Gnats can make your summer evenings miserable. They swirl around your head, get in your mouth, up your nose and in your eyes. It can look like a cloud around your head. It’s especially bad after rain and in the typical swampy Washington, D.C. summers. We’re often asked by clients how to eliminate gnats and whether mosquito and tick treatments will get rid of gnats.

Some clients confuse gnats with mosquitoes and will call us to treat or retreat their yard. Gnats are much smaller – only about an eighth of an inch long, have very small wings, and resemble a small fly. Even though it may feel like it due to their numbers, gnats do not bite. But they definitely can make for a miserable experience.

Female gnats can lay up to 300 eggs and they have a very short reproduction cycle, which means eliminating gnats can be difficult and a constant battle.

How to Control Gnats

Gnats are attracted to and breed in wet, damp and moist environments. This is why you will often see gnats in the morning with the morning dew. Try to identify and eliminate areas of standing water, damp soil or plants that provide more hospitable breeding environments. Overwatering of lawns, wet mulch and heavy rains can also create the perfect environment for gnat breeding. Dry out the soil and you will help kill or prevent gnat larvae from breeding. Make sure drains have no standing water and gutters are not clogged.

Fly swatters and electric zappers help eliminate individual pests, but do not solve the breeding problem or eliminate the conditions.

Mosquito and tick treatments will help reduce or eliminate gnats, but more frequent treatments may be needed if this is a major problem around your home.

Areas To Inspect:

  • Mulch
  • Drains and Sump Pumps
  • Gutters
  • Under Decks
  • Drainage swells

Pest control professionals can help treat for both the adult and larval stages of gnats as well as identify conditions that may contribute to gnat and other pest reproduction. However, it’s important to note treatment may not eliminate the problem without physical changes to the breeding environment.

For more information or help eliminating gnats and other pests, contact us My Pest Pros today for a FREE pest control quote!