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But if you use a multiphase plan of attack, you should be able to spare not only your produce and plants, but any headaches as well. Here's everything you need to know about how to get rid of gnats and fruit flies if you have an infestation. Once gnats invade your space, it can feel impossible to get rid of them. Adult female gnats can lay up to 300 eggs in their short, 10-day lifespan.
Make a Gnat Trap
The best thing is they contain no chemical insecticides, odor and are more user-friendly. “Another little-known gnat hack is putting raw potato chunks into the soil to attract larvae,” Schutter says. “This has the twofold benefit of drawing them away from your plant’s roots and blocking their access simultaneously. You can employ several natural ways to eliminate gnats from your house plants. Since gnats reproduce quickly, you may need to try a few methods to get rid of them all.
More Ways to Prevent Gnats
Typically, gnat infestations in Arizona can last from a few days to a few weeks, according to the University of Arizona. However, with proper control and prevention, you can significantly reduce their numbers and eliminate the infestation within a matter of days to a few weeks. Another option that can work for all types of gnats is sticky paper or cards.
Use Your Fresh Fruits or Red Wine
Although it works better with larger bugs (such as mosquitoes), a bug zapper is always a good option. Nowadays, there are plenty of brands and designs that are safe to use indoors, such as the KATCHY device pictured here. These noiseless machines should be able to catch the majority of gnats and flies in your home, and the best part is, you won't have to lift a finger to make the magic happen. If you continue to have appealing habitats for gnats in your home, no, they will not likely go away on their own. If you remove old food and beverages, take out the trash and are sure to eliminate high-moisture environments an infestation may subside.
How to get rid of gnats from houseplants: Melbourne man shares simple hack using three products - 7NEWS
How to get rid of gnats from houseplants: Melbourne man shares simple hack using three products.
Posted: Wed, 12 Jul 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]
Luckily, getting rid of gnats is a simple process, and with numerous ways to deal with gnats in the house, there is bound to be a method that works for you and your home. You can eliminate gnats, their eggs and larvae by using pyrethrin sprays. Pyrethrins are natural organic compounds with insecticidal activity.
Let the Soil Dry
Read on to find more ways to get rid of gnats in plants naturally. In order to get rid of drain gnats, pest control company Arceneaux recommends pouring a half cup of hydrogen peroxide or bleach in the drain. If this doesn’t work, you can also target the gnats with a spray-bottle filled with water, vinegar and a little bit of dish soap. If your infestation is extra stubborn, you can always hire a pest control company to come take a look. You might need to call in an expert to positively ID these pests. They typically have slender, brown or black bodies and thrive where there’s moisture.
How to make DIY gnat traps
But you need to use vinegar traps alongside other natural fungus gnat control methods. For fruit flies, the easiest DIY option is a vinegar trap, which is simple and cost-effective to create. Simply place a few tablespoons of apple cider vinegar or white vinegar, a few drops of dish soap, and a tablespoon of sugar in a bowl and stir. Neem cake is leftover seed pulp, a by-product of extracting neem oil from the seeds of the neem tree (Azadirachta indica). It's cheaper and less concentrated than the oil but still contains azadirachtin, the active ingredient that makes neem an effective insecticide.
Moist soil in plants make an ideal, warm environment for fungal gnats to congregate. While decomposing organic matter, wastes and sewage from damaged pipes and drains are the perfect breeding ground for gnats. In addition to the traps, you need to address the issue of gnat eggs and larvae growing in your houseplant soil. The first step to eliminating fungus gnats is to make sure and water houseplants properly. So, allow the top 2” (5 cm) of soil to dry out before watering your houseplant. Always check that the plant soil is partly dry before adding water.
Existing fungus gnat larvae can be trapped using pieces of raw potato. Place the potato pieces flesh side down on the soil, and check under them every couple of days. Remove any feeding larvae, and replace the potato with fresh pieces.
In a small bowl, mix a half cup of warm water plus two tablespoons of apple cider vinegar, a tablespoon of sugar, and about six drops of liquid dish soap. Gnats will be lured in by the sugary mixture, but once they dip in for a drink, the sticky dish soap will trap them. Simply place the bowl with solution in the areas where you've noticed the most gnats, and wait for results.
Stir it up, and then place the glass where gnats are floating around. If the gnats are infesting your houseplants, you can either purchase a mild insecticidal spray or make one yourself. Fill an empty spray bottle with lukewarm water and mix in a few drops of mild dish soap. Spritz this lightly on gnat-infested plants, but be sure to come back two to three hours later to thoroughly rinse the leaves. Note that commercially-available sprays designed for houseplants are less likely to damage the plants than homemade sprays, even with mild dish soap. Once indoors, gnats often infest trash cans, rotten fruit, and other moist places where decomposing organic matter exists.
To kill gnat larvae, try a mixture of soapy water and spray it on your plants’ soil, O’Neill advises. Use one tablespoon of liquid soap (such as dish soap) with one quart of water and spray onto the soil to remove gnat larvae. Plug-in traps, like the Zevo Flying Insect Trap, can be extremely effective. Bug zappers typically attract flying insects with a UV light, then trap and collect the small bugs. Most modern zappers are safe for indoor use, so you can plug one in adjacent to your gnat problem.
The mere presence of these pesky insects in your house can leave you feeling twitchy. Take steps to prevent an infestation, and act quickly if the invaders set up shop in your home and garden. Gnats are highly unlikely to go away without intervention, says Morgan, which is why it’s important to know how to get rid of gnats. One of the first steps in dispelling gnats from your home is to make their common hiding places hostile.
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