Gnats, normally fruit flies, show up suddenly because they reproduce quickly. It only takes a few inside the house before it can become a fairly serious infestation where they are all over.

If you want to prevent and get rid of these gnats, there are changes that you need to make especially in the kitchen.

Cover the garbage cans as best as possible. Gnats will eat the decomposing foods inside the trash can and reproduce very quickly. If need be, take the garbage outside as soon as possible or seal it up while inside. Doing this should get rid of the problem in a few days if this is their food source.

Wash and put away all dishes. Also wipe down your counters and floors getting up all food scraps and sticky materials.

The next trick is to put out some traps.

One version is just some dish soap in water inside a bowl. The gnats will fly and get stuck in this. It won’t catch them all but will gradually catch them.

Another strategy is to drop some fruit into an empty 2 liter bottle. Do this right before bed. Throw this away as soon as you wake up. Many will be inside this bottle. You will at least get them out of the house.

The more of these traps you use the faster they will be gone.

Yes, vinegar can get rid of gnats, but you have to use it properly.

You can just put vinegar out in a bowl and a few of the gnats will end up getting trapped in it and will drown. But this is a very ineffective method as it will only catch a couple overnight.

The best way to use vinegar to get rid of gnats is to put the vinegar into a jar or bowl then cover it with plastic wrap. Make small holes in the wrap so that the gnats can make their way inside. Even though it seems that the gnats would just fly out of the holes many of them won’t.

Use a couple of these in areas you are having problems with gnats. Just take the bowls outside in the morning or when you check them to literally get the gnats outside of your home.

Apple cider vinegar tends to work best but white vinegar will also work for this method.