How to Get Rid of Fungus Gnats and Fruit Flies

Note: This post is actually about how to kill fungus gnats, not fruit flies, but so many people confuse them that I included fruit flies in the title just in case.

If you have house plants, office plants, or a problem throwing out old bananas, this post is for you.

What is a fungus gnat?

A fungus gnat is a small bug that lives in your plants, feasts on your plant decay, and lays billions of eggs in your plant soil. It likes to fly around your face at inconvenient times, it does not bite you, and it spreads rapidly, infesting all your greenery.

Good things to try (That will not work)

1. Replacing the top 2″ of soil in each of your pots.
2. Organic commercial bug sprays.
3. Any bug spray you can buy at a garden center, even the ones with malathion.
4. Prayer.
5. Soap.
6. Rinsing and spraying your plants with water.

What does work?

Fill a 2 oz spray bottle with very hot water. I use water straight out of my Keurig coffee machine, so it’s the temperature meant for teabags and dissolving sugar.

Important note: Do not immediately pick up the container with your bare hands. Use a cloth or you will be very uncomfortable.

Also: If you use a plastic sprayer, you may want to wait a bit to pour the water in – if it’s hot enough, it will warp a plastic container.

Add 10-12 drops of lemon oil. You can buy this online or in some herbal or New Age shops.

Spray your plants liberally with the lemon-water.

Fungus gnats have a devious life cycle. After one spray application, you should notice a decrease of flying bugs around your plants.

Unfortunately, their eggs are still in your plant soil, and will hatch in a week or so, depending on when they were laid. I recommend spraying every week for the next couple of weeks, until the gnats are completely gone.

This method was given to me by a coworker named Mel. If this works for you and you are grateful, feel free to send her a bag of Funions. Or, just for fun, you can send my buddy Donn a bag of Sour Patch Kids. Donn had nothing to do with this, but does enjoy them, so I figured it was worth a shot.