Melissa in St Louis Posted December 5, 2009 Share Posted December 5, 2009 Ok, so I saw a great deal on some clementines in a bag so I broke down and bought some....brought them home, put them in a pretty bowl on the table. None of them were scratched, punctured, molding, rotting, etc. We ate some of them. Like 2 days later DH said there were some fruit flies hovering around them. I was sad, and threw the rest of them out (read other post: refrigerator died), and moved on with life. Fast forward about a week....TONS of fruitflies all over the house!!!! An hour of the morning was spent DD spraying Fruit flies with lysol to stun them, then me kiling them with flyswatter...we were a vicious team! But there are still SOOOOO many. Ugh!!! HOW DO I GET RID OF THESE THINGS!???!!! I read about baiting them with juice and then they are supposed to drown...but they are not drowning! :confused: They are just drinking the juice then sitting on the rim of the funnel. :confused: I've cleaned everything, mopped, taken out trash, etc, etc, but they are just flying around. Sitting on Christmas tree. Driving me NUTS!:banghead: PLEASE, help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abbeyej Posted December 5, 2009 Share Posted December 5, 2009 How are you making your juice trap? I find it works better to make a paper funnel than to use a plastic one. Just make a cone where the point will sit just a quarter of an inch or so above the juice (fruit-based vinegar and wine also work well -- though OJ will ferment quickly if you leave it out anyway, lol), and then use tape to seal off any spaces between the paper and the top of the glass or bottle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zaichiki Posted December 5, 2009 Share Posted December 5, 2009 My grandmother used to use red wine -- got them drunk and they fell in and drowned. (At least that's what she told me.) Fruit flies don't live long. As long as you don't leave food out they should just naturally be gone in a few days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa in Australia Posted December 5, 2009 Share Posted December 5, 2009 are they real fruit flies or just the little vinegar flies that hang around rotting fruit? the little vinegar flies are often called fruit flies but really aren't a problem as they only hang around over ripe or rotting fruit/veggies and once the fruit is removed. they seem to disappear. the real fruit flies on the other hand are terrible. they lay their eggs on the fruit, and when you cut the fruit open it is full of maggots. the fruit looks great from the outside. if you live in an agracultural area, and have real fruit fly, you might have to notify the agricultural department, as it can completely destroy orchards etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*Inna* Posted December 5, 2009 Share Posted December 5, 2009 Try setting a glass with a bit of apple cider vinegar with a few drops of dish washing liquid on a counter. The vinegar attracts the flies and the soap drowns them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Perry Posted December 5, 2009 Share Posted December 5, 2009 Apple cider vinegar traps work great, but the trick is to add a drop of dishwasher soap. That weakens the surface tension so they fall in and drown. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather in OK Posted December 5, 2009 Share Posted December 5, 2009 This is what finally worked for me: Fruit Fly Trap Similar to Abbeyj's idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mesa Posted December 5, 2009 Share Posted December 5, 2009 Heres what I do. I drink a bottle of pepsi (important!! dont skip this step) then you add some vinegar to the bottle 1/4 cup or so. Add dish soap and then add water until it makes a bunch of bubbles. (the bubbles trap the flies.) Then I use a piece of foil and poke some fairly good sized holes in it and cover the pepsi bottle with it. Check it after a few hours and make sure the holes are big enough for the flies to crawl into it. I literally caught hundreds of them this way last month. We are now fly free! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joannqn Posted December 5, 2009 Share Posted December 5, 2009 I put some sugar water in a bowl with some dish soap, whisked to make bubbles. I left it out in the area the flies are in and they get trapped by it. We had a major infestation this summer; this is how I got rid of them, though it did take some time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa in Australia Posted December 5, 2009 Share Posted December 5, 2009 This is what finally worked for me: Fruit Fly Trap Similar to Abbeyj's idea. those are definitely vinegar flies( compost flies) not "fruit fly" the one that destroys orchards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kmacnchs Posted December 5, 2009 Share Posted December 5, 2009 Fly strips are WAAY better than trying to swat at them w/a fly swatter b/c they are soo small. Put the fly strips above your sink, trash can, where you keep your fruit, in your bathroom, wherever they are. If that doesn't work, pour rid-x down your sink overnight and then rinse it out in the morning. You're supposed to pour rid-x down your toilet once a month anyway... We did these 2 things and it really did the trick!btw, we had both kinds of flies - fruit and drain flies(?) - the kind that just like moisture (sinks, toilets, etc) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alpidarkomama Posted December 6, 2009 Share Posted December 6, 2009 This gets rid of our fruit flies in a day or so... I take a small bowl, put a few slices of banana in it, cover it with plastic wrap and poke quite a few small holes in it. A yeast-sugar-water slurry works too. The flies go in and they can't get out. And if you want to make it a science observation, just leave it for a few days and pretty soon you'll have maggots. If you wait longer, you can see them pupate and produce another generation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa in St Louis Posted December 6, 2009 Author Share Posted December 6, 2009 After 3 days of making traps, swatting flies, and going crazy....I called an exterminator. :) I feel so much better. :) Thanks for the help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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