Fungus gnat infestation remains one common occurrence for many conscious homeowners. The dark-bodied buggers to have transparent/clear wings badly affect the bathroom.
Using random harsh chemicals or pro pest control shouldn’t make the list right away.
You better consider indoor remedies to get rid of gnats in the bathroom. The enthusiastic at-home implementation should accompany you in reducing the problematic issue.
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Where Do the Gnats Come from?
Gnats are tiny, blood-sucking flies to resemble similar to mosquitos. It mostly lives in the inaccessible or hardly accessible bathroom or kitchen spaces.
In simple words, Gnats infest your house over getting attracted by sweet smell or scent. And it can detect even the slightest fragrance from anything.
You can consider fruit, garbage, houseplants to provide minimalistic sweet essence. Moist spots, pipes in poor condition, dirty sink set the breeding ground.
Can Gnats Hurt Humans?
Female gnats require a blood meal to lay healthy eggs in specific spots. And that’s where they eventually bite mammals like pets, livestock, poultry. And a higher level of infestation includes humans on the list.
One or two gnat bites shouldn’t cause any major health issues whatsoever. Its bite can’t even transmit other diseases as per research. Only some mere cases of severe illness have been reported worldwide.
Signs of Gnats in Your Bathroom
It’s not necessary for the bathroom to contain gnat infestation only. Kitchen, as well as handwashing sinks, are great sources of breeding, living, growing. Encountering any of the following three signs means it’s time for action.
- Adult gnats remain clearly visible in feeding on food scraps. You can detect gnats resting on bathroom floors, walls, ceilings.
- Gently pass some air through the bathroom or sink pipes with a dryer/fan. Air movement should force the gnats to come out.
- Check into the garbage disposal for potential infestation. Disturbed gnats should immediately come out of the garbage drain.
Many people keep referring to fruit flies & drain flies as fungus gnats more often. However, there are considerable differences between the three indoor bugs. Likewise, it’s somewhat difficult to catch the distinction with naked eyes.
(Credit – How to Murder Pests)
How to Start Exterminating Gnats?
It’s easy to prevent the infestation rather than neutralizing the attack. But you need to take steps for any unwelcomed guests anyway.
Let’s check out some effective homemade traps to reduce the gnat problem.
1. Checking Simple Outdoor Remedy
It’s arguably the simplest method to cost you nothing on implementation. However, the method isn’t exactly effective to kill the whole bunch of heavy infestations. Still, you should consider the process to confront the intruders for a start.
Simple Vinegar Trap
- Apple Cider Vinegar
Find yourself one intact, usable, reasonably large glass/transparent jar. Fill a certain level of the empty jar with apple cider vinegar. Poke multiple holes around the surrounding surfaces right over the vinegar.
Of course, keep the opening top closed to block the entrance right away. Place the trap in the affected bathroom as well as sinks. Gnats entering through the holes overnight won’t get themselves out.
2. Starting with Powerful Solution
Time to address heavy infestation with a combo to use several everyday contents. And no need to spend additional bucks on special killing composition either. It’s an effective liquid to reduce or exterminate the bathroom gnats pretty fast.
Apple Cider Vinegar
- 2 Tbs Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1 Tbs Sweet Sugar
- 20 Drops Dish Soap
- ⅔ Cups Lukewarm Water
Mix everything together in a bowl to create a uniform liquid combination. Place the solution close to gnat-infested spots to attract the flies. Vinegar attracts the gnats while dish soap will kill the intruders.
3. Pouring Regular Chemical Cleaner
Ammonia as well as bleach remains a popular chemical agent for indoor cleaning. And you better start considering either one to neutralize the bathroom flies. It’s a functional homemade remedy to restore freshness without causing any damage.
Ammonia or Bleach
- Liquid Ammonia
- Bleach Solution
Directly pour the ammonia into the sink or bathroom pipes, closing towards the center. The same goes for bleach, except you’ll have to prep the liquid mix.
Don’t ever mix ammonia with bleach by yourself, no matter what. It’ll eventually create a horribly poisonous gas to affect almost every at-home species.
4. Somewhat Harmless Measures
The easy recipe remains one effective method of repelling gnats from your place. However, it doesn’t necessarily kill the infesting intruders right away. The scent actually does the trick of neutralizing eggs against pushing the flies.
