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Be careful with how much water you’re giving your plants, and make sure the soil drains well. Gnats are bothersome, common household pests that are drawn to damp areas and rotting food. To keep them out of your home, remove anything that attracts gnats such as rotting fruit, poor quality potting soil, dirty dishes, and festering trash.
How to Get Rid of Fruit Flies, According to the Experts - Architectural Digest
How to Get Rid of Fruit Flies, According to the Experts.
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Fruit Flies
Place a bowl containing this solution in an area where you’ve seen gnats. They will be lured in by the fruity-sugary mixture, and the sticky dish soap will trap them. Morgan says he uses a mason jar for his cider vinegar traps. Gnats are attracted to salt and moisture, but more specifically to produce, fresh flowers, houseplants, spilled food, and overflowing garbage cans.
That’s a Wrap!
Get rid of old leaves or flowers that they’ll feed on as well. While they are irritating, do bear in mind, however, that the gnats won’t damage the plants themselves, although they can damage plant cuttings if you’re cultivating new ones. However, a rule of thumb the insects often follow is access to food, moisture and protection, states Orkin's website. This usually comes by way of decaying organic material, such as trash or soil.
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Then simply place the container wherever fruit flies are seen. About two weeks after the eggs hatch, the larvae will become adult gnats and live for about a week. If you don’t break the cycle, you will have generations of gnats in your home within weeks. In addition, once you find them on your food, you are more likely to throw the contaminated food away and thus are wasting money in the process.
Fruit Flies Are Often A Seasonal Problem
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TikToker shares hack to save your houseplants from 'fungus gnats'.
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Experts recommend trying natural remedies first to remove gnats from your house plants. Natural remedies are eco-friendly and pose no health risks to humans or pets. However, it may be time to turn to chemical options if you try a few natural solutions and still have a gnat problem.
You will notice them flying around your house plants because they are likely using their soil for egg-laying habitat. Wipe down countertops, thoroughly clean sinks, and drains, and mop the floor regularly. A little extra attention every day to adding extra shine to your kitchen will help prevent any problems to start with. Another example of integrated pest management happens in the garden soil. While the spray is made with essential oils, it’s still wise to move any food before spraying the insects.
For example, fill a cup with apple cider vinegar, 1 tablespoon of sugar, and a few drops of dish soap and cover the cup with clear plastic wrap. Poke a few holes in the plastic with a pen and leave it in the affected area. Placing several traps in different locations is the most effective way to get rid of gnats. There are several species of gnats, and some of them can bite. Biting gnats feed on blood, while non-biting gnats feed on plants.
Similar to the fruit fly, they will silently enter your home through any crack in search of suitable habitat to lay their eggs. To clean the inside of your trash can, use a mixture of hot water and dish soap with a strong scrubber, such as the Non-Scratch, Super Long-Lasting Scrubbing Pad. These are multi-purpose and come with a “No-Nonsense Lifetime Satisfaction Guarantee”. Here is another reason to be supporting your local organic farmers as often as you can. With smaller food scale production, more integrated pest management methods can be employed to combat pests.
Battle Drain Flies with Bleach
These products kill gnats with an electric charge when they fly into the device. Bug zappers are an excellent way to deter biting gnats in your yard but will not fully eliminate their population, only reduce it. Also, you shouldn’t install a product that’s meant to be used outdoors inside your home. Fortunately, minor to moderate gnat infestations can often be exterminated with simple DIY methods and thorough cleaning.
Wet soil is more susceptible to fungus and root rot, which becomes a breeding ground for gnats. Gnats typically come inside from open or cracked windows and doors and reproduce in moist areas near your home. You can then begin placing traps around the affected area and removing any items the gnats are attracted to, like rotten fruit or garbage. Gnats are any of several species of small flies that swarm in great numbers. Kyle Morgan, owner of Care Pest Pros in Spicewood, Texas, says the bugs are mainly a problem outdoors in spring and summer, but they’ll hang out indoors all year round. Not only are these “clouds” of gnats generally annoying, some species also bite humans and pets.
Simply sprinkle about a half cup of baking soda into the opening of the garbage disposal then pour about a cup of white vinegar in and let sit for 10 minutes. If you’re suspicious of this area and want to be sure if it is a problem, simply cover and secure the garbage disposal drain with a piece of plastic overnight. For future planning, consider using smaller bags for any food waste, and then tightly seal the bag before adding to your trash can. A tightly sealed lid will also help, but cannot be relied on to keep gnats out of your trash. An example of this might be farmers installing swallow nests on fence posts.
Some gnats lay their eggs in soil, where the larvae can damage plant roots. Fruit flies are drawn to overripe fruit, so even if your fruit isn’t rotting it can attract gnats. Fungus gnats love moist potting soil and drain gnats love moist drains. To keep gnats out of your home, you need to make it a place that gnats don’t want to be. Take away moisture, food, and shelter and it’ll be hard for gnats to thrive. Be sure to leave your sink and kitchen area free of food that can attract gnats.
You may have unknowingly brought home a plant from a garden center that was infested with gnats—or brought freshly picked produce infested with gnats indoors. If you regularly use your sink’s garbage disposal then you could have old rotted food built up in there. If left there for too long, gnats will be attracted to it and show up by the hundreds. A gnat infestation can last as long as the weather is warm and food and moisture are available. Generally, gnats die in cold temperatures and thrive when temperatures are between 75 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit. It’s possible for gnats to continue to live indoors in off-seasons if they find a warm and wet place to thrive.
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