How do I catch Fungus Gnats? I'm going insane!

[girlymom2]

Did you ever find a way to get rid of them? I'm going insane here. I have actually had 2 different pest control companies come every month since we had this house built 5 years ago. So we have the outside sprayed every 2 weeks. A couple of weeks ago I had one of the companies come and spray inside my house for these fungus gnats.
Didn't work. They're back in full force. They are only in my bathrooms that I know of and very few of them make it to adulthood. We have a ton of them outside despite how often it gets sprayed.

I have 2 little girls and there are dozens of these little bugs in their bathroom as well as my master bathroom. There aren't any in the 3rd bathroom though. We've tried doing Drano in the drains and it doesn't work. I think they're coming in through cracks in the grout from the house settling.
Let me know if you ever figured it out!

[Panks]

hi girlymom2. I'm sorry to tell you that I never figured it out they eventually started to die out... but it took months.
I did find an old storm drain outside my bathroom that was so covered with dead leaves that I had never seen it before! I found it because I had to rip up and replace every single storm drain outside my house I don't know if that was the cause of the initial problem or not. Maybe it would be worthwhile for you guys to put a garden hose down all your exterior drains in case they are breeding in there.
I know its really gross looking but fly paper helped a lot. I also kept a bottle of rubbing alcohol in a spray bottle in every room and one small squirt was enough to kill them and I didn't have to use nasty bug spray.

Best of luck. Hang in there! I know how frustrating and annoying those things can be!

[Dutch62]

The answer is a potato.

Now you said you don't have any plants so you'll need to add a twist. Fungus gnats are pretty poor fliers. So cut up some slices and place them near where you catch them flying most. The larvae will be attracted like magnets. You should be able to narrow down the source and then discard it and deal with a couple more days of the adults but the numbers will go down quickly as the adult doesn't live long. Hey maybe the source is a potato.check the pantry. For a little more info and perhaps more help look at Potato recipe getting rid of Fungus gnats | Pest Cemetery I hope it helps.

[toadfish]

I had a ton of them coming in last night. Probably living in a pile of leaves outside, they've gone bonkers in the unseasonably warm weather we're having. They're clearly attracted to light so I set up a trap that I know my grandfather used to trap all kinds of little critters. Fill a frying pan or pie tin with soapy water and place a bright lamp over it with a shade that directs the light down into the pan. Turn off all the other lights in the house (easiest at bed time...) and leave the trap set over night. The little bugs are attracted to the bright light and fall into the soapy water. The soap blocks their tracheal tubes that they need to breath so they die right away. Its not the total solution to an infestation but it will get your flying population under control. And there's the benefit of it not costing a fortune or using stinky chemicals dangerous to your pets. I believe you can add some white vinegar to the water to deter your pet from drinking it over night, if that's a concern. I've heard this method can help with fleas in the carpet, too. Just set your contraption down on the floor.

This morning I have about 3 dozen of them in the pan and only a few still left flying.

[my54ford]

We have had very good luck controlling these pesky critters out on the farm useing vineger. Put some vineger in a jar (like a mayo jar) then roll a funnel out of paper and stick it in the jar. They fly in but they don't fly out.......

[nicet4]

Originally Posted by Panks

I swear I am killing 20-30 a day, every single @#$%^ day! Its driving me crazy. I thought they were mosquitos at first but then I realized I'm not getting bitten. I found a picture of Fungus gnats on the internet and it looks like the varmits that are flying around the house. They're definitely not small like fruit flies.

I've tried a dish of vinegar and soap and it didn't work

I tried fly paper and that didn't work.

I have no plants in the house.

I often have dirty dishes in the sink (I've read that attracts gnats) but they don't hang around there or the garbage can as much as the bathroom. Why do they like the bathroom?

I find as many in the hallway as I do the kitchen, so I don't know what the heck they are attracted to??

Please help. Its driving me crazy

Are you sue it is a fungus gnat? Could it be a drain moth?


If it's a drain moth exterminators won't rid you of the problem.

Drain moths take require very damp environments to live. Do you have a water line (actually sewer but I am trying to be nice) break under the crawl space you don't know about?

Until you fix the problem with where they breed they will drive you absolutely insane.

Have you found where they enter the house? Crack in the floor? Maybe coming out of a drain?