There aren’t many things that are more annoying than gnats buzzing in your kitchen. Even as a neat freak, I’ve endured my share of summers where gnats just wouldn’t leave me alone. They especially pester me while I wash dishes. As much as I try to swat them, they zip away and never seem to die.

It turns out that gnats are attracted to some common things: warm, moist places; carbon dioxide, and light.Once you have gnats, it’s tough to get rid of them. Here are a few tips for gnat-free living:

It turns out that gnats are attracted to some common things: warm, moist places; carbon dioxide, and light.Once you have gnats, it’s tough to get rid of them. Here are a few tips for gnat-free living:
Gnat prevention
- Clean your house! Clean your kitchen when you’re done cooking – wash your countertops and make sure your sink is cleaned out. Once your dirty dishes are washed and put away, clean your garbage disposal. (Ice and/or citrus rinds work pretty well.)
- Dispose of garbage. When your garbage bag is full, take it outside. Throw out any rotten fruits or vegetables.
- Speaking of fruits and vegetables, don’t leave them out in the open. They’ll attract gnats.
- Don’t leave water standing anywhere in your house – in sinks or in drinking glasses.
- Turn off outside lights when you are done using them.
Gnat traps
If you’d like to trap your gnats, here are three methods to try:
- Pour apple cider vinegar in a deep bowl and add four to six drops of dish soap or vegetable oil. The gnats will be attracted to the odor of the vinegar, but the soap or oil will provide enough resistance to keep the gnats in the bowl. Empty and replenish the solution every couple days.
- Set out a small chunk of banana in a small container. Cover the container with plastic wrap. Secure the plastic wrap with a rubber band, then poke holes in the plastic with a toothpick. Leave the trap out overnight (the flies will be able to get in, but not out). Be sure to clean out the trap daily.
- Set out a glass of red wine. (Taste a vintage you just don’t like? Use some of that!) Gnats should swarm to it and drown inside the glass. That’s what I call drowning your troubles away …
Photo credit
Carlos Porto/FreeDigitalPhotos.net
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Hilary Kimes Bernstein is a Christ follower, wife, mama, and journalist. She writes about making healthy decisions that honor God and happen to help the environment at Accidentally Green. Short and sweet - like her writing - Hilary is the author of several healthy living eBooks.
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Haha, I love your last comment about gnats in wine. :)
My roommates and I did an experiment in our kitchen when we had a gnat problem. We set out small bowls (one each) of apple cider vinegar/soap mix, red wine, and corn syrup (heard this works from another article). By midday, the red wine had killed one gnat, the corn syrup zero, and the vinegar/soap had six. I’d go with the vinegar first and put little dishes of it around your house/apartment and see if that solves the issue.
i have tried everything but nothing seems to work for me!!!! HELP!!!
Jordie,
Have you tried the tip that Anonymous shared? “We set out small bowls (one each) of apple cider vinegar/soap mix, red wine, and corn syrup (heard this works from another article). By midday, the red wine had killed one gnat, the corn syrup zero, and the vinegar/soap had six. I’d go with the vinegar first and put little dishes of it around your house/apartment and see if that solves the issue.”
If this – and the tips I recommended – doesn’t work, please let me know and I’ll search for something else for you to try.
Earlier this sumer, we went on a satellite hiatus to catch up on necessary bills. (This would not have been possible when my 22-month-old was exlcusively nursing and we were up several times a night.) Even now, we went to basic. Anyway, with the digital satellite, we have the Live Well Network, which is like a cross of Food, HGTV and DIY. I don’t rememberthe name o the show, some frugal living type one, and it had a thing on what bee could and could not b used for. One of th things was for fruit flies. The kids were at my in-laws’ and my husband had th afternoon off. We were indulging in an “afternoon cap”. When the suggestion for using beer for fruit flies was given, I looked at my husband and said, “There IS a use fr Budweiser!”
After reading your post, I thought, “There IS a use for Boone’s Farm!” That and we started using an old large, plastic Folgers coffee can. (We were using open Smart Balance and Best Life containers– unopened.)
yea none of that works. the vinegar/soap mixture worked for me for a week or so, trapped a buttload of gnats and now im lucky to get one in there, yet the gnats are still buzzing around. it is driving me absolutely batty! about to burn my damn house down and just start fresh. ive tried the pet/kitchen safe sprays and that doesnt work either, cant stand the smell of the poisonous stuff, plus i dont want my animals to be exposed to it. i just dont know what to do anymore!
Old fashioned fly strips do the trick. They aren’t pretty hanging there, but once you are rid of the flies you can get rid of them!
I really hate sharing my red wine with these pests. :(
But so far I have seen this to be the most effective method in trapping gnats.
I have gnats in my house now and they’re driving me crazy! I’ve been searching for ways to trap them; I’ll try some of the methods you listed above.
Thanks for the tips