Comments on: How to treat your air vents for bugs

By: The Bug Doctor

The Bug Doctor — Sun, 20 May 2012 14:53:00 +0000

There are so many posssiblities when it comes to gnats. If your company ID’d them it could make narrowing the source down much easier. Having said that, there are so many different kinds and I don’t even always know which kind either. The drains were a good thought but with 4 treatments I’d say that isn’t it. Your vent idea could be true but you’ll need to crawl in the attic (if that’s where your a/c ducts are) and see if there is a break in them and possibly find the source… i.e.; dead mouse, water leak etc. Gnats in bthrms often originate from leaks behind the walls. You may have a leaky pipe, crack in shower pan or even a crack in pipe below the slab. If you have a known moisture problem, fix that first and I have a hunch you’ll have no more problems. Also- before even the a/c vents- I’d check the bthrm exhaust fan. The vent usually goes through the roof or is just laid in the attic. If not sealed properly or of leaves or other debris accumalates (for the roof vent) then all kinds of critters will hang out and from there, make their way in.

I LOVE your comment name & I think a gazillion people a day share it. Gnats are SOOOOO frustrating. Just start out with the obvious- looking for moisture, checking screens, exhaust fan, (don’t forget any new plants you may have brought in) and then move to the more complex. a/c vent etc… If in between, you can get a positive ID, you’ll jump several steps ahead on where to search and what to do.

By: WannaB Gnat Free

WannaB Gnat Free — Sun, 20 May 2012 14:13:00 +0000

I am almost sure these tiny jumping flying gnats are coming from my air conditioner vents. I usually kill about a dozen a day in the bathroom. They line in the bathroom tub or walls mainly, occasionally on the floors. I have had pest control come out four times to spray and pump blue liquids in the drains. I have no other clue where they could be coming from. These gnats are so small, I’m not sure if the tape trick will work. Please help. Any advice would be appreciated.

By: The Bug Doctor

The Bug Doctor — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 04:14:00 +0000

I think that would keep em out! Thanks for reading my blog and adding to the conversation.

By: Bbaker1968

Bbaker1968 — Sun, 22 Apr 2012 22:15:00 +0000

I would love to add that I had spiders coming from my vent in my bathroom. I bought some screen and nailed it up over the vent and now have no more problems.

By: The Bug Doctor

The Bug Doctor — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 17:32:00 +0000

Generally speaking critters do not enter this way unless there is a break in the duct work. (which I’ve written about) At that point it is as simple as fixing the tear, break or separation of duct work to solve the problem. If however you can’t get to the problem then I think your screen idea just might be a good one.

By: Pennycruz

Pennycruz — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 16:12:00 +0000

surprised that I cannot find any info re preventing bugs from entering the home through the air vents which are on the floor in my case. My thought is to make a screen for the opening (which has a little ledge ) which is part of the metal air duct and let it rest on the ledge. What do you think? thanks for your input

By: The Bug Doctor

The Bug Doctor — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 22:29:00 +0000

Are you a crawl space home? If so & your ducts are underneath, you may have a tear in one and by simply repairing that, you’ll solve the problem.

By: Drtinyod

Drtinyod — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 19:48:00 +0000

I have large black roches the size of Pomanto bugs coming up from my air vents, how can I treat this problem? I live in Tennessee and it dosen’t mater if it’s summer or winter. Can I spray my air vents and then close them off for two weeks? This problem started about a year and a half agi. I don’t have any other kind of roches.

By: The Bug Doctor

The Bug Doctor — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 03:34:00 +0000

I’d say just some packing tape so it’s clear and you can see both sides (sorta) of whatever you catch. Since you’re only getting bit every couple of months, do you think it could be something else? Is there some other common denominator that fits in that time line? It certainly doesn’t ring any bells of normal activity of any critter I know of.

By: Bob Stewart

Bob Stewart — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 23:35:00 +0000

Thanks very much for your reply. My problem with using tape is that I’m only getting bitten every few months, and I doubt my dedication to the task of cleaning and checking tape will last that long. =) But I am giving it serious thought. Is there any type of tape that is best? I have some Gorilla brand black duct tape that is extremely sticky. Use that sticky side out around the hole?

I also contacted the County Extension office at Purdue to see if they had any comments; since they’re here in Indiana.

One thought I had was to have someone install a 6 foot length of HVAC tubing on the cold air returns down in the crawl space to take advantage of the dehydration factor you’re talking about, above. I’m disabled now, so I can’t just go down and do this stuff for myself anymore. My biggest quandary is just what specialty to call to try to resolve this problem: HVAC? Pest control? Someone else?