What spray do gnats hate?

Author: Prof. Stephen Walter  |  Last update: Wednesday, May 14, 2025

Short answer: a repellant containing 20% Picaridin is probably going to be the most effective at repelling gnats. Basically, your options are DEET or Picaridin.

What can I spray to keep gnats away?

Use essential oils: Certain essential oils, such as peppermint, lemongrass, and eucalyptus oil, can repel gnats. You can diffuse them in your home or mix a few drops with water in a spray bottle and use it to mist the area. Use plants: There are several plants that can repel gnats, such as basil, marigolds, and catnip.

What smell will keep gnats away?

Peppermint, lemon, eucalyptus, vanilla, and lavender essential oils all have scents that gnats dislike. Place a few drops of any of these essential oils on cotton balls and set around entryways to your home or areas where gnats are a problem.

What gets rid of gnats asap?

Use a small saucer to mix a few tablespoons of apple cider vinegar, a few drops of dishwashing soap and a little sugar. Put the saucer near the gnats. Use more than one saucer, if needed. The gnats will be drawn to the sweet solution, fall in and get trapped.

How do you stop gnats from flying around you?

You can use nearly any type of cooking oil to keep gnats away. Choose olive oil, coconut oil, or vegetable oil for instance. Then, soak a cotton ball in the oil, and dab it over your forehead, behind your ears, and down your neck. The oil masks your scent from the gnats so they are less likely to notice you.

What smell do gnats hate?

What keeps gnats off your skin?

Use an insect repellant on the clothing you wear and on your skin and in your hair. Many lotions contain insect repellant that will keep gnats away. Use a nontoxic spray in and under your hair and around your neck. Use insect repellants only as directed for safety.

What is the best homemade gnat repellent?

Fill a glass or a bowl with 1 tablespoon of sugar, 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar, a half cup of warm water, and about 5 drops of liquid dish soap and stir well. Gnats will be attracted to the sweet sugar and pungent vinegar, but the sticky dish soap will disable them from escaping.

Why am I getting so many gnats in my house?

Gnats are attracted to anything that smells fruity and sweet. Therefore, fruit-scented hygiene and beauty products tend to draw gnats into the house. Rotting food in the drain. A buildup of food in the drain would, over time, result in an infestation of house gnats.

What kills gnats and their eggs?

For hydrogen peroxide, mix one part 3% hydrogen peroxide with four parts water. Carefully pour this solution onto the top of the soil, ensuring it reaches the root zone. The hydrogen peroxide will help kill the gnat larvae and any eggs in the soil without harming your plant.

What do gnats absolutely hate?

Use Lavender Spray Or Plants

Gnats are not fans of the aroma of lavender, so whether you want to plant your lavender because you enjoy the look as well as the scent or choose to use a liquid substitute to this scent, gnats will avoid it.

Do dryer sheets keep gnats away?

Conclusions. Based on the results obtained from our study, it is evident that Bounce original brand fabric softener dryer sheets repel fungus gnats.

What attracts gnats to your face?

Breath, Sweat & Tears

A gnat is always searching for moisture and salt, which are found in sweat and tears. Unfortunately, the pests are vectors for pink eye. They are also drawn to the smell of bad breath and to the carbon dioxide people expel when exhaling.

What color do gnats hate?

Bugs are naturally attracted to bright colors like white, yellow or orange. Colors like green and blue won't register as vividly when seen in the UV spectrum, deterring bugs away from these colored objects.

What spice keeps gnats away?

Yes! Cinnamon. Cinnamon naturally contains eugenol, an aromatic compound commonly found in traditional insect repellants.

Where do gnats lay eggs?

Females lay tiny eggs in moist organic debris or potting soil. Larvae have a shiny black head and an elongated, whitish-to-clear, legless body. They eat organic mulch, leaf mold, grass clippings, compost, root hairs, and fungi.

What do gnats turn into?

In general, gnats go through the four life stages of egg, larva, pupa and adult, similar to other flies. The fungus gnats lay their eggs in moist organic debris or soil, which hatch into larvae. The larvae feed on organic matter such as leaf mold, mulch, compost, grass clippings, root hairs and fungi.

How long does gnat season last?

Gnats are seasonal; they are a springtime pest. Once we get consistent summer weather, they will go away. Their life cycle is short - usually mid-May to late June is when we see gnats.

What can I spray on me to keep gnats away?

Homemade gnat repellent spray: A mixture of dish soap, water, baking soda, and vinegar can be filled into a spray bottle. The mixture should contain a few drops of dish soap, a tablespoon of vinegar, and baking soda per cup of water. A few sprays of this mixture is an effective gnat repellent.

What is a natural killer for gnats?

Chamomile Tea & Cinnamon

Chamomile and cinnamon are powerful natural fungicides, which kill off the gnats' primary food source, therefore making the soil inhospitable.

Do gnats like dark or light?

Fungus gnats are attracted to light and you may first notice them at night, flying around lamps or even illuminated electronic devices.

What smell do gnats hate?

The only way to get rid of gnats without killing them is to repel them with scents they don't like: vinegar, vanilla, pine oil, peppermint, lemon, eucalyptus, and lavender. Even dryer sheets could help. Of course, the first line of duty would be to get rid of the infestation's root cause.

What makes gnats worse?

Additionally, houseplants can harbor gnats, particularly fungus gnats, which lay their eggs in moist soil. The larvae then feed on organic matter in the soil, potentially harming plants and causing an infestation. Overwatering plants only makes this situation worse.

How to make homemade gnat spray?

All you will need is a spray bottle, dish soap, water and/or baking soda and vinegar. You just need to use a few drops of dish soap and a table spoon of vinegar for each cup of water. With this these destructive gnats will parish with just a few spritz of your new chemical weapon.

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