Small, buzzing flies can be a great annoyance. These little flies are an even greater annoyance when they are in your home. Some of them carry diseases and can spread them to humans. These gnats are a nuisance. So you’re wondering how gnats get in your house? Fungus gnats can come in on over watered house plants or through an open window or door. They are attracted to food such as fungus or, in the case of a fruit fly, over ripe fruit.
There are three small flies that are commonly called gnats. They are the fruit fly, the fungus gnat, and the drain fly. In this article we will talk about all three. Each of them can come into your home and find food, water and a place to stay.
THE FUNGUS GNAT
These gnats are very small and love to eat fungus. They often make their way into our homes by way of house plant. The soil of these house plants can have a fungus in them, especially if they have been over watered. If you find gnats swarming around a plant, it is likely these gnats. To remove their food source, remove the plant from the pot and clean any fungus off of the roots. It is often a white color, and can simply be wiped off. Then replace the soil with fresh gardeners soil.
Sometimes these gnats can come in from the outside looking for fungus. If they find it, they will lay eggs in the fungus and an infestation can occur. A generation of fungus gnats can occur in as little as 17 days. The female can lay as many as 300 eggs! That means that an infestation can occur very quickly. In these situations, its a good idea to call in an experienced Oklahoma pest control company to help.
THE FRUIT FLY
These small flies are annoying in their presence, but don’t do any other harm. They do not spread any known human diseases, but are still disgusting none the less. Fruit fly larvae consume the microorganisms that break down fruit, and some of the sugars in the fruit as well. They lay their eggs on the fruit and also will put her feces on the egg sack as well. She does this to pass on the probiotics in her stomach to her larvae. She will lay about 100 eggs.
Again, this is a perfect situation for infestation that can be solved by a Tulsa pest control company. Removal of old or over ripe fruit will usually take care of the problem. Instead of putting this refuse straight into the trash, where it can continue to fester and attract fruit flies, it is a good idea to put old fruit in the freezer until trash day. This stops the reproductive cycle of this pest.
DRAIN FLIES
Drain flies are so aptly named because they are often found buzzing around dirty drains. The fallacy is that they come from the drains, but this isn’t true. Drain flies will enter through any open window or door in search of food. They feed off of deteriorating plant and organic matter. Often, they find this matter in drains where food has been cleaned off of plates and dinnerware. The flies will then enter the drain, and deposit eggs in the food materials stuck to the sides of the drain.
Many people will pour bleach down drains in an attempt to kill off these flies. That is not advised. If you directly hit a drain fly with bleach, it will probably kill it, but the flies are seldom in the drain once they reach adulthood. Its the eggs, larvae and pupal stages that are still in the drain. These stages are unaffected by bleach, but the other micro organisms that compete with these flies for the plant matter in the drain are effected. You essentially kill off any competing micro organisms, making your drain much more effective at producing flies. Its far better to consult an Oklahoma pest control company.
WHAT DO I DO?
So if you are having a problem with an infestation of any of these flies, there is help. Start by removing the source of food that they are eating and breeding in. Sometimes this is not easy to identify, or these food sources are hidden. That is why finding an experienced exterminator is so important. He can help you eliminate these pests and has proven chemical solutions as well.
Hopefully this article has helped you find out how gnats get in your house. If you are in need of a Tulsa exterminator, feel free to Contact Us. Here at TermMax Pest Control, we are here to help!