Identifying insects and pests is essential to keep them at bay and take preventive measures.But learning how to differentiate between them is also necessary, as the places that pests come from vary. Also, they harm different parts of your home and can be eradicated in different ways.Gnats and fruit flies are both pests that you may wish to get rid of once they manage to creep inside. They differ from each other in their physical appearance. Both invade suddenly but come from different sources. For instance, fruit flies come inside while embedded in fruit in the form of eggs, while gnats are found in potted plants.Another visible distinction is that gnats like to hover in groups, while fruit flies only do that when a large amount of food is present, for instance, a fruit bowl. As the name goes, fruit flies love decaying fruit baskets, wine, vinegar, and other things, but gnats have more range when it comes to their diet. They are not just limited to being in the kitchen or near food.If you like our suggestions for gnat vs fruit fly then why not take a look at bugs that look like cockroaches, or mango worms.How To Distinguish A Gnat From A Fruit FlyGnats and fruit flies may look similar, but both come from different families. Fruit flies belong to the Drosophilidae family, while gnats belong to various families, including Sciaride, Anisopodidae, and Mycetophilidae.Concerning their colors, both gnats and fruit flies are almost similar. They both come in typical brown, black, yellow, brown-yellow, and brown-black, but gnats also appear to be bright in color. Fruit flies have a round silhouette, almost like a smaller version of a housefly. On the other hand, dangling legs and lengthy bodies make up a gnat, giving them the appearance of a little mosquito. The antennae of fruit flies are shorter than gnats’ antennae. Their legs are also shorter than those of gnats. The big, red eyes of a fly stand out when compared to those of gnats.With fruit flies, you can find long wings in the dominant V allele. On the other hand, the recessive counterparts have vestigial wings. Gnats are usually found outdoors or around dirty drains. Gnat larvae feed on fungi in the soil, whereas fruit flies can be found in bars, restaurants, and inside houses. They prefer going about places where fruits or vegetables are kept. Fruits, such as apples, pears, and bananas, can become a food source, so be careful when you bring them inside your house from the garden. Gnats are not so excellent at flying, and you may see them resting or crawling around potted plants or other places.Where do gnats come from?Gnats can come in with a potted plant as they feed on organic matter. The primary source of gnats is eggs laid in unripe fruits and vegetables.Otherwise, they simply enter through open doors or windows. Also, never underestimate the cracks in your house’s structure. They come inside houses because they find the light attractive and are eager to get inside to the source. A garbage bin with fungus gnats or fruit flies near you can also lead to them coming inside your house. Places where decomposing organic matter exists, such as trash cans, rotten fruits, and vegetables, moist and shaded ones, are ideal for them and can lead to an infestation.Examples of moist, shaded places are decorative potted plants in hotel lobbies and offices. Fruit flies and gnats lay their eggs in moist places of organic material like compost and dirt. After the larvae are hatched, fruit flies consume decaying matter, fungi, and algae in the soil. They pupate and become mature, flying pests after approximately two weeks. The offspring damage the roots of plants.How To Get Rid Of Them BothThere are common ways to get rid of gnats; in fact, both of these insects can be prevented. They do fly, which can make these pests a challenge to get rid of. Fungus gnats and fruit flies may need to be dealt with by pest control.Preventative measures include keeping your waste bin tightly closed, creating traps from apple cider, setting up yellow sticky traps, and many more. For these flying insects, kitchen garbage cans are the number one breeding ground. So, a tightly sealed lid on garbage cans will make sure that they don’t come inside to breed. Make a mixture of a few spoons of apple cider, vinegar, a few drops of dish soap, and a tablespoon of sugar, and keep one or two bowls of it near the area where fungus gnats swarm. Yellow sticky traps are inexpensive, and they are most useful near plants where the insects live.Since fungus gnats come from the soil, identify plants that have wet soil and let them dry. Then water the plants after the soil is completely dry. What this will do is kill the larval stages of a gnat in the soil itself. Fungus gnat infestations can be prevented if plants are only watered when required. Then there are electric fly exploders available that get rid of not only fungus gnats but also other bacterial insects.To trap fruit flies, one effective DIY method involves leaving a bottle of red wine out, uncorked. Make sure there is little wine left in the bottom. What will happen is that flies will try to dive into the bottle but get stuck in the nose of the bottle. Above all of these, the most effective way of preventing an infestation is keeping all areas of your house clean, especially kitchens, gardens, bathrooms, drains, and pipes.For instance, taking out the trash regularly, making sure there is no food waste left, and cleaning bathroom drains can help with prevention. Dehumidifying bathrooms or any area of the house with excessive water is useful as gnats are attracted to moisture. Going to professionals to get rid of them also works well. Pest control professionals can help with an infestation and also distinguish between fungus gnats and fruit flies.Can either of them make you sick?Regarding fruit flies, there is no specific medical illness associated with them, whether it be you eating something that was touched by fruit flies or even accidentally ingesting the fly itself.Spoiled food results in individuals getting sick. It is not because of fruit flies but several other reasons. There is no medical treatment specific to these flies. They don’t give you malaria, sore bites, or any serious diseases, but they are still considered a health hazard. Flies are not directly known to make humans sick, but there are concerns about them carrying bacteria from one place to another. Imagine flies gathering around a garbage bin, then coming and sitting on your food. Of course, they’ll bring bacteria into your house.Females also lay their eggs deep into fruit and get missed because of how deeply they are hidden. Substances like bacteria and eggs have the potential to damage our digestive system. Most of the time, individuals suffer from just a bad stomach. They breed quickly, within ten days. Fruit flies inside a house are an invitation to other huge and tiny pests like cockroaches, ants, and rats, as they feed on them.Despite all this, they don’t contaminate and cause illness the way house flies and other bugs do. They are most attracted to food that is already overripe or decaying, and so, you won’t be eating them in the first place. Thus, fungus gnats and fruit flies vary in their own ways. They come inside the house in different ways. We also have diverse choices when it comes to ways to get rid of fruit flies vs gnats.If you are worried about not having the knowledge of pest control needed to deal with gnats or fruit flies, you may want to make some simple changes to keep your fruit basket safe. You can easily get rid of fruit flies by covering fruits and vegetables. You can get rid of gnats not only by pest control but also by maintaining hygiene. These bugs are scared of hygiene and do not show much interest in visiting houses that have garbage that is cleaned and covered. If you make simple changes, you may not have to worry about the fungus gnats vs fruit fly debate at all.Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for ‘Gnat vs fruit fly’ then why not take a look at ‘cicada molting’ or Green dock beetle’?
Identifying insects and pests is essential to keep them at bay and take preventive measures.
