War Against the Gnats

For some reason, this time every year, let's just call it the pumpkin rotting season, we seem to be infested with gnats. The gnats appear out of nowhere and invade our pumpkins. Once they leave the pumpkins, for some unknown reason, they make their way to our bathroom. We have never had a pumpkin, or food, or anything of interest to them in there, and I have never been able to figure out why they migrate to the bathroom, but they do. Every year the kids and I vow to fight off the gnats and kill them, and this year is no different. This is war, people!

One trick my son uses is, he waits until they are on the wall and then rolls over them with a lint roller, he has also left glue on a piece of paper hoping they would land there, and placed a cup of hot chocolate on the counter, again, hoping they would want a drink and then get stuck; we have tried everything, or so I thought.

My son stayed home sick today and was in the bathroom for a very long while. I knocked and asked if he was OK and he said yes. When he finally came out, he was smiling, and went back to sit on the couch. He had a big old grin and I asked if everything was OK. He said yes. He looked at me and said, "Mom, we are smarter this year and we are going to win the war against the gnats!" And that was all he would say. This made me a bit concerned.

I went into the bathroom and taped to the mirror, was an empty Junior Mints box that had a piece of chocolate taped to the inside, tape was all over the inside and outs110Cide of the box, with the sticky side out. What the? Why is there a sticky, chocolaty Junior Mints box taped to the bathroom mirror? SON!

I asked my son why that was on the mirror and he said, "Mom, when the gnats walk around on the mirror, they will see the chocolate and want to go inside. Once they are inside, they will get stuck and then no more gnats!" He said it with a bit of an evil laugh. I imagined an evil scientist rubbing his hands together after thinking of a brilliant idea, or world domination. He might be taking this a little too seriously. Humm. Worry about that later, must get gnats first.

I hope his little trap works as I hate the gnats. They freak me out as I don't want to walk with my mouth open for fear they will fly in my mouth, I don't want to breathe and again, have one in my mouth, or have one get stuck to my teeth or something. Ewwww. I hope the pumpkin rotting season ends quickly and takes its gnats with it. Yuck!

First update: My son just reported that he caught one gnat in the trap! Man your stations everyone, this year we will be victorious! The bathroom will be ours again!

Cindy Breninger