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Successful gnat mass slaughter!

SmokeAndMirrors

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I make a lot of my own household stuff. It's cheaper, and I feel more comfortable with having non-toxic stuff since I have a pet.

But a lot of the time, the homemade stuff isn't quite as strong as the store-bought stuff. This isn't always bad -- skin and hair care, for example. But sometimes, it is, especially for tough cleaning jobs... and bugs.

It is the dog days of summer. It isn't extremely hot, but it is extremely muggy, and the gnats are out in force. Some got in here, and being a single person, it takes me a while to fill up my trash. A couple got into it, and a few days later, there were more.

I HATE bugs. I hate how hard to get rid of they are. I recalled a few years ago, in New Zealand, when we had an ant army come in through a crack in the corner of the kitchen. I almost died of a heart attack as I furiously sprayed Raid everywhere.

But I didn't have a kitty in my home then. So this time I decided to try something homemade, with plans that I would probably wind up having to buy something commercial.

Apple cider vinegar with a touch of dish soap got consistently good reviews when I looked online. The little critters really like vinegar, and supposedly, the dish soap helps break the surface tension of the vinegar, so they can't get out and wind up drowning in it. Cheap and easy, and I had both ingredients already. So why not at least try, right?

With severe doubts, suspecting I'd probably just wind up giving them a tasty meal, I put some vinegar with a squirt of dish soap in a couple tupperware containers, stirred, and left them in the kitchen. The gnats wanted in before I had even put them down.

I went to bed, and when I woke up, practically all of them were dead. Seriously. There were only a couple when I got up, and now, I haven't seen one in a couple hours.

This is better than any bug trap I've ever heard of.

Just thought I'd let you all know, as the humidity bares down and these little jerks are everywhere. Apparently it also works in the garden, if you're having a plant infestation.

I obviously took out my trash, but I've also given things a spritz of diluted eucalyptus oil before I toss them. They hate the stuff, and it keeps them out. Plus it smells nice.

Stupid things didn't even notice their dead friends in the bottom of the containers. Just dove right in like lemmings.

Human: 1
Gnats: 0
 
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I make a lot of my own household stuff. It's cheaper, and I feel more comfortable with having non-toxic stuff since I have a pet.

But a lot of the time, the homemade stuff isn't quite as strong as the store-bought stuff. This isn't always bad -- skin and hair care, for example. But sometimes, it is, especially for tough cleaning jobs... and bugs.

It is the dog days of summer. It isn't extremely hot, but it is extremely muggy, and the gnats are out in force. Some got in here, and being a single person, it takes me a while to fill up my trash. A couple got into it, and a few days later, there were more.

I HATE bugs. I hate how hard to get rid of they are. I recalled a few years ago, in New Zealand, when we had an ant army come in through a crack in the corner of the kitchen. I almost died of a heart attack as I furiously sprayed Raid everywhere.

But I didn't have a kitty in my home then. So this time I decided to try something homemade, with plans that I would probably wind up having to buy something commercial.

Apple cider vinegar with a touch of dish soap got consistently good reviews when I looked online. The little critters really like vinegar, and supposedly, the dish soap helps break the surface tension of the vinegar, so they can't get out and wind up drowning in it. Cheap and easy, and I had both ingredients already. So why not at least try, right?

With severe doubts, suspecting I'd probably just wind up giving them a tasty meal, I put some vinegar with a squirt of dish soap in a couple tupperware containers, stirred, and left them in the kitchen. The gnats wanted in before I had even put them down.

I went to bed, and when I woke up, practically all of them were dead. Seriously. There were only a couple when I got up, and now, I haven't seen one in a couple hours.

This is better than any bug trap I've ever heard of.

Just thought I'd let you all know, as the humidity bares down and these little jerks are everywhere. Apparently it also works in the garden, if you're having a plant infestation.

I obviously took out my trash, but I've also given things a spritz of diluted eucalyptus oil before I toss them. They hate the stuff, and it keeps them out. Plus it smells nice.

Stupid things didn't even notice their dead friends in the bottom of the containers. Just dove right in like lemmings.

Human: 1
Gnats: 0

So you have discovered home made anti gnat version of fly paper? Sounds great! Well done on getting rid of them.
 
Well I would encourage people not to spray it on their gardens or otherwise get it on their plants.......
 
Well I would encourage people not to spray it on their gardens or otherwise get it on their plants.......

Nah, it won't work that way. It's a drowning method, not a poison method. I assume you'd just put out a pot with the mixture in it by the plant?
 
