Fruit flies should be called brute flies

[morningstar]

For the first time in quite a while I seem to be hit with a fruit fly infestation. Nasty little ******, aren't they? Does anyone know of an effective way to get rid of them, short of moving house?

 

[LaughingWater]

We've had this problem, thanks to making the mistake of keeping old, rotting tomatoes in our garage garbage.

Pour ammonia down your kitchen sink drain and then stop it up with the stopper (they like the drains for some reason ~ I can't remember why). Do the same thing for every drain in your house (bathroom sinks, tubs). Let everything be for at least 2 to 3 hours. The best time to do this would be before leaving for work or leaving the house for a few hours of errands.

Then just run water through the drains as usual. This has worked for us twice. The first time, we had a full invasion. I had never experienced this before, so I let it go on for a few days before realizing, "Uh oh, I think we have a problem."

The second time, I saw 2 fruit flies in the bathroom, did the ammonia thing, and never saw another one again.

 

[earlyexerciser39]

I put red wine vinegar in a very small dish (fill it up) and a drop or two of dish soap and the flies are attracted to it and drown in the container. It takes a day or two, but works very well.

I have used this technique many times!
Jenn

 

[morningstar]

Thanks, guys! I have the vinegar on hand (I seem to actually have about 12 different types of vinegar on hand, now that I look - what's up with that?) so I'magonna give that a go!

 

[kathryn]

I had an infestation earlier this year (I left my compost bucket too long without dumping it). Luckily, they seem to have a short lifespan, so if you can keep possible food out of reach, and make traps (see below), they will soon disappear (it took about 3 days to go from major infestation---like hearing what sounded like a swarm of bees every time I walked in the kitchen---to barely a gnat in sight).

For traps, take a cup or jar and put in some apple juice or cider vinegar and water. The flies will be attracted to it and drown. You can also put a bit of banana in a narrow-mouth bottle (the riper the better). The flies will enter, but will have a hard time getting back out.

 

[morningstar]

I put red wine vinegar in a very small dish (fill it up) and a drop or two of dish soap and the flies are attracted to it and drown in the container. It takes a day or two, but works very well.

I have used this technique many times!
Jenn

It worked, it worked, it worked! Thank you!