Anyone ever had a gnat problem before?

[Avalon]

Over the past month or so I've started to notice these very small gnats flying around in my house, but didn't think anything of it until it got worse and became a nuisance.

There are usually several in the catbox in the bathroom, several in the garbage, and a dozen or so around the kitchen sink area. I'm not growing any indoor plants, and I've scoured every where to ensure I don't have any rotting food or anything dirty out and about.

If anything rotten ever gets thrown into the garbage, 6 hours later there are a million of them. The past week anytime I've thrown any sort of leftover food into the garbage or cleaned the catbox, I've just taken the garbage out immediately. I've also moved the garbage can from inside to my garage.

It's only been a week, but I'm not noticing an improvement (just killed a big one by my face). I was wondering if any of you out there had experience with getting rid of these things. They don't bite, and are very tiny, ranging in size from the dot a fine tipped pen would make, to a large pin head. I've been wondering if perhaps they are breeding in the pipes of our kitchen sink/drain.

 

[Leros]

I have had a gnu problem before.

 

[amdhunter]

I read goat problem. That would have been pretty cool.

 

[lupi]

the yankees have

 

[JohnCU]

i see one of these every once in a while in the summer. never can find the source.

 

[Avalon]

Originally posted by: amdhunter
I read goat problem. That would have been pretty cool.

I wish, would be less annoying
I've killed 5 more by my monitor since posting.

 

[Crono]

Gnat me.
Hee hee, I made myself laugh.

Had the same problem, but the spiders took care of them.

 

[JSFLY]

I've had these before.... had like 30-40 of these dead gnats in my fridge.....

I bought an indoor bug zapper and it helped a lot.

 

[AstroManLuca]

I've heard you can get rid of them by putting a piece of ripe fruit in the oven, leaving the door open, and turning it up to 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes. You have to clear out your whole kitchen first, including the garbage, so they're attracted to the fruit.

EDIT: That is, if they're fruit flies. Sounds like that's what they are. I got these a couple times when I neglected to take out the trash and recycling for a little too long.

 

[bobdole369]

Are they fruit flies?

(maybe the same thing) in any case they breed and live on rotting food/garbage/feces, etc.

They only have a 3 day lifespan so get rid of any food sources, including the catbox - and they go away. A flypaper near where they are buzzing around helps.

Note that as you noticed - you may not actually know about the food source.

 

[Billyzeke]

Cut a hole in the seat of your pants. Then they will buzz around it instead of your face.

 

[tasmanian]

Ive had gnat problems. Check things like bags of flour, cereal, ect. They like to hide in shit like that.

 

[Avalon]

I don't know if they are fruit flies. I'm looking at images on google and it's hard to say. These fuckers move around too much for me to get a good look at them, and killing them just results in them being completely mangled beyond recognition

I'm in the process of digging through my food pantry right now, although I haven't come across a single gnat in there.

 

[OCGuy]

You need to learn how to properly dispose of the bodies.

 

[DrPizza]

Every summer. I can never figure out where the suckers hide. I won't see a single one in the house, but bring home one piece of fruit from the store & put it on the counter, and they appear out of nowhere. I hate cold, refrigerated fruit. But we've gotta store it there in the summer to avoid a problem.

 

[Avalon]

I do recall they are very attracted to water. If standing water is left in a bowl sitting out in the sink overnight, when I get up the next morning there will be a dozen dead gnats floating in the standing water. They also die on impact from febreeze or windex.

I just got done checking the food pantry, not a single gnat. Went over the kitchen and found someone had opened my big bag of jelly bellies, which had gnats crawling around in there. I closed it and threw it out. The garbage can, I've washed out and left out in the garage since this past week. They only seem to be in the catbox, in areas near the catbox (my computer is unfortunately close to the catbox), and the kitchen sink.

 

[Avalon]

Originally posted by: OCguy
You need to learn how to properly dispose of the bodies.

I brush them onto the floor after killing them and sweep daily. If I kill them on a surface, I get a clorax tissue and wipe the surface down. Anything else I rinse down the drain with hot water. If there is a better way it'd be nice if you could tell me or point me in the right direction.

 

[Squisher]

Empty beer bottles?


Fill a wine glass or a brandy sniffer half way with cider vinegar. Add a drop or two of dish soap and set out. They love the smell, but the soap makes the meniscus rise up about 4 times its normal size. When the gnats go to get a drink they slide in.

 

[alkemyst]

your pants on? just checking.

 

[dullard]

I had that problem once. I couldn't figure it out, I tried throwing away all rotten food and nothing happened. Eventually I found one partly bad potato in the middle of a bag of good potatos. Later I found out that gnats or similar small flying insects are usually from a bag of potatos or onions. It looks fresh, but there often is one bad spot on the inside that you can't see.

It could be a bag of fruit too, but usually you know if you have a bad fruit as it oozes, smells, etc.

Originally posted by: DrPizza
Every summer. I can never figure out where the suckers hide. I won't see a single one in the house, but bring home one piece of fruit from the store & put it on the counter, and they appear out of nowhere. I hate cold, refrigerated fruit. But we've gotta store it there in the summer to avoid a problem.

Sealed plastic container?

 

[spidey07]

Sounds like fruit flys. Eliminate their food source and you eliminate them. Keep garbage tightly sealed and leave no food or fruit or anything they can eat out in the open.