Where Do Gnats Lay Eggs? 5 Key Places To Check

Confused about why you keep seeing gnats in your home and have no idea where they lay their eggs?

Well you’ve come to the write place!

In this articles I’ll share with you, 5 of the most likely places to check for gnats and gnat eggs.

Not only that, I’ll share tips on how to trap and verify where gnats might be hiding out in difficult to check places such as drains and food processors.

Want to know more? Read on!

Drains

One of the most common places you can find these bugs, moth gnats particularly, is in and around drains.

Be it sink or bathtub, if there’s warmth and moisture, gnats find it an ideal environment to hang out.

Similar places you can also find moth flies are air conditioner and refrigerator condensation drains.

Typically, seeing a bug in a sink, silverfish for example, doesn’t actually mean it’s living inside the pipes.

Most bugs just stop by to have a drink, maybe take a tour inside your drain, but making it a home is a whole other thing.

That’s because as soon as you turn on the tap, the water would drag them away into the abyss. 

When it comes to gnats, this is not how it goes. All that ooze and slime that can be found inside the drains and pipes are just too good to be missed.

You’re more likely to find them in a guest bathroom or other drains and pipes that are not often used, and therefore contain stagnant water.

But even if you do use them, gnats won’t give up this perfect breeding space, and they can actually survive the tap flow.

If you’re unsure gnats are living inside your drains, there are a few ways to check that. The first method is quick and simple.

Wave your hand right over the sink drain, in such a way that you pass the air down.

If there are moth flies currently inside, they’ll come out as soon as they feel a different air movement to one they’re accustomed to. 

This hand trick works well, but only if gnats are in the drain at that moment. If that didn’t work, another option is to take a clear tape and stick it on the drain.

Make the tiniest gap for air to come in, and leave the tape on overnight. As gnats try to come out, they’ll get stuck to the tape, leaving you with the most obvious cue of infestation. 

Kitchen Sink

If your kitchen sink features a food waste disposer, it’s even more likely you’ll find gnats living inside, as that’s basically a Swedish table of organic matter for them. 

Generally, moth flies lay their eggs right under the drain opening on the sink. Often, the bottom part is covered in slime and scum, making it an ideal breeding place.

Since it’s so sticky, the goo keeps the eggs in place, not letting the water wash them down the drain. Once they hatch, larvae are surrounded by all the debris they can feed off of. 

Just like in the previous point, you can check out if gnats are living in your kitchen sink pipes by using clear tape.

These curious insects will eventually try to leave the sink in search of future mates. And once they do, your trap will catch them.

Trash Can

Don’t think that gnats only feast on decayed organic matter, they like all that stuff before it becomes waste, too.

Like that banana peel you just threw in the trash. In fact, your garbage bin is one of the most common places you’ll find gnats in.

Fruit flies are a type of gnats most attracted to kitchens. You can easily differentiate them by their red eyes and tan-colored bodies with black stripes.

They’re also called vinegar flies, because of their love for fermentation. Those rotten fruits you just threw away taste are one of their favorite things to nibble on.

But they won’t say no to liquor, too. So if you leave a glass of wine out for a few days, you might find out someone’s been getting drunk in your kitchen. 

Knowing their food taste, you can’t be surprised that gnats are most likely to reside and lay eggs in your trash can.

Most fruits and vegetables ripen and are harvested during summer and fall, so during this time of the year, their populace grows at the speed of light.

So, if you see one today, it’s to be expected to see a hundred more by tomorrow. That is, unless you start dealing with them right away. 

Gnats are practical bugs. They breed where they eat. Considering their average life span is 40 to 50 days in ideal condition, they have no time to waste.

An adult female can lay up to 500 eggs, all of which will hatch in just over a day. This makes your exterminating job even more difficult. 

In fact, you’re unlikely to actually locate their eggs. Why? Because fruit flies lay their eggs on overripe or decaying fruits and veggies, empty cans and even bread crumbs.

Unless you have a really stuffy nose, there’s no way you want to get close and personal with the content of your trash bin. 

When dealing with gnats, your best bet is to throw away your trash bag and clean your garbage bin and around it thoroughly.

But unless your bin is well-sealed, you can rest assured gnats are going to come back. If they can’t get in, they’ll search for another house to make it their home.

Pantry

Considering they’re going around your house in search of juicy stuff, it’s not unusual to find gnats hanging out in your pantry.

Especially if you did your best to keep your sink and trash bit both clean and dry.

Their favorite food might be a black, rotten banana, but if that’s not on the menu, they won’t say no to the fresh fruits you just bought today.

To be honest, getting rid of fruit flies inside your pantry is an uphill battle.

They’ll lay eggs on just about any fruit or vegetable, and since they’re so tiny, it’s practically impossible to find them.

And, if you don’t deal with them quickly, they might stay the winter, too. Well, not those exact bugs as their lifespans are up to 50 days, but their future generations.

House Plants

Kitchens and bathrooms are obvious places to check for a gnat infestation.

Both of them are the first that come to mind when thinking about moisture. But there’s another habitat option in your house that is both moist and features organic material. The soil of your house plants. 

Fungus gnat is the type of gnats that can be commonly found flying around indoor plants.

They love damp soil, so any plant that has been watered recently is like an all-inclusive resort to them. 

Gnats lay eggs on the surface of the soil in pots, mostly near plant stems. They’re small, yellowish in color and it takes them three days to hatch.

For the next two weeks, larvae will feed on decaying plant material and fungi. But, they sometimes feed on plant roots, too.

Poor growth and yellowing leaves can be a hint of larvae biting on roots and stems. 

Fungus gnat larvae need moist soil to live. So one way to fight them is to cut down on watering and let the soil dry.

But keep in mind that this is no speedy solution, and certainly not enough on its own to deal with fungus gnats. 

In fact, probably the best way to get rid of annoying larvae is to repot your plant with fresh soil.

However, this is also not a miraculous method, since you’d have to remove as much soil as you can from plant roots to make sure no larvae are trying to sneak their way into the freshly soiled pot.

But, removing dirt from roots can be harmful to the plant and possibly cause it to die. 

In Conclusion

While generally not harmful to our health, gnats can be quite a pain in the neck.

They reproduce very fast, so you should start dealing with them at the first notion of their presence.

And in order to do so, you need to find where they breed.

Luckily, that’s very easy. With such short lifespans, they have no time to waste, and they lay eggs right on their primary sources of food. 

See below to learn more about gnats&co.: 

Where Do Gnats Come from in my Bathroom – Key Facts To Know

Where Do Gnats Come From? – 13 Most Common Examples!

Will Gnats Eventually Go Away?

I’ve Seen One Gnat Should I Be Worried?