Where the hell did these fruit flies come from?!?

[catbyte]

I've got a bunch of them buzzing around the kitchen. The only thing I can think of is they were on some onions I recently bought. Annoying little f*ckers. I don't use pesticides because of the cats and the environment so I hope they die off soon.

I know we have bigger problems, but dang.

[efhmc]

1. My daughter always would steal some of my wine and leave it on the counter to attract and

drown. Seems to work. (I think vinegar might work also.)

[catbyte]

5. Thanks!

I'm gonna try it.

[StClone]

21. To improve your Fruit Fly Traps

Place any vinegar, fruit, fruit juice, wine in bottom of a contain with an paper funnel in it to channel flies into trap which then makes escape difficult.

See below:


?itok=B3InLWzg

[Laffy Kat]

33. Or cooking sherry. nt

[niyad]

2. Beer works also.

[catbyte]

6. Thanks!

[LizBeth]

3. So I think maybe apple cider and a funnel. Pour the apple cider in something, just a little and then

the funnel and they will crawl all the way down and not be able to get out. Gosh, I did it a decade ago so not remember clearly but worked. Attracted them all.

[catbyte]

9. Thank you!

[JudyM]

4. Green ways to get rid of em

https://www.greenmatters.com/p/get-rid-of-fruit-flies

[catbyte]

10. Awesome. Thanks!

[JudyM]

16. Your post was obvs like a ripe banana to us DUflies

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

24. Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.

[efhmc]

20. That was interesting. Adding some dish soap to the wine helps drown them.

[JudyM]

25. Yes, it breaks the surface tension so they can't hang out on the surface.

Learned that many moons ago when my apt suddenly had fleas, yikes. For them, place a dish of soapy water under the beam of a crane neck desk lamp. They’re drawn to the light and drop in to the water and drown. Works like a charm.

[BleedsBlue]

34. I had them..

I used apple cider vinegar in a cereal type bowl then added a couple drops of dish soap. They get in but can't get out. It took about two weeks to finally get rid of them. Hope it helps.

[questionseverything]

7. Pour a little bleach in your drain at night

[catbyte]

11. Wow, thanks!

[StClone]

15. I think that is a good way to get rid of Drain Flies

Fruit Flies are different: https://prontopest.net/pest-control/identification/fruit-flies-gnats-or-drain-flies/

[brer cat]

8. They drive me nuts.

We put a cup of apple cider vinegar with a couple of drops of dishwashing soap on the counter to attract them. It will usually kill most of them We also pour boiling water down our drains because that is where they supposedly breed.

[catbyte]

13. Great idea. Thank you!

[Newest Reality]

12. Well,

It can take 8-10 days to complete their life cycle, and that's if it does not start again with eggs.

Try your favorite bait: a little wine, beer, vinegar, etc., in something deep. Or, another one is to poke a hole in Saran rap and use those types of bait.

[catbyte]

14. Thank you!!

[KT2000]

17. Bet it was the onions

I can see them on the onions at our food stand too.
I put apple cider vinegar in a small bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and then poke a few holes in the wrap. They fly in and can't get out. Not pleasant to watch but it does work.

[StClone]

18. If ever there was something that doesn't bother me

It is Fruit Flies. They don't bite, too small to really cause any harm, and do not cause food to rot. They are only attracted to fermented foods, or bruises, cuts, or fruit past its prime. I have them a lot because I collect all my veggie waste for compost. Even though I move compostable material out as fast I can, they often show up even in cooler months. But they cause me no alarm and I may well be by myself, alone, in this opinion of ignoring Fruit Flies.

[catbyte]

31. I was just sitting at my computer and one tried to fly up my nose. I'm glad they don't

bother you. They sure as hell bother me.

[StClone]

40. Well if you have potted plants near you

It was likely a Fungus Gnat rather than a Fruit Fly. But if you are in warmer climes and have a food source near you it may well have been a fruit fly.

