So the little buggers hitched a ride in on some bananas and they will not go away. There's no fruit or vegetable matter exposed. I've gone through the kitchen and can't find anything that could be growing them. I cleaned all the drains in the house with hot water/vinegar/baking soda volcanoes, including the garbage disposal. I'm hoping that I got them if they were using the drains. I just can't stand it. They seem to like the kitchen sink area the most, but there's nothing there but water. I'm going to super clean all trash cans next.
Has anyone else had to deal with this? Where do these guys reproduce? What am I missing? GRRRR
Apple cider vinegar and dawn soap. A small dish of vinegar and a few drips of soap into it and set it out. It works like a charm.
I've used apple cider vinegar in a cup, put saran wrap over it, and poked holes in it. That got most of them, since they got in and couldn't get out. Those things are so annoying!
I hate them as well and so far we've not had issues.
What has worked for us is a small dish filled with apple cider vinegar with a drop of dish washing liquid. It's great, not something that is hideous either.
Works great! I keep a small dish close to fruit bowl, close to sink and in the trash area.
We did completely treat our kitchen drain area because we heard that was a spot where they make "home". Worked for us
Hope that helps!
Okay. This happened to me awhile back. Clean your kitchen/drain area like there is no tomorrow. They are reproducing in your drain. Keep it SUPER clean with bleach. Fill a shallow dish with Dawn and a little water, they will land in it and be unable to fly out. It will take several days of this routine to get rid of them. It's gross isn't it?
Ha, There is a thing on Pinterst that works fairly well.
It takes a glass jar, some vinegar and a piece of banana, You take a piece of paper and shape it into a cone and place it in the jar. The flies go in and cannot get out. I am sure you can google it.
Did not work so great for me so.. But I gave up and now what I do is place a piece of banana on a paper plate once all of the fruit flies congregate, I take the vacuum and suck them up.
Easiest way I found to get rid of them was to trap them. I put a small bowl of apple cider vinegar and sugar covered tightly with plastic wrap on the counter and poked small holes in the plastic. The flies go in through the holes but cant get back out. I also hung flypaper. It looks gross but it works.
You're definitely missing something - but I had them really bad when we were remodeling our kitchen and finally started vacuuming them mid flight with the vacuum hose! Not only was it really satisfying to suck them right out of the air, it actually worked to eliminate them. If you've gotten rid of any food source and they're just hanging around at this point with no where to go, that might be all you need. Just empty the canister right away outside when you're done!
Laurie, I'm laughing out loud! That sounds like something I do out of desperation.
Thanks everyone, for the tips. I have the same problem toward the end of summer and good heavens, I hate those pesky things. I've tried the cone over the cup of wine and had poor luck. Tried the cone with the apple cider vinegar too. Will try the saran wrap method this year. Thanks!
We do balsamic vinegar with vodka-so they can't fly back out.
Cut the top off a water bottle and turn it inside the bottle, so it appears to be a funnel. Poor some apple cider vinegar in the bottle and let it sit out. The flies will get trapped in there and die.
These super annoying little buggers came from a couple of plants that I repotted using a bag of MiracleGro potting soil (with moisture retention features) that I didn't get a chance to leave outside to steam in the bag under the sun.
I trapped the adult flies with a piece of stale bread soaking in soapy water and watered all my plants with a peroxide solution that I googled (one part hydrogen peroxide and four part water) once a week for 3 weeks (should continue H2O2 treatment but I was too lazy, LOL). Those methods helped a little but throwing out the 2 plants made the most difference for me.
Good luck.
i do a bowl with a little vinegar, a little clear dish soap and a clearish soda.. put the rectangular fly sheets in a triangle shape on top of bowl (use one you can toss). the saran wrap never worked for mine so i improvised and gone within 2 days (but put a new one up to catch any lingering ones)
Stop scrubbing trash cans and drains. There's no point! Fruit flies are used in many biology experiments because they multiply so quickly! You may not be "growing them" at all, but new ones come in on every piece of fruit, every pack of berries, every batch of tomatoes. You can scrub and scrub, but next week you're going to buy some fresh food and bring in another one (laden with eggs) or two who create their own. These are microscopic eggs! They are part of nature and there is no way to combat them!
Do any of the remedies listed: apple cider vinegar, wine vinegar, sweet wine etc. - anything made from fruit. (Save the vodka for yourself!) Add a little squirt of dish soap to increase the surface tension of the liquid although most of the flies will get stuck in just plain watery sweet liquid. I use a tiny bowl that's inconspicuous and I keep it on the counter near the sink (where I wash fruit) and near the bowl of bananas. It doesn't take a lot to attract them, and it's nothing that people see when they come into the kitchen. Then I rinse and replace every couple of days.
The other thing I do (because I saw it on "The Doctors" TV show on a segment on salmonella that is on the skin of many fruits) is I wash fruit even when the skin isn't eaten: melons, bananas, pineapple, citrus, etc. They showed how easy it is to transfer salmonella simply but cutting into a large fruit, such as halving a cantaloupe or tearing into the stem end of a banana. So I found that bringing fruit and veggies in from the market or farm stand, and immediately putting them in water and either veggie wash or a homemade mix (many "recipes" on line) really made a dent in the fruit fly population. If you leave fruit out and then wash it in a few days, the flies have multiplied.
We had the same problem. Turned out our garbage disposal had a leak (pin holeish) that is what was drawing them.
Sounds like you have drain flies (aka moth flies), not fruit flies. Do a google search for them. There are many sites that give instructions on how to get rid of them also.
They are probably coming in from outside. We live near Fort Worth too and fight fruit flies AND house flies the same time each year.
There are all kinds of tricks. We bought a fruit fly trap on amazon. Basically it's a glass jar with a hole in the bottom, they fly in and can't get out. There are all kinds of bait suggestions...vinegar with dish soap, that sort of thing. But I like to put a little wine or beer in there, because that seems to work faster.
And when I walk in house and they seem to be swarming, I have been know to stick some fruit,old banana, strawberries, whatever we have on hand , on a pan and stick it in the oven. after an hour or so, it is usually attracted most of the critters. I close the door and start the oven and those little buggers are toast...literally.
You may have neighbors who are composting and bringing them in. If we don't watch our mix of browns and greens it can be an issue. So we keep a close eye on it. Unfortunately, our neighbors who are new to composting, don't watch things and it causes problems.
I never had luck with the vinegar, wine, whatever traps. I found that leaving one piece of fruit as a trap piece for a day or two worked pretty well. I'd bag it and throw it outside and start with a new piece. After a few days, the flies were gone. Good luck. I hate those things!
we have 'em all summer long. my dh blames bananas, but we have bananas all winter long and no fruit flies, so i think they just come in with summer produce and reproduce SO rapidly.
i'm with the majority here- i put a glass with a some apple cider vinegar and few drops of dawn out, with saran wrap tightly covering it and some holes poked in it. it never draws them all, but it does keep them to a dull roar, and it's ever so satisfying to see 'em drowned on the surface.
:) khairete
S.
Put out a glass of wine or cider vinegar and secure foil with a rubber band. Then poke little holes with a toothpick. they'll get in and won't be able to get out. We had this problem for awhile and I did all these things. it does take awhile for them to go away.
i deal with this every summer. i take a glass, fill it halfway with cider vinegar, and put a few drops of dishwasher liquid (orange scent). i don't use rubber band or anything like that. i leave it out. they all go to it and drown.
