999 Uses For Vinegar

Several summers ago we had a sudden infestation of gnats (also called fruit flies or drunkards) here at the office. It seemed like no matter what we did, we could not get rid of them. They practically drove me and my co-workers to the point of insanity for three months. When we finally called in our exterminator, he made a shocking discovery. Well, it wasn’t quite as shocking for him but it made me quite nauseous and I have a solid constitution. Apparently, many months prior, an employee left his lunch cooler in an inconspicuous area of the shop. Since he had departed from the company, the cooler was never retrieved and became the nucleus of a gnat breeding nightmare. When the exterminator opened the top, it revealed tens of thousands of gnats swarming around in various stages of life, including innumerable gnat larvae.

Although the main source was eliminated, every summer since then we’ve had a number of gnats. Once I got tired of swatting these creatures flying back and forth in front of my computer screen, I decided to see if there was a way to get rid of them and once again my search led me to the awesomeness that is vinegar!

The solution is so rudimentary; it almost seems laughable that it would work. But I assure you, it does and every summer everyone knows that my funky-looking gnat trap is coming out and they don’t say a word because they’ve seen the results.

What you do is take an empty 16 to 20 oz. plastic bottle with a neck like a soda bottle or vinegar bottle. Discard the screw-on top. Cut the neck off of the bottle about an inch or so from the top. Fill the bottle halfway with apple cider vinegar (if you don’t have apple cider vinegar, just add 2 tablespoons of any sweetened juice or a tablespoon of sugar to regular vinegar). Take the previously cut off neck and put it upside down into the bottle. Seal any gaps around the edge with tape then place bottle in a highly infected area. That’s all you have to do except watch what happens next. Within minutes, the gnats will be drawn to the sugary acidity of the vinegar. They love it. They will travel down the inverted neck to get to the goodies. Once they’ve finished luxuriating in the syrupy sweetness they will be trapped in the bottle and eventually drown so it’s important to make sure that the vinegar isn’t too close to the spout or they will just fly back out.



Believe me, it works every time for the occasional onslaught of gnats. But keep in mind that you have to have rid yourself of the food source supplying an infestation and then the trap will take care of any lingering or curious gnats. I know what you’re thinking: this information sure would have been useful during the summer months. Don’t fret, summertime will be back again before you know it!

So, what else can this miracle of nature called vinegar do? More information is forthcoming in my next blog.

Chloe L. Hudson - Senior Contents Technician