Damn gnats!!!

[Raineyrocks]

They are all over the place!  I have no fruit laying anywhere and they are right here at my desk, hovering over my water, in the pantry, all over the kitchen sink.

I looked up how to get rid of them so now I have bowls of vinegar and dish soap all over and I'm watching one right now.  The damn thing landed on the side of the bowl for about a minute and then flew away.  When I googled it the site said they will land right in the bowl! 

Does anyone know another way to get rid of them?  I tried smacking them, I can never catch them. 

[dawn]

I assume you have fruit flies. They are fast! I have a hard time slapping them too. My hubbie does well at it, but I have to really try hard to catch any. There must be a morsel of fruit or veggie around that they're attracted to. Find it, get rid of it and they'll settle down for the most part.

[Raineyrocks]

I assume you have fruit flies. They are fast! I have a hard time slapping them too. My hubbie does well at it, but I have to really try hard to catch any. There must be a morsel of fruit or veggie around that they're attracted to. Find it, get rid of it and they'll settle down for the most part.

I search high and low and there is nothing by my desk.  I can understand why they're hanging out around the sink and pantry but my desk?  They are finally going into my trap now, I've caught about 9 of them so far.

[David]

It may sound nasty, but my experience in restaurants has been that gnats are worse than roaches.  Once roaches are gone, with regular cleanliness and bug spraying, they stay gone.  Gnat, because they fly, cannot be kept out, and if they find anything edible, they will breed.  Easier to kill off temporarily, but harder to keep gone. 

[Tom Sawyer]

Might be from the soil in potted plants. If it is you could use a Pyrethryn based spray on the soil.

[penguins4me]

Double-, triple-, and quadruple-check not just the area around the desk, but the whole house for anything hidden in any nook or cranny which could feed those suckers.

I killed a potted plant trying to find the source of my last infestation, only to find in another room a... um, very ripe ex-potato being used as a staging and logistics base for the imperial gnat fleet.

Getting rid of the old food and thoroughly sterilizing the area got rid of all the gnats in short order.

[mike82934]

Might be from the soil in potted plants. If it is you could use a Pyrethryn based spray on the soil.

I get them every once in awhile, and like Tom said, they seem to love the potted plants. I just sprinkle a little generic insecticide powder on the soil, and by the next day they're history. 

[Raineyrocks]

Might be from the soil in potted plants. If it is you could use a Pyrethryn based spray on the soil.

I have a lot of plants and will get this today when I go shopping, thanks!

[Raineyrocks]

Might be from the soil in potted plants. If it is you could use a Pyrethryn based spray on the soil.

Might be from the soil in potted plants. If it is you could use a Pyrethryn based spray on the soil.

I get them every once in awhile, and like Tom said, they seem to love the potted plants. I just sprinkle a little generic insecticide powder on the soil, and by the next day they're history. 

I almost forgot to ask, these things won't kill my plants, right?  Is one better than the other?  Thanks!

[cathleeninnh]

It is probably better than a lot of other insecticides.

Cathleen

[Raineyrocks]

It is probably better than a lot of other insecticides.

Cathleen

Okay, thanks!

[Tom Sawyer]

Might be from the soil in potted plants. If it is you could use a Pyrethryn based spray on the soil.

Might be from the soil in potted plants. If it is you could use a Pyrethryn based spray on the soil.

I get them every once in awhile, and like Tom said, they seem to love the potted plants. I just sprinkle a little generic insecticide powder on the soil, and by the next day they're history. 

I almost forgot to ask, these things won't kill my plants, right?  Is one better than the other?  Thanks!

Yeah it is derived from chrysanthemums. Even the synthetic version is pretty safe.

[anarchicluv]

Solution to gnats: fill a bowl with about 75% white vinegar and 25% water (may need to alter these ratios) and set it out.  Then, watch the bastards fly in and drown themselves.  I hear it works rather well.

[Raineyrocks]

Solution to gnats: fill a bowl with about 75% white vinegar and 25% water (may need to alter these ratios) and set it out.  Then, watch the bastards fly in and drown themselves.  I hear it works rather well.

Thanks!   On this website I found it said to mix white vinegar and dish soap together so I did that but they walked along the outside of the bowls and never went in until I put plastic wrap around the bowl and poked little holes in it.   Those bowls filled up pretty fast.