Post # 1
Member
687 posts
Busy bee
me and SO recently moved into a new apartment.. and i feel like i’m being infested by fruit flies (at least, i think they’re fruit flies). they’re all over our kitchen and bedroom! i’m a clean freak, so its not like theres rotten food or dirty dishes/trash laying around. i just don’t understand. but yesterday, i brought home a loaf of sweet bread and a few hours later i went to eat some, and a HOARD of flies came buzzing out of the bag. not only gross, but i was sad i couldn’t eat it anymore! they’re always flying around!! its driving me CRAZY.
i read online that putting a dish of red wine with some detergent in it would attract and drown them. but i put out two dishes of this (we even went out at late last night to buy red wine to do this – we’re desperate) and it didnt work! i saw flies buzzing around the dish, landing on the edges, etc – but none went in and drowned.
i’m getting really really frustrated, grossed out, disgusted.. you name it. anybody have any advice on how to get rid of them?? please? 🙂 ps – i didn’t google “fruit flies” to make sure they were indeed fruit flies bc i get super grossed out by pictures of insects.
Post # 3
Member
256 posts
Helper bee
I had that problem in my apartment in college.. we thought they might be coming from the garbage disposal so we sprayed bleach cleaner down there, and on all the surfaces in the kitchen/bathroom and viola! That may not do the trick for you, but it’s worth a try!
Post # 4
Member
2024 posts
Buzzing bee
get a plastic water bottle and cut it about 3″ down. Take the top part, flip it upside down like a funnel and stick it in the bottom part snugly. Put about 1/2″ of red wine in the contraption. They can fly down in there, but can’t fly out. It will take a few hours for them to figure out how to get in it, so be patient.
Post # 5
Bee
1022 posts
Bumble bee
- Wedding: June 2010 - New York Botanical Garden
You should definitely find the source, because if they were there when you moved in, it probably won’t go away on its own. I had fruit flies one summer in an old apartment, and I put the fly tape up in my kitchen and though it was really gross, it was really effective. I don’t know why they would be in your bathroom, the last tenants must have been gross. It may be worth getting an exterminator if your landlord will pay for it, given that they were there when you moved in. Also, keep everything possible in the fridge so that it’s safer from buggies.
Post # 6
Member
2837 posts
Sugar bee
Stop eating fruit? j/k.
My friend had great success with just a splash of juice & detergent in the bottle contraption thing that Ms. Longcoat mentioned. Didn’t even need red wine if you don’t have any handy. I think he may have used water & detergent at one point. It did take several days for his unwanted guests to leave, but I’ve never heard him so excited over anything he’s ever done before, so it must be highly effective.
Post # 7
Member
687 posts
Busy bee
@StuporDuck: that’s the thing – we don’t even eat fruit 🙁 it’s like lose lose! haha
@hermitcrab: i think we brought them in somehow.. the first month we were fly-free, and starting last month (which is our third month living here) they began to appear. but i can’t imagine what we did… like i said, we’re very clean people! driving me NUTS.
@LoveMySailor1018: i will definitely bleach the heck out of my garbage disposal. i heard theres a difference between “drain flies” and “fruit flies” – and that drain flies are the ones that live down there. but i’ll do it just in case! is bleach bad for the disposal, though?
@MrsLongcoatPeacoat: i’ll definitely try this! i’m a little sad because i read rave reviews about the “shallow dish with red wine and detergent” trap online, but our flies dont seem to want to use it. others have said they see a bunch of dead flies drowned on top of the wine, but our flies just buzz around it/landing around it, but not ON it. gaaaaaaaaah… i hope this one works. maybe our flies are too smart 🙁
Post # 8
Member
1 posts
Wannabee
Your best bet is to find the source because you can continue to kill them but they WILL NOT go away. We bred these things in Genetics and they multiply seemingly overnight by the thousands.
Post # 9
Member
3982 posts
Honey bee
@MrsLongcoatPeacoat: I’ve heard of doing this – also vinager works too!
i also saw this post on pinterest
http://www.theidearoom.net/2009/09/fruit-fly-trap.html
Post # 10
Member
27 posts
Newbee
I had this problem a while ago in my old place and I did the same thing Lovemysailor did and it actually did a pretty decent job. Make sure your drains are clean and your garbage can is also clean so there’s less to attract them. I’ve heard warm apple cider vinegar works with some dish soap in a trap, so maybe a dish of that might work.
If they are around the house and kitchen…are you sure they aren’t drain flies? Those are the ones shaped like litte black hearts.
Post # 11
Member
229 posts
Helper bee
They love sugar, so anything with sugar in it, like sweet bread, will attract them. You have to put all that stuff in the fridge! We’ve had lots of success with just putting wine or whisky in a cup, covering it with saran wrap and poking a few holes in it. They get in but can’t figure out how to get out.
Post # 12
Member
2024 posts
Buzzing bee
You’re welcome! Here’s an illustration. don’t worry about the wire part, just tape it or fit it in tightly
Post # 13
Member
687 posts
Busy bee
thanks for all the suggestions! i will try ALL of them (funnel, bleach, sarah wrap…) after work today. i hope they work! you wouldn’t believe my disappointment this morning when i woke up to a bunch of flies buzzing AROUND the wine trap i made last night, but none IN it. ugh. it was out overnight too 🙁
heres hoping! its definitely getting worse. this scares me… our home is supposed to be safe haven! not a fly breeding ground. whenever i eat something, i need to shake it to make sure theres no flies in it.. so gross.
Post # 14
Member
1041 posts
Bumble bee
We tried bleach and vinegar and it worked like a charm!
Post # 15
Member
5323 posts
Bee Keeper
We use a drinking glass with something sweet in the bottom (usually juice and a touch of dish detergent), and put plastic wrap over top held in place with an elastic band. Poke a bunch of holes in the plastic wrap and leave it where the flies are. The tricky part is poking holes big enough for them to get in, but not so big they can fly out. This usually clears up our fruit fly issues in the summer quickly 🙂 Actually we’ve had a few floating around lately, I should do this myself!
Post # 16
Member
693 posts
Busy bee
I usually put out a bowl with some water and balsamic vinegar in multiple areas (by the garbage, on the counter) and they usually dive in and drown.
When they were really bad I ended up putting a glass of wine on the counter and when it gathered a whole bunch of flies in the glass i covered the top and threw it outside.
Do you have any beer bottles around? In the summer we drank corona and sometimes forgot to take out the limes and that was the main source of the problem!