Severe gnat problem in my kitchen

[kingnebwsu]

So yeah, a few weeks ago there were two gnats in the kitchen. I was unable to get rid of them, but the entire kitchen was cleaned up. Anyway, fast forward to today and there aren't any dirty dishes...but there is a wet dishcloth (where they like to congregate) and now there are about 20+ gnats in the kitchen. I got rid of the dishcloth, but now they've dispersed and one has even made its way upstairs. I can't kill them because they just move as soon as you make any sort of vibrations near where they are.

Anyway, I'm just looking for some advice on what to do. I think I need to nip this problem right now or else it'll just keep getting worse. Should I get some fly paper or something? If so, where do I buy it? I don't wanna use any sort of spray, because it's in the kitchen/sink area where the problem was centered. Hopefully getting rid of the dishcloth will help.

Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

[DaddyTorgo]

gnats/fruit flies breed in little particles of food and moisture. So you're looking at the little fuckers likely breeding in your drainpipe/disposal. Pour some bleach down it to end their eggs and then just wait for the others to end their relatively short miserable lives.

[Rizon]

gnats/fruit flies breed in little particles of food and moisture. So you're looking at the little fuckers likely breeding in your drainpipe/disposal. Pour some bleach down it to end their eggs and then just wait for the others to end their relatively short miserable lives.

"

[DaddyTorgo]

"


thanks to my Starbucks experience for teaching me that. Ends up being a nightly thing during the summer.

[JeeberD]

Also, make sure you haven't forgotten about any old food in your pantry. Once my apartment was being overrun by the little bastards and I had the kitchen spotless. After much investigation, there was a bag of potatoes in a deep, dark corner of my pantry that I had forgotten about long before. The potatoes were rotting and the fruit flies were breeding there.

Also, I don't know if you have any pets or not, but I've seen a few in and around my cat's litter box before. Changing out the litter completely instead of just scooping is the best way to get rid of those suckers.

[Ksyrup]

About a month ago we were battling fruit flies. If they have red eyes, they are fruit flies. We brought in an exterminator who suggested the bleach thing and also gave us a container to put cut up fruit in to catch them. Problem was, they kept coming back, and none of us could find the source (and he searched everywhere). Eventually, with the cold weather, they disappeared, although we see a couple now and then. Since they need a source of food to live off, we're still not sure what was keeping them going.

[Subby]

They are the fucking bane of my existence.

[MizzouRah]

We have a fruit fly problem now.. little f-ers. Found an old half eaten banana that my 4 year old threw in the office trash can.

[Ksyrup]

See, we had nothing of the sort in our house, which confounded the exterminator. He figured it was something outside close by and they were coming in through windows and doors. Luckily, we are mostly rid of them by now.

[JeeberD]

I'm wondering if you have a dead animal in the walls or something, K...

[Maple Leafs]

We've got these too, thanks to a leftover pie that was left out and forgotten.

I've heard bleach or even boiling water down the drain. Someone also suggested filling a glass with sugar water, wrapping cling wrap over the top top and poking a few holes for them to crawl into. We tried it and it didn't work, but it might for you.

[Ksyrup]

Someone also suggested filling a glass with sugar water, wrapping cling wrap over the top top and poking a few holes for them to crawl into. We tried it and it didn't work, but it might for you.

That's basically the homemade contraption our exterminator gave us. It had holes to crawl through and the fruit attracted them, but once they were in, they couldn't get out.

[Tekneek]

I've been there, too. I made a little trap that worked pretty well with the damn flies, that were driving me insane when they were in the house. I took a jar, poured a little bit of apple cider vinegar in the bottom and a few halved grapes as well. I then put a paper funnel in the top that ended just about an inch above the vinegar and grapes. They piled in there for the treats and couldn't get out.

We have a septic tank, so I didn't want to pour bleach down the drains. I poured boiling water down the drains and then covered them with plastic wrap. I made sure there was no other wet or "organic" matter out for them and in quick time they were gone.

I poured out the trap the next day as it was full of those damn flies and they had all fallen into the vinegar by then. I put a new one out but they were all gone. This was much better than my first anger inspired method of dealing with them, which was the fly swatter. My wife was very unimpressed with the mess that made and preferred the trap. Now when they show up, I immediately clean the drains and cover them. If I see more, I set out a trap and we never have a big problem again. Obviously, it's better to be vigilant about keeping things clean, but with children and pets around mistakes will happen every now and then and it only takes once for these bastards to show up.

[sachmo71]

I had this problem is the Sims once. I think you have to wash dishes and clean up trash. Or burn the house down.

