How To Get Rid of Gnats in House/Bathroom?

By Reggie April 12, 2024 Recommended 0 Comments

A Gnat infestation is a nuisance in many households. They are attracted to improperly disposed of food wastes, rotting fruits, moisture, and over-watered plants. These mosquito-like creatures are troublesome and creepy, and cause brings a lot of bacteria into your house.

If a gnat infestation victimizes you, here are some effective ways how to get rid of gnats in the house and bathroom.

Why are there Gnats in House?

Image of Gnats — Gnats are a kind of flying insect. They are mostly attracted to moisture, food spills, leftover food, and garbage cans

Let’s start by understanding why and how gnats get inside your house in the first place. There is always a point of entrance, a gap or crack in your house’s walls and ventilation systems.

Gnats can make use of the open spaces around your house and migrate inside to start a manifestation.

They always originate somewhere outside and get into your homes in search of food and moist places. But a Gnat infestation really starts when they have migrated inside your homes and found rotten fruit or leftovers.

They can also set up bases around garbage cans and bathrooms. Finally, they also love moist plants that are over-watered. It’s really a problem when they infect and lay their larvae on the indoor plants. This can also start an infestation.

How to Get Rid of Gnats in the House

As troubling as Gnats are, it is simple to get rid of them if the case isn’t too serious. There are several methods that you can employ to get rid of them. Let’s have a brief look at each option:

1. Crafting Gnat Traps

Image of a Gnat Trap — Gnat Trap which composed of a jar, funnel-shaped paper, tape around the mouth of the jar, and a vinegar mixture

The first thing you must understand is that Gnats are weak against dish soap. Thus, it is our key ingredient in many gnats’ traps and repellants. Furthermore, it is also readily available in our households.

You can set up liquid bowl traps around your house. Mix dish soap with apple cider and vinegar. Put this solution in a bowl and keep it open on a table.

Gnats will soon be attracted to the apple cider, but the dish soap will drown them. If there are many gnats flying around, you should keep multiple bowl traps.

Moreover, if you have rotten fruits lying around, you can set them up as traps for gnats. Punch small holes around plastic and use it to seal the fruit. The gnats will go to the fruit through the holes and become trapped inside.

2. Gnat Sprays

Image of a Homemade Gnat killing spray — Homemade Gnat killing spray which composed of dish soap, alcohol, and vinegar mixture

It is very easy to come up with a spray repellant for gnats. To get rid of gnats with this technique, Mix dish soap with one part of vinegar and four parts of water. Put the liquid into a spray container and use it directly on the gnats flying around. You can weaken and kill the gnats by spraying them with this solution.

Another deadly combination is mixing red wine with dish soap. The smell of the red wine is sufficient to allure multiple gnats, and the dish soap can do its job.

3. The Candlestick Method

Image of Killing gnats with a candle — Killing gnats with a candle

Gnats are also attracted to a light source in a dark environment. We can make use of this with the candlestick method. Light a candle in the middle of a dark room and place it in a bowl of shallow water.

The gnats will be attracted to the light and get close enough to burn down from the flame. In addition, the water underneath can also trap and drown them.

4. What if The Infestation is Too Serious?

In life, it is better to let the professional handle sticky situations. If you think that the gnat infestation in your house is too serious, it might be the best option to seek professional help.

You can easily look up local pest exterminators and call them to do the job. If the infestation is deep, the entire exterminating process can cost you about $600.

How to Get Rid of Gnats in the Bathroom

In addition to food and light sources, gnats are also attracted to moist places. Spaces like toilets and drainage are perfect for a gnat infestation. If you see gnats flying around your bathroom, you can get rid of them by using tons of water.

You can mix 1 cup bleaching powder with 20 liters of water and flow it down the drainage. You can repeat the process until all gnats are blown away. In addition, you can also use the sprays and traps discussed above to get rid of gnats in the bathroom.

How to Get Rid of Gnats in House Plants

House plants are a great place to store gnat larvae. It happens when you overwater the indoor plants and build up too much moisture around them. The gnats are attracted to the most space in the plant and infest it gradually.

One key ingredient to getting rid of gnats in house plants is to use hydrogen peroxide. This chemical can kill all the larvae in contact and stop the infestation.

You can mix 1 cup of hydrogen peroxide with a half-gallon of water. After this, you can pour this solution into the potting mix of your indoor plant. The soil will absorb the mixture and get rid of the gnats.

Another option if you don’t have access to the hydrogen peroxide is to use the neem solution. It can bring similar results to hydrogen peroxide.