Baking Soda Repel
- 1 Cup Baking Soda
- Lukewarm Tap Water
Place the intended amount of baking soda in a bowl first. Start adding the hot water to the powder gradually. Continue mixing thoroughly to create a usable, thick, uniform paste by your hand.
Apply the paste directly on places where gnats tend to spend the most time. Let the paste sit for 5 – 10 minutes before washing. Its scent will drive the gnats away while the paste will wash the eggs.
5. Using All-Natural Scent Power
You should consider using gnats' love for sweetened things against themselves for action. There are two different options in hand for eventual neutralization. However, neither one can stand extremely well to exterminate heavy bathroom contamination.
Fruit or Candle Trap
- Rotting Fruits
- Regular Candle
Warp some rotting fruits in a plastic bag with perforating holes for entrance. Attracting scents will make the gnats enter the trap through the orifices. But the entering ones will face difficulty in getting out.
Light several or multiple candles right over the water-holding tools. Turning off the light will attract the gnats to initiate eventual burn. Also, the surrounding heat sends the gnats downward for drowning.
Controlling Gnats in Other Space
Kitchen or bathroom is undeniably the primary living place of Gnats. However, an excessive infestation will lead the intruders to hit other spaces. And you must remove the bugs from other spots for confinement.
- Eliminate dampness, moisture & scraps from the space.
- Locate the hotspots or preferred time for gnat intrusion.
- Spray a soapy solution directly on the gnats right away.
- Pay attention to the furniture back, openings & bottom.
- Lock all the openings while cleaning the kitchen/bathroom.
- Check for killing bats or traps to exterminate the gnats.
Developing a Control Plan ASAP
Indoor pest or bug infestation always continues to grow with time without action. Therefore, you must take the situation into account for immediate measures. Controlling the infestation must attend your priority to keep the house clean.
- Start cleaning the infested house from inside out.
- Get rid of all rotten fruits, buildups, and residuals.
- Pour sufficient hot water into the bathroom pipes.
- Wipe clean the tiny eggs from the gnat living spot.
- Clean gardens or backyard attached to the house.
- Pay attention to narrow to hard-to-reach corners.
- Use fly-killing electric bats for light-scale intrusion.
- Plant natural repellents inside/outside the spaces.
- Check harsh chemicals for a heavy gnat infestation.
Consulting Pest Control Experts
Negligence or poor cleaning condition will drastically make things worse with time. And you may start having trouble living inside the house soon enough. DIY remedial measures shouldn’t work anymore on the intruders for quick deprivation/killing.
That’s where you’ll have to set a considerable amount on professional neutralization services. Multiple pest control companies offer different packages to exterminate the issues. It’s more like a paycheck for your previous negligence or carelessness.
Preventing Future Gnat Infestation
One session of neutralizing infestation should make you realize the hardship. That’s where you must consider precautionary steps to ensure no mishappens. You better grow healthy habits from the expert-suggested preventive measures.
- Always clean your dishes, foods, drinks after taking a meal. Also, wipe clean any spillage on the open surfaces.
- Don’t leave the fruits exposed to open tables or flat surfaces. Store the items in refrigerator to keep the gnats out.
- Look for no-scent cleaners to treat the dining surfaces. You can’t afford to use any bug-attracting cleaners.
- Take the trash out every night for cleanups. Keep the trash can closed all the time to prevent pesty intrusions.
- Don’t overload the indoor plants' soil with regular watering. Wet soil may become a breeding ground for gnats.
- Check for any steady water source to support gnat breeding. Keep the house’s inside & outside clean from moisture.
- Pour sufficiently warm water into the sinks, bathroom floor, tubs. It should neutralize many pests or bug eggs.
- Implement neutralizing actions immediately after confirming infestation. Don’t allow the gnats to breed or grow.
- Flood the narrow corners in your bathroom once in a while. The action will prevent supporting many intruders.
- Always maintain cleanliness for your sink & bathroom. Poor condition literally encourages further infestation.
Final Words
Living a healthy lifestyle is indeed the ultimate key to living a happy life. And you can’t ignore the significance of staying clean to prevent bugging intrusion. And the guide explained right above should make it clear for every homeowner.
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