How to Get Rid of Gnats in Your Home

Gnats are small, pesky insects that don't cause harm to your home in modest numbers, but their presence is often an annoyance. The good news is that as annoying as gnats are, the ones you notice inside are likely harmless. But how do you get them to go away, and how can you ensure you're not dealing with biting insects?

You could see drain flies, fruit flies, biting gnats, midges, or mosquitoes, all of which can be mistaken for gnats. These pests require different removal methods. For example, if you're seeing small, gnat-like insects in rooms with sinks, pouring diluted bleach down the drains can effectively deter them quickly—but further steps are necessary to clear a drain fly infestation. When it comes to household gnats, the infestation is typically due to a source of organic material they're drawn to. First, it's essential to identify the specific pest in your home.

What Do Gnats Look Like?

Found throughout North America, fungus gnats, part of the Mycetophila genus, are typically the culprits for indoor gnat issues. Fungus gnats generally are between 1/8 and 1/4 inch long (4 to 7 mm) and can be brown, black, or yellowish. Fungus gnats do not bite.

Outside, fungus gnats can be found in shady and moist environments and are most active in summer. Adult female fungus gnats lay their eggs in soil where their larvae eat decaying plants and organic matter.

Lucky for the gnats that want to move inside, many people have interior house plants, which provide fungus gnats with a year-round feeding and breeding source. Keep an eye out for these pests flitting around light fixtures and windows.

If you have interior house plants and think you have fungus gnats but aren't sure, yellow sticky traps can be placed in your plant pots near the base of the plant. This will help determine if you have any fungus gnat activity in the soil.

Signs of a Gnat Infestation

Gnats are attracted to damp spots to lay eggs, particularly affecting houseplants since they like to lay eggs in moist soil. A gnat infestation can damage some houseplants, causing wilting, loss of leaves, and leaf yellowing.

Unlike other pests where you find other evidence first, like fecal droppings or nests, your first hint of a gnat problem is likely seeing the flies themselves flitting around. Common swarm spots include:

• Ripening fruit and trash cans
• Sinks and bathtubs
• Damp areas, birdbaths, and pipes
  

3 Ways to Get Rid of Gnats

Address Moist Soil

Wet soil is an attractant for many pests. If the soil in or around your home tends to be overly moist, try letting it dry out more between waterings to discourage gnats and other pests from being attracted to it.

If you have houseplants, ensure they are not being overwatered, as this creates a year-round breeding and feeding source inside your home for gnats and other pests.

Install Light Traps

Light traps can be installed inside and outside to discourage gnats. Interior light traps will help keep inside gnats and other nuisance pest populations manageable. Exterior light traps can help prevent gnats from entering your home in the first place, but they must be brighter and more exciting to the pests outside than the lights they can see inside your home.

Clean up Sources of Organic Material

Gnats and many of their lookalikes are attracted to rotting organic materials. Whether it's damp potting soil and plant matter, scummy residue in drain pipes, or rotting food in a compost bin, these sources must be addressed if you want to get a handle on the issue.

Don't overwater your soil; clean your drains with a stiff scrub brush and drain cleaner, and ensure your compost bin has a tight lid.

What Causes Gnats?

When determining what type of tiny flying pest is invading your home, start by asking yourself the following questions:

1. Where are you finding them most?
2. What might they feed on?
3. Where could they be finding water?

Gnats and small flies that appear inside homes are drawn to rotting organic matter, which they use for both a feeding and breeding site. You will want to address as many of these sources as you can to get rid of them.

How to Prevent Gnats in Your Home

Whether you're dealing with gnats or one of the many pests mistaken for them, you can prevent an ongoing issue by focusing on sanitation. Once the pest's food source or breeding site is cleaned up (or never allowed to linger in the first place), the issue should be resolved.

Gnats vs. Other Common Pests

Sometimes called "no-see-ums" due to their tiny size, gnats are commonly confused with other flying pests. A gnat infestation is often fungus gnats, but your unwelcome flying visitors could also be drain flies, fruit flies, biting gnats, midges, or mosquitoes.

Every pest is different, and knowing what you're dealing with is essential before formulating a treatment plan. Here's how to tell the difference to identify and address your pest problem properly.

Drain Flies

Drain flies are tiny gnat look-alikes, sometimes called moth flies, because they resemble small, powdery moth. Drain flies are about 1/8 inch (4 mm) long with long antennae and light tan to gray coloring. They have faint black and white speckling on their heart-shaped wings and tiny white hairs on their body. They do not bite.

Drain flies (also called bathroom flies) feed on scum, moisture, and rotting organic matter that accumulates in bathroom drains. This problem can be solved by adequately cleaning drains, but pouring bleach or drain cleaner is insufficient. A bleach soak will kill adult pests, not the larvae. Eliminate the feeding and breeding source by scrubbing the drain thoroughly with a cleaner and a stiff scrub brush.

Fruit Flies

Fruit flies are another pest commonly confused with interior or fungus gnats. Also called vinegar flies, they are tiny, around 1/16 inch (2 mm), with distinct red eyes and a mix of tan, black, and gray on their head and body. They do not bite but are annoying. They have also been known to carry disease.

Fruit flies are so small they can pass through ordinary screening used to keep other flies away. They are common in houses, especially kitchens, restaurants, and other food-handling sites, attracted to ripening or fermenting fruit, other fly droppings, and uncooked food.

Biting Gnats

Biting gnats, including the buffalo gnat, the eye gnat, and the Clear Lake gnat (which is native to a specific area of California), are all gnats that are drawn to moist outdoor environments with plenty of rotting organic material perfect for laying eggs and feeding.

If you are dealing with interior gnats, most of these varieties of biting gnats are not likely your culprits, but if you live near swamps or wetlands, take preventive measures to keep these nasty biters outside.

Midges and Mosquitoes

These pests are frequently referred to as gnats, even though they don't look much like them up close. Midges and mosquitoes are much bigger than gnats. Both are generally outdoor pests, but they can end up inside, especially during summer evenings when it is warm, and they are attracted to sources of light around the home.

Mosquitoes and midges look similar and share a few commonalities. Both seek out standing water (where they lay their eggs), are known for swarming (especially at dusk), and are attracted to light. Mosquitoes are notorious for their blood-sucking proboscis and their bite. Midges are entirely harmless, have no sucking mouthparts, and are easily identified by their fluffy antennae.

When to Call a Professional

With interior gnat and fly issues, the issue will likely go away once the feeding or breeding ground is found and removed. If you are having trouble finding where the gnats or flies are coming from, call a professional integrated pest management specialist to help you deal with the problem.