The Gnat Trap - It Still Works

Wednesday, November 15, 2006

Gnat Trap (Simple, Nothing to buy, No waiting, Painless, Works every time!)

We buy a lot of fresh fruit and vegetables. The onions and squash wait for tea in a small basket on the bottom shelf of the baker’s shelf/wine rack in the kitchen/dining area. The Bananas hang on a rung of the bottom level of that same rack. The fruit, pears and apples mostly, sit on an upper shelf in another basket.

So, one day our kitchen was infested with gnats. The fruit probably brought a few in and then they nested and reproduced in our sole house plant, the African violet.

They are not dangerous, just annoying. They cloud around the sink and the sponges there.

While having our meal one evening, I noted that they took particular interest in my glass of wine, diving in and dying there. So I invented the Gnat Trap.

On the counter near the sink, I left a small glass with about an inch of merlot in it. Next morning I had about 40 dead drunk gnats. I repeated nightly until the gnats were gone. It took more than a week because they probably got into their second life cycle before I caught on to them.

Update 07/05/2007:

Yes, it really works. I have used the trick twice since then. They are gone over night if you set it up when you first notice them. If you let them get a second generation going, it might take a week.

Try it and let me know your results.

Update 08/23/2008:

This is such a popular blog page that I decided it would be appropriate to repeat it.
This page is the third most popular page in this blog. Says something, doesn't it?

And though it has been visited hundreds of times, no one has ever come back said they tried it and found that the trick works! Odd huh?

Update 05/22/2012:

Earlier the month we took a small spin down to the Big Bend area of Texas. We were gone a week.

We left a banana peel in the trash. When we returned we had about three generations of gnats.

You'd think we have gnats all the time for as much as I go on about them. We don't. I just like telling about the gnat trap.

It took a week this time to get every one of them but they are now gone. I used a white wine this time, reasoning that it might be fruitier smelling. The glass collected so many dead gnats that I was afraid the live gnats would see the dead ones and catch on to the trick.

So I put out a fresh glass every other day.

This time I thought to get photographic proof. That gray area in the bottom of the glass, that's gnats.

EEuwww.

Now, if I could just figure out something just as effective to use on gophers out in the yard.

SAQ

Wednesday, August 13, 2003 How to buy a bottle of wine in Quebec. It is important to know what to look for. The name of the liquor stores in Quebec is SAQ. That stands for Societe Alcohol Quebec. There are no other liquor stores in Quebec, only government-operated stores. The signs are in French. The prices are in French. The clerks are in French. But the most confusing element is trying to catch the SAQ open. The sign on the door tells me “du lundi au mercredi de10h00 a 19h00, jeudi et vendredi de 10h00 a 21h00, samedi de 9h30 a 18H00, Dimanche de 10h00 a 17h00” Well, not only are the store hours posted in French, the times are based on the 24 hour clock. And there is no English version in smaller letters just below as is allowed but certainly not required. Roughly, except for Jeudi and Vendredi, you have to get your wine before 19h00 or 7 o’clock. There are no other liquor stores except these Province operated stores but grocery stores and convenience stores are allowed to carry limited stocks of beer and wine. But in the long grocery store aisles devoted to spirits, the choice is limited to what is termed Country Wine or Table Wine. There are no “Vintage” wines or dated wines. All of the grocery store wines are blends and batches so common they are not identified by year. Here you can find the wines that come in sealed 3 Liter bags with the convenient dispenser spout. But the grocery stores in Quebec commonly close at very early hours. Some close as early as 6 o’clock. There is one large chain store in St. Sauveur that closes at nine on weekdays. Earlier on week ends. I probably couldn’t afford a “Vintage” wine anyway. I’ll never know. The signs are all in French.

The Profile(more than you really wanted to know)is here.

Lost GalleryThe rescue mission for battered and abused orphan photographs.

For more about Double Exposures see this page in Lost Gallery.

Wine of the Week - Ravenswood

Ravens Wood. (Shouldn't that have an apostrophe in it?) 2006 Good for an occasion. $11.25. A little over my usual limit. I had a lot of trouble getting the label off. It was done with the old water base glue method. I had to soak it in hot water.

The Profile (more than you really wanted to know) is here.

Lost Gallery The rescue mission for battered and abused orphan photographs.

For more about Double Exposures see this page in Lost Gallery.

Wine of the Week - House Wine

That's fun. Got this one as a gift. Actually it was better than a "House" wine. If I see it somewhere I will pick up some.

The Profile (more than you really wanted to know) is here.

Lost Gallery The rescue mission for battered and abused orphan photographs.

Here is a new series about Common Photography Mistakes over in Lost Gallery.

Wine of the Week - Petite Syrah

And you thought you had tasted them all. This one is like no other. Only available from the Wichita Mountains Winery up near Medicine Park.

The Profile (more than you really wanted to know) is here.

Lost Gallery The rescue mission for battered and abused orphan photographs.

For more about Double Exposures see this page in Lost Gallery.

Wine of the Week - Fetzer Zinfandel 2006

It's good enough to get again. A fair Zinfandel. Nearly Ten bucks though. Actually I have had this one before.

The Profile (more than you really wanted to know) is here.

Lost Gallery The rescue mission for battered and abused orphan photographs.

For more about Double Exposures see this page in Lost Gallery.

Wine of the Week - Dancing Bull Zinfandel

Dancing Bull, 2006. Seems like I have had this before but I couldn't find a record of it. I must have lost a receipt. Oh, I see now. They redesigned the label. Still it's a very good one.

The Profile (more than you really wanted to know) is here.

Lost Gallery The rescue mission for battered and abused orphan photographs.

For more about Double Exposures see this page in Lost Gallery.