Gnats in the House

Honey! There are gnats in my fruit!– or your face and head!  Gnats are pesky little black flying insects that do not normally bite (thank you!) but show up and hover around and about until you explode out of sheer annoyance. They appear most happily during the summer and the couple of old gnats flying about the rotten apple seem to multiply to a thousand in a few hours! Well, not really, but I think you get the point. The question now is, “how do you get rid of gnats in the house?”

1. Why does my home become infested with gnats in the summer?:  This article gives a general view of what gnats are – how they thrive, where they thrive and how to get rid of them.  Gnats or fruit flies seem to love fungus and moisture which in reality translates to rotting fruit. Obviously, one way of preventing an infestation of gnats in the house is to keep all fruits and veggies in the cooler and rid the house of rotting fruits and vegetables if there are any. (www.howstuffworks.com)
2. Gnats and Small Flies Fact Sheet (pdf): This PDF fact sheet details the most common types of gnats in the house such as fungus gnats, fruit flies, sewer flies and midges. It states that the control of gnats does not entail the use of pesticides but more on eliminating the breeding place (i.e. rotten fruit) of the pests. (www.cooperpest.com)
3. How to Get Rid of Gnats (video): Here’s a video that shows varied ways of how to rid of gnats the natural way. There’s no need to use pesticides as you are encouraged to use items found in the house such as cider vinegar, soap and even cigarettes, to get rid of gnats. Interesting. (www.youtube.com)
4. How to Get Rid of Gnats: Gnats are nuisance and it can turn into major trouble if its population is left to multiply and balloons into an unmanageable number. This article has some very useful and easy tips to follow to rid the house of pesky fruit flies. (www.howtogetridofbugsinfo.com)
5. Natural Ways to Get Rid of Gnasty Gnats: Gnats are attracted to carbon dioxide, moist, warm places and light. Yes, light! Have you ever seen gnats flying about in the dark? Well, yes, you can’t very well see in the dark but, so do gnats.  One of the first things that you should do is turn off the lights when there are gnats about.  (www.accidentallygreen.com)
6. The Natural Ways to Get Rid of Gnats: Here is another site that discusses various homemade remedies to get rid of gnats in the house.  The very first thing that you should do is to make sure that all garbage cans are covered. (www.askthecharlotteinspector.com)
7. Gnat: A legitimate exterminator or pest control expert discusses all about gnats and  some of the most effective pesticides you can use to deter them. The article emphasizes the fact that DEET products can easily eliminate the pesky fruit and fungus flies but its usage must be regulated  and not to ever come in contact with human skin. (www.asktheexterminator.com)
8. Natural Insect Repellent:  Tired of those fruit flies? Still more tired of concocting all those homemade remedies to rid of these pests? Well, try this natural insect repellent. All you need to do is click “add to cart” and you’re about 2-3 days away in controlling the pesky pests! (www.gnatbgon.com)
9. Insect Bites: Do gnats bite? Well, they should not but there are reports that they do bite! At any rate, here is an interesting article giving an overview about insect bites. No harm in expanding your knowledge about insects, right? (www.emedicinehealth.com)
10. Answers to Common Gnat Questions: How to Avoid Gnat Bites; What Does a Gnat Bite Looks Like?; How to Prevent Gnat Bites Naturally – These are some of the questions answered on this website.  It might be useful to know the answers to these questions in case there are gnats lurking about your uncovered garbage can. (www.ask.com)