Fruit Flies

[MamaMolly]

GAK! This could be a BP but I really need some help, so I'm posting here. We live in a very warm climate, and are having a real problem with those little gnat like fruit flies. It is crossing over from annoying to gross around here!

I've tried Raid in the garbage can and disposal, and not buying bananas (which I'm convinced they come in on...) Any suggestions on how to get rid of them? I do the dishes daily, don't leave food out, I've even bought a plastic cover for the kitchen sink so they can't come out of the disposal/drain.

I have a can of Raid fly/fruit fly/mosquito killer, and I've tried spraying the trashcan but it seems like it just makes them bigger and bolder. The directions say to use it as a fogger almost, and close up the room. Great idea, but we have an open plan kitchen/LR/DR. :irked:!

HEEEEEEEEEELLLLLLPPPPPP????!?!?!?!

[GvilleGirl]

I put a cup of apple cider vinegar on the counter with a funnel on top. The vinegar draws the fruit flies in, but they don't know how to get back out.

[nmosur]

Get rid of all the stuff that have fruit flies in them. Don't leave any food exposed. Just kill the ones that you see flying around. And you should be good in a couple of days. And yes, bananas are the biggest culprit.

[mikala]

I put a cup of apple cider vinegar on the counter with a funnel on top. The vinegar draws the fruit flies in, but they don't know how to get back out.
:yeahthat: it also helps to put a drop of dish soap on top of the vinegar because it makes it harder for them to fly away.

I have heard wine also works but that feels like a waste of wine!

[mikala]

It also helps to take out any compost or food scraps immediately. One of my friends stores her compost in a closed plastic bin in the freezer between trips outside to prevent bugs in the warmer months.

[LD92599]

I did the vinegar thing but truly the only thing that got RID of them....was having the exterminator come in and put little orange traps on the counters. It probably had vinegar inside LOL but they worked and were gone in a day or two.

[JBaxter]

Also rinse ALL fruit with warm water as soon as you get it home. The eggs hatch from the skins. REALLY cuts down on the fruit flies

[scrooks]

Omg ... We had horrible fruit flies. I tried all kinds of traps. Nothing worked. They were breeding in our drain. Treating the drain is the key. Fortunately or unfortunately our garbage disposal broke and we replaced it. After that we have had no problems. I feel your pain though. I was going nuts battling ours!

[elephantmeg]

I do a cup with some fruit, apple cider vinegar and some dish detergent. Cover it with a piece of saran wrap with holes punched in it. And then move it around to where the fruit flies are.

[anamika]

I thought I was the only one. The winter has been so mild that we haven't got rid of the flies yet.
The vinegar trick worked well but we still had so many left. Gross, gross! Ick!
Another trick is to light incense - we like incense so this wasn't a big deal for us but YMMV. It did cut down on the flies for a bit.
We stopped composting also. Will try the tricks listed here. scrooks, how did you treat the drain?
Thanks.

[m448]

I put out small traps of 1/2" of vinegar (acv orred wine vinegar) and rhwn a slight skim layer of oil. I do his in small jars or cups and change them out when I notice a ton of fruit flies. Works like a charm.

[scrooks]

When I get home from work I will look post the name of the product. We bought it home depot. It was supposed to keep you drain free of excesss build up. It contained some kind of enzymes to "eat" any gunk. We also made sure to keep the drains closed as much as possible.

[kijip]

Fruit flies need decaying produce, not fresh produce.

We had a serious problem and the house was clean, no food out. They were not drain flies or in the drains at all.

We trapped most of them (in cups as PP described) but they kept coming and coming for several days. It was driving me insane.

Where do you keep your potatoes and onions? We finally found the problem- they were breeding in a forgotten onion at the bottom of our onion bin. So gross. As soon as that was gone, they were gone. Check your pantry and cabinets carefully looking for something they might be using to breed in. It will not necessarily smell- our onion had zero detectible odor.

[anamika]

When I get home from work I will look post the name of the product. We bought it home depot. It was supposed to keep you drain free of excesss build up. It contained some kind of enzymes to "eat" any gunk. We also made sure to keep the drains closed as much as possible.

Thank you! I will try anything at this point.

[MamaMolly]

Me too! I've got a dish of white vinegar and rice vinegar (all I had!) with a smushed bite of banana in it. I've caught one. All day. :( Crafty little boogers. ETA: EEEEEEEEEEWWWWWWW I happened to pick up the dish and there were eleventy billion of those little suckers under the banana. EEEEEEEWWWWW! And thanks!

I also noticed DH left only one glass of wine in the bottle from last night's dinner, so I helped myself and gave the flies the last dribble in the glass. We'll see what we get. At least the wine is helping me relax about it. :)

[scrooks]

When I get home from work I will look post the name of the product. We bought it home depot. It was supposed to keep you drain free of excesss build up. It contained some kind of enzymes to "eat" any gunk. We also made sure to keep the drains closed as much as possible.

Its called Zep Drain Care.