# Gnat Outbreak



## nanashi7 (Jun 5, 2013)

This is really of no fault of my rats, but more to the abhorrent conditions of the housekeeping done by my mother. And before we start telling the teen to grow up and appreciate what I have, know that this living arrangement is just like roommates. She kicked me out at 13 and we attempted to reconcile now that I'm 21. My uncle rents us a house and I keep to my room when home unless needing the bathroom. I pay rent, buy my own groceries and food, take care of the house and her dog including vet bills groomer bills and buying special hypoallergenic food. I can go on and on about this but let's get to the point about gnats and skip any sort of judgement. 

My mother made herself a lovely slow cook roast soup thing of some sort but fell asleep and burned it. She didn't eat it or pitch it. After a week it became bad enough to attract my notice (I do not use the kitchen in the house for anything). She took care of it last week which turned out to be putting the entire slow cooker on the back porch. The house got a lovely outbreak of flies which I managed to keep from my room (which is almost a separate entity from the house the way I keep it). However, today my sister came over to help my mom clean up and left my door open (it never is). 

Needless to say I returned to discover the flies have come into my room. In the rest of the house we can use bug spray. In my room I have birds and rats so pesticide is a no go. Instead, I've put forth a three-way attack. Every gnat or fly I saw I killed by hand (rather, mop). I placed a bowl of crystal light with a bunch of sugar poured in atop the rat cage, and covered it with plastic wrap with holes. I also placed a cup of vinegar out also covered with holey plastic wrap. I've double checked that all food and drink is closed, that I've no trash in my room, and even cleaned the cages out despite literally just having done this. I even vacuumed bugs from air haha. There are literally no more living flies I can see. 

I wanted to know suggestions of what else to do and how long before I should expect results? Vinegar really upsets my nose. 
Also are their any things I should be worried about visavis the animals? I've seen the rats take down a moth in flight so not too worried about it feeding on them. I did notice I have some bites on me though so I am concerned the problems are connected. The dogs are treated for fleas and ticks year round and nobody has been scratching excessively (and two rats even visited the vet yesterday for a wellness check). 


Thanks and I'm sorry for the ranting and ruining anyone's supper. I just get upset when people think parenthood entitles a person to privileges and rights without defining what a parent is. 


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## JLSaufl (Jan 20, 2013)

Ugh, I feel you on the mom-front. I, too do not get along with my mom and wish my parents were separated so I could spend time with my dad and not be bothered by her nonsense. But alas. 

I guess i'm a little confused as to what the vinegar is for? I'm assuming to trap little critters? I've never used vinegar, but I have used beer with a little oil in it - the beer entices them and the oil coats their wings/body making them unable to fly. Either way, after day three, if you haven't seen any, you're probably good. We keep a bowl of 'compostables' on our counter and when it's full, it goes to the composter. Sometimes we get fruit flies, but after a day or so of cleaning the bowl out - they disappear.

Also if you ever need to vent about your mom, feel free to PM me, I know exactly what that's like, and I'm sorry.


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## naley_2006 (Aug 19, 2013)

Vinegar is to attract the gnats. They will land on it and eventually cloud the bottom. It's almost as good as a fly strip for flies. 

I lived with my sister this summer while home from school and we, too, had a gnat outbreak, most likely from leaving the door open to glance out of the screen door while my nieces played outside. Surprisingly, the gnats didn't even go near my rat's cage and tended to stay in the kitchen/bathroom area where my sister attempted vinegar also. Alas, no gnats took the bait and she then tried some sort of apple-something or other mixed with vinegar. It still didn't work. I believe her ending result was when dish liquid was mixed with vinegar and the gnats finally started diving in. It'll take awhile, but I'd be patient.


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## nanashi7 (Jun 5, 2013)

I mixed like five different types of vinegar. I'm told gnats love it. I'm down to two gnats and have a sugar bowl put by the animal cages and food and vinegar by the human food. I saw something at the store meant to repel rats and be ferret safe so I'm going to try and pick some up today. 


My mother hasn't even been back to the house in two weeks because she didn't pay the cable or Internet bill and gets bored. I think I've made the gnat problem worse because I've just been locking them in rooms hoping they'd find nothing to eat. 

So far my traps have enticed none but my rats. I may just put the pets over at a friends house and bug spray everything clean up and bring them back. 


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## Mitsy (Apr 8, 2013)

I see you have used vinegar try mixing it with some dish soap and then putting the hokey plastic wrap over it. The vinegar will attract them but the dish soap will kill them. Try to put it in the area they the most instead of the areas they aren't you will just attract them more to your stuff. 

My family has been using the vinegar and dish soap for as long as I can remember seeing the bowls put out and they work great.


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## nanashi7 (Jun 5, 2013)

Does it have to be ny kind of dish soap? Ill put another bowl out. I have like no furniture in my room so to be pet safe I have limited options. 


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## Timberlee Fields (Aug 2, 2013)

A sticky paper trap usually hangs so maybe that is an option?


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## Mitsy (Apr 8, 2013)

nanashi7 said:


> Does it have to be ny kind of dish soap? Ill put another bowl out. I have like no furniture in my room so to be pet safe I have limited options.
> 
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App


Any kind will work. I would try a fruity smelling dish soap. 


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## Rat Daddy (Sep 25, 2011)

If you are talking about fruit flies.... I take a Snapple bottle and put a little fruit in the bottom then put a sponge (open cell packing material or cotton may do) in the top. I cut a small hole and (slide a straw through the sponge to make a trap. The fruit flies go down the straw to get at the fruit and then can't find their way out. Once the bugs are in throw it out or freeze it and feed the bugs to your tropical fish. Note if left alone the fruit flies will actually breed in your bottle and you get even more free fish food.


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