Gnat control
 

We have had a plague of gnats in northern Louisiana. A pest control serviceman said a good way to eliminate them without having to "bomb" the house is to place a small bowl/deep saucer with apple cider vinegar and 2 drops of liquid soap detergent anywhere there is an issue. There were 25 caught within a very short time!

I heard this several years ago. Keep fruit garbage outside should help also.

A good idea to remember

I don't understand gnats in the house, they are usually an outside problem. Are you speaking about 'fruit flies'? If so my exterminator told me to put 2 tablespoons of bleach down all drains at least once a month. The drains are where they breed. No more fruit flies.

Thanks for the info!!!! Good to know!

Wonder if these solutions work for other summer pests?

thanks for the great tip

I don't have a gnat problem or a fruit fly problem, but if there's a mosquito in the county, it'll find me. I use Bounce dryer sheets in my jeans pockets and will occasionally rub the sheet on my ears before picking berries, etc. Only 2 bites last summer when I forgot to put the sheets in my jeans pockets. I also attach to my straw gardening hat.

We had that problem here in our town last year. Gnats everywhere and not because of fruit in the house. We heard the same advise about vinegar & soap but were told to put it in a bottle. We even had them in the bathtub.

Use this all the time when DH is not around. His nose cannot handle even a hint of vinegar. So, he is in charge of vacuuming the screens.

I have these too. They are actually fungus gnats and are attracted to produce or house plant dirt. They have nested in my drains too. I have taken a plastic peanut butter jar and drilled a hole in the lid the size of a straw and inserted a short piece of the straw so it was even with the top of the lid and the bottom was about 1/4 to 1/3 down in the inside of the jar. I then have put small pieces of old fruit in the jar and I think you could use the vinegar solution so it in in the very bottom of the jar but a good distance from the bottom of the straw. The Gnats will go down the straw to get to the goodies and not be able to get back out. My daughter also used a banana skin in a plastic bag and leaving it in the sink overnight and the gnats go in and then in the morning close the bag quickly and take it outside and if you want keep it closed in some way and put it in the sun. Cooked gnats.
They can be a pest. I had a swarm in a bag of potting soil that I opened in doors.
Lynda

Does the bounce sheets have to be scented? I can't do scents. But I sure would like to find a solution to skeeters.
Lynda

What's quicker is a minute or two in the microwave.

I use for flies - a zip lock bag with water in it. punch a hole above the zip and use a suction thing to put it on my window of my door of my house. flies do not want to go past it. while in Branson I saw this on a resturant door and on the door of the fish hatchery. had 2 flies in my house last year.
for crawling things outside I use diatomeicous earth. works wonderful and does not harm earthworms.

It works. I have a deep old peanut butter lids and some old ramekins. Doesn't take much. Dang, hate when they try to go up your nose at that all important part on the sewing project. or when they land in your last cup of coffee.

Gnats also like acrylic paint, so if you are using that, you can end up with them flying around! Be sure to keep them covered or you'll end up with paint filled with gnats.

One of my friends had them, and the pest man told her to pour a jug of bleach down the drains. It got rid of them.

shuddering.............gnats in your ears, nose and eyes are bad!! we have them at farm during hot weather so I cant see how to use around me while being outside doing anything, Guess im gonna have to use on washcloth and hang around my neck with the vinegar/soap solution??

NanaCSews, I think vinegar is for the fruit smell. I think you could use fruit juice--the detergent is so that the gnats drown. It takes away the surface tension away. I stayed with a woman who had a big garden and she had flys. She had a pitcher plant and a venus fly trap, and the flies could all be found around those plants. I will warn you though I guess those plants put out a very strong smell that is attractive to flies and such, so instead of a few, she had 20 or so!