fruit flies all over!

MommytoFour

Tue, Aug 16 2011, 10:42 pm

I have fruit flies all over my house and it's disgusting!!!!!!!!! I have homemade traps out but they like to go on the traps not IN the traps. My dh said it's better than them flying around, which it is, but I want them dead! Any suggestions?! Thanks!

multitask

Tue, Aug 16 2011, 11:26 pm

My mom had the same problem and some1 advised her to put a bowl of apple cider vinegar in the room. Im not sure if it kills them or they just go away do to the smell.. But it definatly helped and my mom got rid of them. Just know, the smell of the vinegar is horrible!

de_goldy

Wed, Aug 17 2011, 12:08 am

Is it from fruit?

We had fruit flies and it was not due to fruit (all in the fridge). We called our landlord who said it is often bc of an opening in pipes/vents from the laundry room. I am not sure of the exact details. Someone came to look at it and that was indeed the cause. They closed it up and goodbye fruit flies.

manhattanmom

Wed, Aug 17 2011, 12:09 am

We had this a few months ago--
Did some research and set up some traps that worked--but it took some time.
First, you have to find the source--they can lay eggs in a wet or damp place--like a kitchen sponge, a dish-towel that is wet, a corner of a counter top, etc. Don't let them lay eggs anyplace else.

We made traps--in a plastic bowl, put a piece of fruit, covered the top tight in saran wrap and then poked holes in it with a fork--big enough for the flies to go in but not enough to come out.

We also left out cups with some alcohol--not wine--we used some hard scotch and also a saran wrap cover with fork-holes poked in.

But in both cases, you have to leave it alone overnight. They won't fly around towards the traps if there is constant movement nearby. For a few mornings (like 2-3) we woke up, checked each trap that was swarming with fruit flies inside--it was so so so gross and then we tossed the whole thing in the trash.

gp2.0

Wed, Aug 17 2011, 12:52 am

You must find the source first where the eggs are laid or they will keep multiplying. Clean out all your drains, garbage cans, check for a small piece of rotting food anywhere, damp sponges etc.

Here is a trap that will kill them: fill cups halfway with beer. Squirt a small amount of liquid dishwashing soap in with the beer. Stir. It should still smell like beer. Cover the top of the cup with saran wrap. Tape it all around. Poke holes in the top with a toothpick.

The flies will be able to get in and out of the tiny holes, though they may have to search around a little, thus being tempted by the beer. When they try to drink the beer they will drown in it because the soap does something scientific to the surface of the beer and the flies can no longer walk on it.

Merrymom

Wed, Aug 17 2011, 1:23 am

Don't leave any produce out, not onions, not sweet potatoes, just zero. Then put some overipe fruit in your garbage and let it sit for an hour. Close it up trapping as many as you can. Throw it out outside. After that you just have to get a wet shmatta and start swatting those flies. You should get rid of them within the week.

FranticFrummie

Wed, Aug 17 2011, 2:26 am

Ugh. I hate this time of year. Confused

My trap is not so attractive, but it's very efficient. I take a two liter soda bottle and cut it in 2/3 rds, the largest section at the bottom. Take the top, invert it like a funnel, and wedge it into the bottom of the bottle. Make sure it fits snug. Get some over ripe fruit, a bit of raw bread dough, some beer, whatever you have around that they seem to like. Flies can fly down into the trap, but not up. If you want to reuse it, empty it at night, wash it in hot water to kill any eggs, and the re bait it.

I'm going to try the Saran wrap idea, and see if it works as well as my trap. It can be a science experiment!

Put some drain cleaner down your sinks every few weeks in case they are nesting in there, and wash your dish towels every day. Get some of those disposable surface wipes, and keep your counters and sinks wiped down. Don't leave dirty dishes in the sink! Right now there's tons of fresh produce at open air markets, but I won't buy from them in the summer. Fruit flies can come and lay eggs on the fruits and veggies, and then you'll take home a whole new batch of them. Buy your produce at an air conditioned grocery store instead.

EstherYK

Wed, Aug 17 2011, 7:32 am

There is a difference between a fruit fly trap and a way to get rid of the source. The bowls of vinegar / dish soap are traps, and will help to kill the flies you already have but will not get rid of the source. Some people have luck simply not leaving food out, but this did not work for me. Instead, I first poured boiling water down all the drains in my house, which helped but did not fully solve the problem. Next I switched to bleach, pouring this down all of our drains. Worked like a charm!

Merrymom

Wed, Aug 17 2011, 3:33 pm

JC wrote:

I dont have patience for the traps so I vacuum the flies and then shpritz bug killer in the hose to make sure they are dead. I also cover the end of the hose with a plastic bag or wrap just in case.

Not a good idea, your vacuam makes everything airborne. That's not healthy with pesticides. Once a broke a thermometer and was very strongly warned not to vacuam it up.

Britmummy

Wed, Aug 17 2011, 5:36 pm

I've been dealing with this exact same problem for the past 3 weeks and it's been driving me crazy :-(

Firstly, they seem to love vinegar! I use it in place of fabric softerner for laundry, but left it without the lid on and the whole bottle is now full of dead fruit flies!

After I cleaned the whole kitchen thoroughly, I thought I was finally shut of them, but they kept coming back. Eventually I realised they were coming from the waste pipe under my sink! So I put a capful of bleach down each sink outlet before bed and the next day they were gone :-)

It's been 3 days now and I've done the bleach thing again each night. I also cleaned out my garbage can and left that soaking overnight with bleach and it's looking hopeful that I've beaten them... :-)