I guess it is all relative. I spend a lot of time outside getting buzzed, bitten and annoyed by disease carrying mosquitoes, chiggers, biting gnats, deer flies, and stable flies. All are great food for birds and bats which are all disappearing as are ALL insects. Fruit flies? No big deal for the odd ball outlier like me.

[Ziggysmom]

19. New research has shown fruit flies can transfer bacteria such as E Coli,

Listeria and Salmonella. Have a friend that is a health department inspector.

I love spiders, but I hate flies. Spiders eat flies and that pleases me 😋

[efhmc]

23. I am the spider rescuer in my home and others. I will freak out if they are killed.

[I_UndergroundPanther]

30. I don't like spiders being killed

Either,but I killed one because it was a brown recluse,freaked me the fuck right out.

[catbyte]

32. I like spiders, too. When I was a kid we lived in the country and there were lots of spiders,

especially Daddy Long Legs spiders. I don't know how many hundreds I saw my mom and dad usher outside or save from our cats. I never kill spiders. They eat the bad bugs.

[Squinch]

22. One more remedy to try along with the others: put a fan on in the

room. For some reason that helps kill them.

[Turbineguy]

26. Time flies

Fruit flies like a banana

[Grasswire2]

27. It took months to get rid of this year's crop.

Mason jar with a little vinegar, bit of sugar, and drops of dishwashing liquid. Cover with plastic wrap and a rubber band, and poke a few holes in the wrap.

They will go in and not be able to get back out.

[MontanaMama]

28. Oh man. I hate those little f*ckers.

I only have them in August and part of September, thankfully. This year, I bought fruit fly lures from Gardener’s Supply. They worked very well. I barely saw any of the little jerks and I had so much produce in my house since I bought a share from our local CSA farm. You can also get a soapstone container for the lures which are only for aesthetic purposes...I got one because they’re pretty but they are not necessary to catch the flies. Here’s a link below if you’re interested...I spent years making my own traps and they only worked marginally well and they were u g l y. This company makes lots of nice looking traps but I’ve only tried this one. I’ll buy refills next year because they worked so well. They are non toxic. I have dogs and birds so that’s important to me too. Good luck!

https://www.gardeners.com/buy/fruit-fly-traps-set-of-2/05-243.html

https://www.gardeners.com/buy/soapstone-box-with-two-fruit-fly-traps/33-710.html?irecsclick

[True Dough]

29. Get yourself one of these...

[dawg day]

35. Try little bowls of wine.... they dive into them.

But I have to admit, the only way I finally got rid of them was wait until December, open the whole house up until it was 40 degrees inside, and freeze them off. Not possible except in the upper north.

[UTUSN]

36. ***I figured out where they come from: ***********BANANAS********

Don't know whether it was your/O.P. about fruit flies about a month ago, but I was having the same problem at that time.

I had given up bananas a few years ago because I had heard that potassium could overload. But a couple of months ago I went on a bananas binge for a few weeks, and without knowing what was going on, started having these danged fruit flies attacks at night when on the laptop with the lights down. They were slow moving, no stinging, dunces easy to slap smear on myself or on the screen or anywhere.

So many WEIRD things here, because I was storing the bananas in the FRIG, so how were they getting out? From the PEELS that I discarded into SEPARATE bags in the trash?

This invasion went on for a couple of weeks until I grokked (I'm slow) the connection between BANANAS and the creatures. I stopped having bananas in the house and the creatures have been GONE!!!!!!!!!!1

[soothsayer]

37. I picked a bunch of pawpaw I didn't finish and hoo boy, fruit fly city

Of course pawpaws have a very banana-like smell when they ripen

[mokawanis]

38. Had the same problem about a month ago

We poured bleach down the drain daily and hung up one of those sticky fly traps. Got rid of them in about a week.

[lillypaddle]

39. apple cider vinegar + drop of dishwashing soap

a couple of inches in a small glass will do. Good luck!