How Do I Get Rid of Gnats?

Updated on June 11, 2009
A.H. asks from Tulsa, OK
16 answers

We just recently got back home from vacation. We were gone for about 10 days. Now we have tiny gnats flying around. Not a lot of them but enough to be annoying & they don't seem to be diminishing at all. I don't know what caused them to come because we have never had a problem with it before. I did not have any fruit on the counter or trash in the garbage can when we left. Hubby thinks they are from the plants in the kitchen but I had these for a while before we went on vacation & didn't have any problems. I have noticed some gnats hanging around them though. Also, they seem to hang around the sinks. Not sure if they are attracted to water? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

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B.S.

answers from Fayetteville on

Oh, girl! I got a trick for you. I learned this off of an internet post a while back, and it always works like a charm and it's grossly fun. (Sorry.) Ok. Buy some beer if you don't have any. You can buy the cheapest kind possible if you want. Poor some in a small, wide mouthed glass about 3/4 the way up. Dump some dish soap in it (about a tablespoon) and stir it up. Leave it where the gnats linger over night and you'll have a cup full in the morning. I was amazed once by how many fell for it... the little drunkards!

1 mom found this helpful
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S.S.

answers from Lawton on

Do you have a garbage disposal? That would be my guess. Clean it out with white vinegar and that should stop the problem.

1 mom found this helpful

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J.L.

answers from Tulsa on

That happened to me- but-we discovered they were actually fruit flies! They are hard to get all gone. Best way is lay a piece of old fruit-or even a banana peel IN THE TRASH CAN- without a lid. Then slowly go up and gather up the bag ang close it off real quick to trap em inside. Tie it off and take out to garbage! You may have to do it a few times-but you could put out several small trashes using those walmart bags. Just put whatever the bugs like to land on. Good luck-cuz if its fruit flies-they multiply very fast!

1 mom found this helpful
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A.L.

answers from New Orleans on

Not to sure how to get rid of them besides killing them one by one. But sometimes they do come out of the sink. I sometimes put the stoppers back in the sinks after washing dishes to prevent them from coming out. Hope this helps.

1 mom found this helpful
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L.J.

answers from Birmingham on

We had this happen last year at our church and they seemed to be around the sink drains in a few areas most frequently. We just kept pouring Pinesol down the drain every few days to sanitize that area and killing them as we could. Within about a month they were all gone. Hope this helps .. they were driving us crazy.

1 mom found this helpful
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C.W.

answers from Tulsa on

I have heard that you can put apple cider vinegar in a glass along with a little dish detergent and set it where the gnats are and they will be drawn to it and drown. Good luck. Hope it works for you.

1 mom found this helpful
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K.P.

answers from Little Rock on

Those gnats are from the fruit! and they are drawn to the water. Not sure how to get rid of them, but you may have to set off a bug bomb to get rid of them. If you get any great information on how to get rid of them let me know! Good luck!

1 mom found this helpful
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A.W.

answers from Little Rock on

Apple Cider Vinegar and Dish Soap worked for me. Good luck! I hate those little things!

1 mom found this helpful
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C.N.

answers from Baton Rouge on

We successfully got rid of them using a combination of setting out vinegar traps and hanging flypaper. (I don't like using poisonous insecticides).

1 mom found this helpful
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K.L.

answers from Oklahoma City on

I have them bad this year also. I usually put a glass of aple cider vinegar and dish soap out and that will attract and drown them. This year however I tried it and it didn't catch any. I don't know what is going on. The only other thing I know of is to set out a bug bomb. I can't do that because I have indoor animals. I may have to put them in the garage and give it a try. Good luck.

1 mom found this helpful
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L.B.

answers from Fayetteville on

Put some rubbing alcohol into some root beer (non-diet, of course) in a bowl. They'll be dead in a day or two.

I guess anything sweet will do. I believe that what I heard was root beer.

1 mom found this helpful
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A.S.

answers from Birmingham on

Sounds like Fruit Flies to me. We had those one time and the ONLY way we got rid of them was to pour bleach down the sink and then cover the hole with a cup or tape or something. They like to gather in wet places, like the sink. We also put an apple peel in a bowl and filled it up with dish soap, that caught a lot of them also.

1 mom found this helpful
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T.R.

answers from Hattiesburg on

We had the same problem a few weeks ago. I didn't know what to do about it, but after a couple days, they just went away on their own.

1 mom found this helpful
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T.X.

answers from Birmingham on

I've also heard of these things being called "drain flies". A friend of mine at church worked at a pest control company and they told her this solution. Pour baking soda down your drains. (If they are around the bathroom drains, pull out the stopper first.) Then pour some white vinegar on top of it and let it foam for about 15 minutes. Then rinse everything with hot water. You might have to do it a couple of times, but it should work. By the way, it also helps if your garbage disposal gets smelly! Good luck!

1 mom found this helpful
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M.

answers from Birmingham on

We just went through this as well! They are soooo annoying! My hubby looked up a solution online that worked pretty well, and now we seem to be gnat free. Stir together 1 tbsp dishwashing soap with 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar in a bowl. Place plastic wrap tightly on top and poke holes with a toothpick (make the holes a little bigger than the toothpick so the gnats can get inside). I made 3 bowls and put them in places near where gnats seemed to frequent.

1 mom found this helpful
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