sprays either. I know this is going to sound silly, but it worked pretty well. Whenever we would have a problem with the little things, my husband would go around with the sweeper hose and suck up as many as he could, then take the sweeper bag out to the trash right away. It worked a lot better than I thought it would. At least it is something to try!
Good Luck!
B. K

I have the same problem every year. There are some decent insecticidal soaps that are made from natural ingredients, but I understand why you would not want to use them with your little guys around. Maybe you could put the plants in a closet or bathroom, spray the soil and leave them for a day or two? Are your gnats the slow kind or the kind you can't "catch"? I've noticed that sometimes I have the kind that are quite easy to smash with your hands and other times I have these quick ones I just can't get.

Oh my, we just had ths problem and had to have someone come and spray for them. But, it did not work. We put little cups of apple cidar vinegar around and it took a while, but they are gone now. This really works.

S. Bailey CLD
Aurora
www.tendermomentsdoula.com

I have battled with this too. I use a product called tough and Tender made from Melaleuca. It doen't contain any chemicals and is safe. I also use it to keep the bugs off my kids during the summer. If your looking for things that are safer for your home with multiple uses and cost effective let me know. I can get you additional info. Good luck. ____@____.com

Been there!! Seriously, just put some slices of bananas in a bowl, put cling wrap on it TIGHT! Then with a tooth pick put a FEW holes in it. The bowls will be full by morning!! They can get in but don't figure out how to get out. I would just release them every morning outside. Keep the banana though for a few days. The older, the stronger it gets. This is a healthy way for your whole family! Put one in kitchen, bathrooms and living room! Good luck!!
Mom to four great kids living knat free, now!!!

I was able to get rid of gnats by leaving out a small bowl of vinegar (I think apple cider would probably work best) with a squirt of liquid dish soap. The gnats are attracted to the vinegar but can't fly away after they have landed. Change the solution every couple of days and leave out for at least a week. Good luck.

I had the same thing happen last year, but I never put any plants out!! It was terrible, but they disappeared in the spring and never came back. I think mine came from the poinsettia I got for Christmas. Didn't spray anything because I have a bird. Good luck!

Look in your pantry. I had this same issue and I found a bunch of gnats and eggs in my flour, rice, bread crumbs, etc. I threw it all out and bought air tight containers to store the items in and the problem was solved.

My mother had something similar happen. As that other gal explained, replanting the plant is the very best method you can do. Depending on how big or many plants we're talking about here, an easier method to perhaps try beforehand is to make a mixture of soap and water and put it in a spray bottle. Use regual dish soap and I don't know the exact mix but I'd say 1 part soap to 3 parts water, it needs to be pretty strong. Spray the soil everyday and everywhere on the plant where you see the gnats. This may work but your problem may be worse enough to require the replanting. Best of luck!

I had this same problem over the summer. The only way I was able to eliminate them completely was a safe and simple method. If you have a cheap or opened bottle of wine, simply pour a small amount in a shallow glass. Leave this glass somewhere out of reach of your children, like on top of your cabinet or window sill. Check it daily for a couple of days. The gnats are attracted to the smell but cannot get out once they have landed in it. This was the only thing that truly worked for me. The gnats swarmed to it. I used red, however, I am certain white wine would have the same result. I hope this helps if you decide to try it.

We had the same thing last winter - very annoying. It was a spray that finally got rid of them. I once made a mixture of sugar water, put it in a bowl covered with plastic wrap and poked holes in it - the gnats went in and then got trapped. Wait - that was fruit flies - but they might be similar?? Good luck!

First, you'll have to remove the source: the plants. If you look closely under the leaves, you will probably find them crawling all over. What happens is the flies lay larva in the plants, multiply and drive you nuts! Then, you'll want to get fly light traps.

http://www.pestcontrolamerica.com/servlet/the-Fly-Web-Lig...

These are just light, no zapping, nothing. The light attracts the bugs and then they get caught on the sticky paper. The key is eliminating the source!! Get rid of the plants and anything else, such as bananas (esp. organic) that sit on the counter and allow them to thrive.

Good luck.

Shannon,

Hi, I had the same problem with a plant that I had purchased at Jewel. I inquired to a florist and she told me that you need to repot the plant. Take it out of the container, remove as much dirt as you can (the gnats live in the dirt under ground) and rinse the roots throughly. Then replant your plant in new potting soil. Hope this helps.

J.

www.noahbyjodi.com

I get these every year and usually it is associated with having fresh fruits & veggies (tomatoes, bananas) inside. I usually just use one of those good old fashioned fly papers. I will buy several of those little canisters, open them and place them in places that I usually see the gnats. I also keep one near my sink and everytime I think about it I will get the little strip and go wave it near the area the catch the little buggers! They will eventually all die.

Hi Shannon,
This sounds strange, but it works. Fill a plastic bag with cold water and hang it from the ceiling in the room with the gnats. They will decrease in number. There are also sticky strips that you can buy at the store which capture them. Both of these combined have done the trick for me.

Good luck!

R.

I had a similar problem, and I tried a couple of things. When I was almost done with a wine bottle, I left some at the bottom (enough for gnats to drown but not enough to waste my wine!) and turned the bottle on it's side. I placed it near where the gnats were, and many of them got into the wine bottle and drowned a beautiful death! I also purchased a sticky fly trap from Walmart (I got one that hung so I could keep it away from my little ones) and that caught a bunch, too.
Good luck!

Do you have a fish tank in your home? I had the same problem with bugs from my plants and once I rid the plants of them, they took up residence in the fish tank. I have yet to figure out how to get rid of them completely but this may be something to think about if you do have a tank.
J.

This may sound crazy but it really works. Use a tall, thin glass and put about a 1/4 inch(no more) of apple cider vinegar, add a couple of drops of dish soap and swirl the glass. It always works when I swirl the dish soap but never if I stir it - go figure!

It will be gross - you may have to empty the glass a couple of times depending on the amt of gnats - but you will be free within a day or two! Good luck!

Use a spray bottle that you ONLY use for this, label it and put it under the kitchen sink. Right now you can put them each in the tub or shower, use 1 part dish soap to 100 parts water. Spray everyone off over and under the leaves and down the stalks. Wait one minute and spray them off.

Before you bring them in next fall, do the same waiting FIVE minutes, out of the sunshine, and wait til they are totally dry to bring them in the house. WORKS GREAT!

I also heard they can breed in your drains so before bed you could pour a little bleach down there. These are all great suggestions.

I had the same thing happen to me. I did some research and I was told it was because I over watered them (they say to pick and a day and have that be your watering day). But You have to take the plant out of the pot and wash all the soil out of the roots, and then you need to wash the pot and put new fress soil in. Hope that this helps.

you can try putting fruit in a container and you put plastic wrap over the top tightly. then you poke small holes in the top. They can fly in but not out.

Really good advice here, Shannon. I'd repot my plants only after I had tried the other ideas. The apple cider vinegar with dish soap is really easy, but repotting would be a big deal. You can also wash your plant leaves with very mild soap and water before bringing them in next time. Use the garden hose to wash off the mild soap solution. There shouldn't be any suds, so just use a tiny bit of soap. Be sure to wash the underside of the leaves, too. Another trick I learned from a drain specialist is to put ice cubes in your garbage disposal, if you have one, while the water is running. Run the disposal with the cubes and water to scrape the sides of the drain of the slime buildup . Drain flies live in the drain.

put a small cup or a tablespoon of vinegar in a saucer, let sit for 24hrs, the little things will drown themselves!