Gnats are known to infest houses, especially those with potted plants or indoor gardens. They can also infect greenhouses, usually depending on the type of plant and soil condition in the greenhouse. However, that doesn’t mean that your home cannot get a gnat infestation if you do not have indoor plants. Some gnat species thrive in various other conditions, which might be present in your house, like unclean drainage systems, decomposing food debris, garbage disposals, over-ripe fruits, and other rotting materials.
Effects of Gnats
Different species of gnats pose different types of threats to both humans and plants. That is in addition to them being a nuisance when they are in or around your home or business premises. It is mainly for those reasons that gnat control is essential. Some of the main effects are highlighted below.
Diseases and Bites
A majority of gnat species do not pose any known threat to humans regarding the spread of diseases. However, some, such as the female species of the black gnat, are known to carry and transmit various parasites that can spread diseases among livestock and humans. River blindness is among the various types of diseases that can be transmitted by gnats to humans. Such species of gnats feed on blood, which means that they also bite. Diseases and bites are among the top reasons why there are numerous established programs for controlling gnat populations.
Common Gnat Infestation Signs
The most common gnat infestation sign is the sighting of the insects in or around your home. For that, you need to positively identify insects as they look quite like a variety of other insects. The number of gnats flying around in your home might not be alarming, but the fact that each lays up to 300 eggs per week should be more than frightening. Other signs include wilting or yellowing of plants, and in some cases, the death of plants in your home.
Top Prevention Tips
The prevention of gnats in your home requires you to employ proven gnat control methods, which are mostly about controlling the amount of moisture in the house and ensuring no decomposing material is exposed. For the case where you have potted plants, you need to ensure that the top of the soil is not too moist. You can do that by allowing the soil to dry completely before watering your plants again. You can also set traps to help control the population of the adult gnats in your home.