[Ksyrup]

This was much better than my first anger inspired method of dealing with them, which was the fly swatter. My wife was very unimpressed with the mess that made and preferred the trap.


Wimp. The wife and I just used the "clap" method. :)

[Fritz]

yall some piggy bastards.

[MizzouRah]

Wimp. The wife and I just used the "clap" method. :)

Tried and true!

[aran]

Wimp. The wife and I just used the "clap" method. :)

I didn't know flies were attracted to chlymidea.

[kingnebwsu]

I've been there, too. I made a little trap that worked pretty well with the damn flies, that were driving me insane when they were in the house. I took a jar, poured a little bit of apple cider vinegar in the bottom and a few halved grapes as well. I then put a paper funnel in the top that ended just about an inch above the vinegar and grapes. They piled in there for the treats and couldn't get out.

I don't quite follow how the trap works. So, I put some vinegar and fruity treats in the bottom of a jar. Then I put a paper funnel in the jar...do I put the pointed end of the funnel facing up or facing down? And why is it that they can't escape? This is my first experience dealing with non-ant bugs :)

[Drake]

Bananas are the bane of my existence.

When it comes to fruit flies/gnats, I mean.

[stevew]

Boiling water down the drains daily, and flypaper would be my recommendations.

[MizzouRah]

Boiling water down the drains daily, and flypaper would be my recommendations.

Fruitfly : "please stop causing problems"

[Tekneek]

I don't quite follow how the trap works. So, I put some vinegar and fruity treats in the bottom of a jar. Then I put a paper funnel in the jar...do I put the pointed end of the funnel facing up or facing down? And why is it that they can't escape? This is my first experience dealing with non-ant bugs :)

Pointed end down, obviously it would be open a bit so they could get in, it wouldn't be totally closed like you were using it as a coffee filter. They would be attracted by the smell of the cider vinegar/fruit and will go down the funnel, but they aren't too smart and they won't find their way back out. After hanging around inside for a little while, they usually give in to temptation and land in the vinegar and die. They are such irritating pests that I also enjoy seeing that I have led them to their doom. I haven't found anything that works better than my traps, personally, but your experience may vary.

The key thing is to keep them from showing up, but that isn't good advice once they're already in the house. I know if we didn't have kids or pets we would have never had to learn about these things. Oh well. That's life. :)

[Ksyrup]

Once you get a few in there, you then fill the jar with scalding hot water before disposing of the contents. That's what we did with the container the exterminator gave us that we put cut-up fruit it. I'm not sure if the "professional" container he had was any more sophisticated, but it pretty well kept them in there once they got in.

[Glengoyne]

When my wife makes Pommegranate jelly our house gets innundated with these buggers. I'll have to try the bleach in the drain thought.

In the past, I have a bottle of cheap brandy that I pour into a few high ball glasses that I place around the afflicted areas. Brandy draws those suckers in, and that speeds up the process of getting rid of them. I'm hoping the bleach trick will do the job and head the problem off before it starts.

This is timely, because this weekend is pommegranate weekend .

[rkmsuf]

Embrace your inner gnat and make some new friends.

[MizzouRah]

Windex kills them on contact!

My wife was shooting windex all over the house yesterday.. at least it smells clean around the house.

[McSweeny]

When my wife makes Pommegranate jelly our house gets innundated with these buggers. I'll have to try the bleach in the drain thought.

In the past, I have a bottle of cheap brandy that I pour into a few high ball glasses that I place around the afflicted areas. Brandy draws those suckers in, and that speeds up the process of getting rid of them. I'm hoping the bleach trick will do the job and head the problem off before it starts.

This is timely, because this weekend is pommegranate weekend .

whenever a bunch show up we just pour some cheap wine in a bowl and leave it by the sink and it takes care of them

[Skolleck]

Go out and get a "fly ribbon" it is a plastic strip coated with a gooey glue that will trap gnats and flies. It usually has a thumb tack on the end and the best place to put that is above the kitchen sink. Pull the strip out of the cardboard roll and hang it up. You will catch them all.

I live in the country, and we have flies all summer long from the local livestock, then once the freeze hits they all find a warm place to stay.

Mostly my house it seems... :) Before we bought our house, between offer and acceptance (mid-october), somebody left one of the garage loft doors open. The walls were crawling with flies, but since that area was not part of the house and not heated; they all died before we moved in, which was in late december. MMM, crunchy fly meal, too bad I did not have any fish to feed.

Oh and the other stuff all works too!

Thanks,
Scott Kolleck