Fucking fruit flies!

[lillypaddle]

They are driving me crazy. Yes, I've set up traps, but seems like they mostly dance around the outside of the cup, or around the inner rim. I've caught quite a few, but they just keep on coming. In the kitchen, I've taken to spraying them with Windex All Surface Cleaner. Don't know if it works that well, but usually I drown them with it.

Time for a drink - it's almost 5:00 here, and surely it is 5:00 somewhere.

[cayugafalls]

1. We've been battling them too...

We started taking out the trash nightly and not letting any debris accumulate. It helps but somehow they seem to persist.

We don't produce a lot of waste, since we don't eat a lot of processed or packaged foods, so we have a lot of food debris and I guess that is what they like.

[Squinch]

2. If you put a strong fan in the room, it kills them.

[lillypaddle]

7. Really?

Never heard that method, but sounds interesting. If I had a fan, I'd try it.

[Squinch]

26. Yes. It worked for me. I can't remember where I read it, but it said they dry out

and die. When I tried it, most of the flies did disappear. But I also cleaned all the drains and the kitchen garbage can every day.

[jimfields33]

32. Yep! The kitchen sink drain was my culprit

I for the life of me couldn’t understand why I had so many. Then for the heck of it I saw some activity at the drain and that’s where they were. Loads of them. I guess I hadn’t done a good job the last time I used the garbage disposal and with a dishwasher, I guess I didn’t spray down the sink well enough. Lesson learned. It was a long week of hell (it seemed like a week anyway).

[hlthe2b]

3. I once caught my hair on fire because of F..ing fruit flies (bunsen burner in genetics lab)

So, believe me, I have no love for them. I have the glass traps of various types, but I save old (nearly vinegar) red wine to attract them. Seems to work.

[Midnight Writer]

4. Pour boiling water down your drains. Don't forget the bathroom sink and tub/shower.

Do it twice a day for a few days. They nest and breed in drain traps.

Also, rinse out used drink and food containers and dispose of them in a sealed receptacle. Avoid fruity soaps, like lemon dishwashing liquid.

Traps and sprays are not necessary.

Good luck. These methods worked very well for me.

[lillypaddle]

9. Thanks, I'll give that a try

I'm willing to try just about anything.

[Cirque du So-What]

5. Put apple cider vinegar to work for you

https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/home/cleaning/tips/a25042/how-to-kill-fruit-flies/

I’ve used the one with plastic wrap across the top of a jar with vinegar inside.

[lillypaddle]

10. Yep, those are the traps I was talking about

I've even stuck some used lemon and tomato slices in a few of them with the vinegar.

[Squinch]

28. LOL! I tried them. The flies used to dance around the rim and never quite get caught.

I think if I had a magnifying glass I would have seen them snickering at me.

[bluestarone]

34. this works!

We add a 1 drop of dish soap. they sink right now!

[think4yourself]

6. Garbage disposal

That’s where mine were. Exterminator told me to run a chunk of lemon and an ice cube through the disposal. It made a heck of a racket but the flying citric acid ice chips got into the nether regions of that place. It works!

[lillypaddle]

11. I'll try that after the boiling water

[abqtommy]

8. A few years ago we had a bad infestation of gnats so I put several strips of good ol' sticky

flypaper in our kitchen and living room. It worked a treat and I'd take time every day to view their
tiny corpses that were captured, while I gloated. We've never had the same problem again...yet!

[lillypaddle]

12. Okay, I'll look into getting some of that

Last edited Sun Sep 13, 2020, 05:36 PM - Edit history (1)

hardware store or grocery store?

ETA: Amazon.

[TreasonousBastard]

17. I get it in a local dollar store-- and it does work. Those nasty sticky strips you hang...

from ceiling fixtures work even better, but they are kinda gross.

[kimbutgar]

13. I was getting them in my bathroom and then they stopped.

I found a little spider web in my bathroom window filled with them. At first I would destroy the web and they’d come back. Now I leave that little web alone and no fruit flies!

[lillypaddle]

14. How does one go about

cajoling a little (and I mean little) spider to weave a web?

[kimbutgar]

15. Find a spider and relocate it.

But of course if you’re squeamish it would be hard. When I see spiders I don’t kill them but scoop them up on a piece of paper and deposit them outside.

[lillypaddle]

16. Think I'll try some fly paper instead

[kimbutgar]

19. I just understand

I can deal with mice and spiders but worms freak me out!

[stevil]

18. I might be able to help

Most likely the are living in a drain somewhere, probably in your kitchen but it could be anywhere. Try to clean the areas you can see and pour some boiling water down there, followed by some bleach water - about 2 caps per gallon. Fruit flies don't fare well in clean pipes and they absolutely hate bleach. I've worked in restaurants with bars for years and they always lived in the drains. Good luck.

[lillypaddle]

22. Thanks! nt

[Buckeye_Democrat]

20. Flypaper helped me.

I'll never be so careless about leaving fruit peels in the trash again!

I awoke to one of them buzzing around my head, then saw a few buzzing around my living room, then finally lifted the trash can lid to see a dense cloud of them escaping into the kitchen! Lol!

It took awhile to get rid of them all! I wasn't sure how they were surviving. Maybe eating each other after awhile?!

[lillypaddle]

27. I ordered some a minute ago

should have it Tuesday.

[Enterstageleft]

21. Google "homemade fruit fly traps"

there is a short video about rolling a sheet of paper into a funnel & taping it, sticking fruit into a jar, & taping the funnel into the jar. (Pointed end down)

Works for me.

[lillypaddle]

23. I'm using apple cider vinegar

Thanks for the hint!

[sl8]

24. Fucking fruit flies is probably best left to other fruit flies. n/t

[lillypaddle]

29. Cute

[DFW]

25. Exactly the same here in Germany

Misery loves company, I guess.

[Kali]

30. as many have alluded to, they aren't fruit flies they are drain flies

hot water, bleach etc should take care of them

[Laffy Kat]

33. Feel your pain. I don't have fruit flies but tiny clothes moths.

I've put out traps, too, and cedar rings and even mothballs (I hate the smell), yet they persist.

[2naSalit]

35. A remedy for those flying around...

I mix a quart at a time and use an atomizer to distribute it.

1C isopropyl alcohol
1Tbsp Murphy's oil soap
water.

The soap coats their wings and the alcohol messes with their metabolism.

It's safe for house plants and I have even sprayed it too close to a painted wall and no problems come of it. It drops them in flight and kils them rather quickly. I get them from the soil in my potted plants. This stuff also stuns some spiders and other bugs. If they don't die quickly, add a little more of the alochol and soap.

It rinses off vegetables and fruit.