Nah, it won't work that way. It's a drowning method, not a poison method. I assume you'd just put out a pot with the mixture in it by the plant?

Vinegar can be used as an herbicide as a substitute for RoundUp
 
Vinegar can be used as an herbicide as a substitute for RoundUp

Ah, I see. Being totally incompetent at growing plants, I had no idea. I suppose you'd want to make sure the container was very stable if you did that then, but I did read of people doing it.
 
I just put vinegar in a jar with little holes punched in the lid. It caught a few, but not enough. I'm going to try the apple cider vinegar/dish soap in an open container or two to see if I can get your results.

I've tried Drain-o and rubbing alcohol in the drains, but that hasn't got rid of them either. Maybe dish soap in the drains would work better?

I shall report back.
Thanks!
 
I just put vinegar in a jar with little holes punched in the lid. It caught a few, but not enough. I'm going to try the apple cider vinegar/dish soap in an open container or two to see if I can get your results.

I've tried Drain-o and rubbing alcohol in the drains, but that hasn't got rid of them either. Maybe dish soap in the drains would work better?

I shall report back.
Thanks!

I'm not sure if the dish soap would work alone. If Draino can't poison them, I doubt that would. And the whole concept of how the dish soap works is that it is mixed into an actual pool of liquid, breaking the surface tension so they fall in. The vinegar is just because they like it so much.

I hit my drain with baking soda followed by vinegar. It's a pretty strong chemical reaction. It could certainly blow apart any eggs that are down there. My idea was to blow up the eggs, rather than try to poison them. Bugs are amazingly resilient to poison. I take no prisoners! This is Blitzkrieg!

Plus it's just fun to watch. :lol:
 
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I shall put Baking soda followed by vinegar into the drains.

ALL GNATS MUST DIE!

I've gotten rid of fleas and ants before, but gnats seem like they're gone for a couple of weeks, then BAM, they're back.
 
I shall put Baking soda followed by vinegar into the drains.

ALL GNATS MUST DIE!

I've gotten rid of fleas and ants before, but gnats seem like they're gone for a couple of weeks, then BAM, they're back.

Eech. I guess I'm gonna have to be consistent. I'll just bomb my drains every couple days and keep spraying my trash with diluted eucalyptus/taking it out more. I hate throwing out a half-empty bag though... *sigh*

Full-frontal assault! We will fight them in the trash can! We will fight them in the drain! We will fight them in the kitchen, and the bathroom, and the litter box!
 
They cannot hide!

Expect no quarter Gnat Bastards.
 
Thanks for the tip! I'm always interested in home remedies for pests, because I hate using chemicals around the house or garden.
 
Gnats? You mean fruit flies? I've never heard of gnats infesting someone's home.
 
We have been having a really bad hornet season here, mostly those damn Yellow Jackets. A friend told me about putting meat balls out laced with a little of that flea and tick killer you drip on your dogs back. The hornets take it home, the colony eats it, goodbye Yellow Jackets. Not as holistic as Smoke's thing but effective.
 
There are a billion uses for vinegar, you can but a book about it.
 
Gnats? You mean fruit flies? I've never heard of gnats infesting someone's home.

Well, there's a pair of them on this thread, and there were lots of people using this online in their homes. :shrug:

Ain't gonna lie I could have take my trash out more. Being someone who eats a lot of fruit, there was probably plenty in there for them to eat.

But it's terrible here right now. There's a heat warning largely due to the humidity. All kinds of insects are having a ball. Saw cockroaches on the bus the other day. I swear, it's like Minnesota has suddenly turned into Georgia.
 
I can say from personal experience that the apple cider vinegar traps work very well. I currently have one in my back office. The other place they like to accumulate is in my utility sink. It is in the back of the shop, I wash my hands 8-10 times a day. When I turn on the water they will swarm up out of the sink. So I keep a can of brake cleaner and a lighter on the table next to the sink. A quick flick of the Bic and a shot from the brake clean and we have... fluit fries. The brake cleaner I buy is Next Dimension and it is simply alcohol in a can. It is not poisonous and evaporates very quickly leaving no residue. It is extremely effective for killing bugs, even the flying ones. The way it works, the evaporative rate is so high that it rapidly drops their body temperature and they die. For spiders and scorpions it usually takes 2-3 shots with a few seconds of drying time in between. But given that there is no residue I prefer it. Even on glass, no marks, I buy it by the case for my shop at $2.24 a can for 14 ozs. Of course it's primary purpose is actually cleaning car parts, but this wonderful other use has served me well and there are several cans around the house. Check your local auto parts store.
 
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