fruit flies

[shotofgmplease]

how do you get rid of these bastards?????

they have come into my home and seem to be multiplying by the 100's....

someone please help me, i have no clue what to do....

thanks.

[platypus]

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

The obvious would be to make sure no fresh fruit is left sitting in the open - no hanging banana bunches or bowls of apples. I'm sure you've thought of that, though. Apple cores and banana peels left in the trash can too long are also a problem.

If you recycle, and your recycling bin is inside, make sure you thoroughly clean cans and bottles before dropping them in the bin. I've found that the little bastards like dog food. Now I wash my pup's food cans before recycling them. It follows that if you have a dog or cat, canned food left in a dish will invite unwanted guests.

The most effective vehicle for transporting fruit flies into my home is always new plants - those that live in pots with potting soil. If you have recently bought a plant from a nursery or garden store, chances are the soil is rife with eggs. Get some bug spray that is plant safe (*important* - not Raid or the like) and spray the bejesus out of the plant and the soil in the pot.

[zero2]

The best way of getting rid of fruit flys is prevention of it occuring. Meaning cleaning out certain items, and not leaving fruit out too long in fruit bowl.

[Peetster]

All of the above advice is great.

More help... Put traps out for them. Half fragrant vinegar, half water, in shallow dishes with a single drop of dishwashing detergent to break the surface tension. That will insure it drags their little bodies into suffocation.

[Plummie]

Oooh I like that idea, Peetster!

I hate the little bastards...

I keep a very clean apartment, but still I see fruit flies from time to time. I'm convinced they come through the vents of my neighboring apartments or they are just waiting by the door to fly in the moment I open it.

*goes about making the sweet poisonous nectar for her little fruit flies*

[MSD]

I've taken to using a homemead butane flamethrower. Flypaper was just disgusting, and the vinegar trick only works for a while, and it also gets nasty. They burn up quickly and don't leave any noticable remains that won't get vacuumed. Then again, I'm completely insane.

[Slims]

If you clean up and vacum, they should dissappear in a couple of days. Otherwise, flypaper should do the trick.

[joeinparis]

Originally posted by platypus
The most effective vehicle for transporting fruit flies into my home is always new plants

I had a serious infestation last year - every morning 10 or 20 more of the little buggers would appear on the kitchen ceiling. Turned out their eggs were in a grow-your-own "cat grass" (herbe du chat) package I had foolishly bought for the cat. Got rid of the source and haven't had a problem since.

[Jim Kata]

Wine. Leave out a glass of Red Wine and they are attracted like flies to fruit (rimshot). Last weekend there were dozens of them flying in my girlfriends house, and we both passed out. When we woke up her wine glass was full of about a dozen dead fruit flies. Good luck.

[collide]

The most entertaining and cruel thing I like to do to get rid of those flying pests is to use a vacuum cleaner and watch them get sucked in through the pipes. I use this mostly with house flies, but I'm sure fruit flies will work all the same. Might want to replace the bag in case they crawl out, but I haven't had that problem yet.

[irseg]

I had an invasion of some kind of bugs that I think were specifically bred to be as repulsive as possible. They looked like a cross between an ant and a worm, and had large wings which they'd pop off onto my countertops when they got bored with flying around.

So I got a can of Raid and emptied it all over the house, no more bugs of any kind now. That stuff works wonders.

[salras77]

throw away all fruits and veggis
go to 99c store and buy these sticky bug catchers that twist up to be like 7 in tall and hang them around the house ..flys gone in like 1 week..
the trap looks like a shot gun bullet...

sal

[cetacean]

if you can't get rid of them, live with them - you can provide a growth medium by setting out equal portions of instant potatoes and distilled water - at least that works in a genetics lab . . .

[goatfire]

just set out a bowl of sugar water...and put soap in it too so that theres no surface tension on the water.....ha ha ha....they'll just sink to the bottom....you can also use a bowl of balsamic vinegar and put some plastic wrap over the top of the bowl...poke some holes in the wrap to so they can get in but not out

[Ripsaw]

Put a funnel over an inch or so of orange juice in a jam jar.
Place that near the infestation and you should be all fixed by morning.

[essendoubleop]

They are everywhere.

I can't go to the bathroom in my own house anymore because they are all over the windows, sinks, counters, and the toilet.

I can't make myself a sandwich because somehow they made their way inside the bread bag.

I don't even go in the garage anymore because they smother you.

The only safe haven is my basement where I only go to sleep now.

I don't know how to get rid of them. I've tried bug spray, sealing off everything that could give them energy, and that weak ass funnel in the jar technique. I dont have enough money for an exterminator and it's probably not too healthy anyways.

[Pellaz]

Wow, I really hope you're exagerating...

Are the flies making they're way inside from out, or are they breeding inside?

If you're not exagerating (/me cringes) take a vacum cleaner to those sob's right now, and take the bag far far away from your home.

After you have them down to a manageable level that way, I'd say to just take a fly swatter and go commando on them. Take a day off and do it all day. Then make sure your house is sealed, and watch like a hawk for new, little flies.

I don't really know the best course of action here, but that's probably what I would try.

[platypus]

Oh, I don't know. How about this thread entitled <b>Fruit Flies</b>

[obediah]

I can certainly tell you how not to get rid of them.

Take a giant pumpkin (a few weeks after halloween is good), and stick it a a drawer, and then leave it there.

We did this in the dorm one semester, while several of us were working with fruit flies in a bio lab. Several found their way home with on clothing or whatever, and made a nest in that pumpkin.

We noticed them flying around quite a bit, and on a hunch I opened that drawer, and throusands of them flew out at once.

nasty stuff.

[Ratman]

I can't beleive how many fruit fly threads are popping up. It's not enough to kill the ones you see by limiting their souce of food. You have to keep them from breeding. Here's the big secret- they like to lay their eggs in the slime that developes on the insides of the pipes in your house. How to get rid of them:

1. Get one of those new drain/pipe maintenance foams like Pipesnake, or just use a chemical clog remover to remove the slime. Do EVERY drain in your house, including laundry room floor, garage floor, etc.

2. Get rubber or plastic drain covers or plugs. Something easliy removeable, but with enough weight to make a seal. Put one over every drain. This keeps the bugs that are out, out, and prevents the new hatchlings from leaving. These things have a very short life span, so you should only need to do this for a week or two onsce the breeding cycle is broken.

3. Once a week or so, mix 2:1 water:bleach and pour down your drains. This helps reduce the slime.

This works, and was the routine at every restaurant and bar I have managed. Of course you have to be clean and not give them any food- rinse out soda/beer cans and bottles as soon as you finish them, clean your counter tops well, etc.

Bottom line, if you deny them food and breeding grounds, they will go away.

Good luck!