I Swallowed a Gnat

[Gayle in KY]

They're everywhere! Gnats have invaded my house! I had a bag of potatoes go bad (Never tell an 11 yo to put the potatoes somewhere- you MUST be specific. She put them on a shelf in a little-used bookcase.) Anyone know how to get rid of gnats? They're driving me nuts!

[sisterpine]

Gayle I feel for ya gal! We had little green lacewings, about a million of them in the house last spring. Think they came from the firewood? I dont know how to get rid of them besides bombing with bug stuff, unless you can take all the screens off all the windows and just urge them out?

[bubbba]

Now I read somewheres or heard it mentioned that the best way to get rid of a fly that you swallowed is you gotta swallow a spider to catch the fly
Bummer about the potatoes i had same thing happen with a bag of carrots....did you know that carrots can actually liquify??!!!? nasty biz.
If you have some bright yellow plastic material u maybe able to put some sorta glue on that and then the gnats will land on it and be stuck.
good luck

[Gayle in KY]

bubbba, I hate to admit it, but I DO know that carrots can liquify (so can lettuce, celery, cucumbers and a host of other vegetables). Really gross to clean up and STINKY!

[bare]

Dishpan full of sudsy water near where they are congregating. It has to be really sudsy though. The bubbles attract them for some reason.

[Gayle in KY]

I can't really tell where they're congregating- they seem to be everywhere, but I'll try the bubbly water in several places. I hope it helps. They're really bugging me! (sorry, can't resist a pun)

[TXlightningbug]

Originally Posted by Gayle in KY

I can't really tell where they're congregating- they seem to be everywhere, but I'll try the bubbly water in several places. I hope it helps. They're really bugging me! (sorry, can't resist a pun)

Oh, Gayle, it's such a relief to hear that I'm not the only one who knows that carrots and other veggies will liquify! All pro greenhouse operations use a yellow plastic card (lid off a coffee can works) coated with either a sticky material or with oil like cooking oil. The yellow color attracts them to land on it and the oil will kill them by not letting them leave. After it's full, if you want to recycle, simply rinse off with the garden hose and a little soapy water then dry and recoat with oil. Set it up on it's edge so it's visible to insects flying by.

TXlightningbug :yeeha:

[Oilpatch197]

try those Bug Fog cans that you get at the grocery store, remove or cover food and turn a few cans on in the house, might help.

[boxwoods]

put out a few bowls of apple cider vinigar

[gobug]

I'm not certain which kind of fly this might be, but I can give some general information. First, you don't need any pesticides. The textbook says find and remove the breeding source. This applies to gnats and fruit flies. Problems with either will continue unless you get rid of the breeding source. None of the traps or foggers will end the problem until you do this.

It's easy to tell fruit flies from gnats, even if they are tiny. A fruit fly's eye is so bright red that you can see it without magnification. If that is what you have, then tossing the potatoes will have eliminated the source of the problem, unless you have over ripe fruit somewhere else.

Gnats can be a little more difficult because they could get into other places. If you have house plants, they may now be breeding there. They can also get into the garbage disposal and reproduce in any food debris inside. Dry p-traps are another possibility.

Once you have eliminated the breeding sight, a vinegar trap for gnats should work. A banana trap would work for fruit flies. You don't need a fogger, but one would work. Be sure to turn off any pilot lights if you chose to use one.

[GeorgeK]

if they are truly everywhere, go high tech and use a fogger insectacide. If they are localized, then get medieval on them, a shop vac works nice.

[coalroadcabin]

Originally Posted by boxwoods

put out a few bowls of apple cider vinigar

This is also what we have used. It takes a few days to get rid of them, though.

[moonwolf]

I would put up a sticky fly strip from the ceiling above where the flies are hovering. These come in what looks like a small tube shape and you unroll it. It's pretty effective for flying insects.

Another idea is an empty wine bottle with just a bit of leftover wine on the bottom of the bottle for the bugs to drown in. Seems the skinny neck of the bottle holds them once they get in and not as easy to fly out. They crawl to the fermented smell of the wine and drown.

Rich

This is a situation where you can really use your homesteading and self sufficiency skills to your advantage. I would catch all of them I could. Then dress them as you would a chicken. Quarter them and use as chicken in any recipe. They would be great on the grill with a little bbq sauce. Look on it as an opportunity. Have fun.

[cplus3]

try those sticky traps for flies - that unroll out of the little canister? We use those to control fruit flies, moths, and fungus gnats. Just don't hang them where you will walk into it!

[bgak47]

Good ol duct tape works as well as those fly strips & is much cheaper.

[idontno]

Use a quart jar with a little vinegar in the bottom.Roll up a piece of paper into a funnel and put it in the jar.They will fly in and can't fly out.But it won't kill them ,,,but you can capture them and take them outside.If you have a lots of bugs,Use more than one jar.

[Dances In Woods]

On the sudsy water thing...set a tea-candle in the middle of it. They will be attracted to the light and drown in the soap. This is very good also for other bugs too especially fleas. Set it out when you go to bed in total darkness they will "go to the light" then simply do a "body count" the next morning.

don't buy those kits for it, they're expensive and this you can do yourself with the same results.
Keep doing this everynite until you catch nothing.

good luck
chris