Fruit Flies--Help!

[umsami]

So, all of a sudden, we've got a ton of fruit flies.  I bought a pack of two fruit fly traps at Walmart....as well as fly tape....but we still have them.

I don't think the fruit fly traps work very well.  (They look like apples and you fill it with a liquid.)  The fly tapes work well....when they encounter them...but there are some

smart guys who avoid it.

 

Anybody have any ideas?

[Miss Tick]

Best thing we've found is a dark wine bottle with an inch or two of watered wine. You could use juice or maybe apple cider vinegar? We keep a bottle it all the time and just rinse and replace it occasionally. Takes a day to work. In the mean time you could offer your dc a penny per bug or set them up doing science experiments...

[umsami]

10 minutes ago, SusanC said:

Best thing we've found is a dark wine bottle with an inch or two of watered wine. You could use juice or maybe apple cider vinegar? We keep a bottle it all the time and just rinse and replace it occasionally. Takes a day to work. In the mean time you could offer your dc a penny per bug or set them up doing science experiments...

So does the way the wine bottle is designed trap them? Or do they drown?? (Clueless here.) 

[Kebo]

We use a bowl filled with equal amounts water and apple cider vinegar and a drop of dishwashing liquid to break the surface tension.  It seems to work best if replaced daily.  

[Miss Tick]

They drown, although I think the tapered neck of the bottle makes it harder for them to fly back out beforehand? If you ask Google there may be similar ideas with open dishes.

Ah, see @Kebo knows!

[KungFuPanda]

Get a cheap bottle of red wine and put it in cups all over the place. Add a drop of dish soap to each cup. I believe the soap breaks the surface tension of the liquid so they can’t properly land/take off. Just repeat till they’re gone. 

Just in case these are drain flies and breeding in your kitchen drain, dump some bleach in it and put in the stopper. 

Fruit flies can’t hear  if you move very slowly, you can sneak up on them with your vacuum wand and catch some that way  

It will take a few days, but they should gradually diminish until they’re gone. 

[Familia]

I agree with @Kebo and also consider this:  when there is a sudden spike in fruit flies, look around for a fruit, vegetable going bad or another fruit fly attractor, like the cat box needing changed. 

It may be a bad spot on an orange in the fruit bowl, an onion in the veg drawer, or the forgotten bag of potatoes your husband left in his office for that potato gun...we've had all those episodes and more!

[livetoread]

I make a funnel with a piece of paper and tape it. Then I put something attractive to them in the bottom of a glass, like a piece of apple or banana, and put the funnel in. They fly down the funnel, but can’t fly back out. Then I take the glass outside and let them go.

 

Edited July 4, 2019 by livetoread

[mmasc]

I did the small glass of red wine and drop of dish soap thing and it worked when we had them. I replaced it daily and put it right near where they usually congregated. Daily there would be a bunch dead at the bottom of the little glass cup. 

[Lawyer&Mom]

I get the best results by just vacuuming them mid-air.  (It’s also very satisfying.). Set out a bowl of vinegar as a lure, and then suck them up with your hose attachment. 

[Carol in Cal.]

Also, refrigerate all fresh food for a while, and dump some vinegar down your kitchen sink drain.  Don’t leave anything in the garbage disposal.