fruit flies

[Owly055]

Every summer I have problems with fruit flies......... once they get established somewhere. they are incredibly persistent............ So tiny you can hardly see them..... a grain of sand with wings, they are not an "infestation"......just enough to be annoying. They drift across my field of vision and vanish, sometimes into my beer where I find a pathetic soggy little black speck stuck to the side of the glass.

Irritating little bastards, I'm sure they become an "ingredient" in some of my mashes...

Anybody got an ingenious way to get rid of these critters?


H.W.

 

[Takuie]

We had similar issue when we bought this old house but in '73. Shortly after moving in we had a small infestation of what we thought were fruit flies, actually turned out to be what they call drain flies. Weeks before we bought the house, previous homeowners had to pay to tap into city sewer when septic tank cracked. Took us FOREVER to get rid of the pesky buggers.

Seems they love to breed in garbage disposers.

 

[jwalkermed]

If you google fruit fly traps there are a lot a DIY solutions. I'm not sure it will eradicate them but it can keep them under control.

 

[Owly055]

Thanks for the tips......... I suspect that as one person suggested, they are drain flies rather than fruit flies.............. I now have some ideas.


H.W.

 

[drgonzo2k2]

I used to own a coffee shop, and drain flies were a huge problem for us when we first opened (gross, I know). We tried everything, but nothing worked until we called in a professional, and he sold us a product that was basically a green gel in a bottle. We used it once and never had the problem again. Sorry I don't remember the name of the product, but an exterminator should be able to help you out pretty cheaply.

 

[AlCophile]

Check out DoYourOwnPestControl.com in Marietta, Ga. Products, advice, info.

 

[Owly055]

I used to own a coffee shop, and drain flies were a huge problem for us when we first opened (gross, I know). We tried everything, but nothing worked until we called in a professional, and he sold us a product that was basically a green gel in a bottle. We used it once and never had the problem again. Sorry I don't remember the name of the product, but an exterminator should be able to help you out pretty cheaply.

Years ago I was a care taker at a guest ranch high in the Crazy Mountains of Montana...... A full 9 months of isolation......I was able to ski high up into the mountains during December and January on my cross country skis, and I had the entire mountain range to myself..... Once or twice other people came up with me, but the climb was brutal..... More than most folks were up to...... After Thanksgiving, I was the end of the road, and it was often difficult to get there even with 4x4. I shoveled my way out frequently when I went for supplies, and once was snowed in so totally that I was unable to get out except on skis for almost a month... I skied down to a ranch 10 miles down the road and they were kind enough to pick up supplies for me.
The owner, a lady in her 80's (along with her adult children) had a strategy for dealing with ordinary house flies. A product called Atroban, which uses a synthetic version of the chemical in crysanthemums....... It was a powder that you could mix with water, and is intended for use in dairy barns, etc......Normally sprayed. She would mix it up in a jar, and paint it on the wood next to the glass in all the windows...... It dried clear.... You couldn't tell it was there, but it was death on flies. They died in piles. Old log buildings such as those have a huge problem with houseflies. I've since helped out friends with restaurants by tipping them off to the stuff........ As it's invisible, nobody knows it's even there unlike pest strips that are illegal in a restaurant. I've never had a problem with house flies of any significance..... I might kill one or two a day in the summer, but that's about it............. I doubt that it would be effective on these critters, but the traps, and possibly even covering drains when not actually being used might help.

H.W.

 

[Homercidal]

We've had fruit fly infestations now and again. They love drains. Pour boiling water down all your drains.

They love to breed in damp houseplant dirt. There is stuff you can put in the soil to get rid of them, but I don't know what it is (We only have 1 houseplant and it's a dry dirt plant.)

I can verify that some homemade traps can work well. We've used the small mason jar with plastic wrap on top and hole punched in it can work good with the right bait.

I've used beer and mead and honey water as bait.

 

[SnakeRidge]

We've gotten them pretty bad every spring since we moved into our current house (rental) Landlord won't do anything about it and my wife's banana addiction doesn't help. We use red wine vinegar in a little bulb vase by the kitchen sink. Helps keep the numbers down. I also found these little traps at the dollar store that look like a small apple and have something similar to vinegar in them. Fruit flies are attracted to rotten fruit (duh) so vinegar and alcohol are big attractants.

 

[ImNoExpert]

We've gotten them pretty bad every spring since we moved into our current house (rental) Landlord won't do anything about it and my wife's banana addiction doesn't help. We use red wine vinegar in a little bulb vase by the kitchen sink. Helps keep the numbers down. I also found these little traps at the dollar store that look like a small apple and have something similar to vinegar in them. Fruit flies are attracted to rotten fruit (duh) so vinegar and alcohol are big attractants.

A couple of years ago, my wife read that a drop of dish soap into a couple of ounces of apple cider vinegar with plastic wrap stretched over the top of a glass (poke holes in the wrap with a toothpick) worked well. So I thought, why not try Edwort's apfelwine.

The apfelwine one killed about 20% more flies than the vinegar.

Apfelwine! Is there anything it CAN'T do?!

 

[SnakeRidge]

A couple of years ago, my wife read that a drop of dish soap into a couple of ounces of apple cider vinegar with plastic wrap stretched over the top of a glass (poke holes in the wrap with a toothpick) worked well. So I thought, why not try Edwort's apfelwine.

The apfelwine one killed about 20% more flies than the vinegar.

Apfelwine! Is there anything it CAN'T do?!

That's pretty funny!

Edwort's Apfelwine: Killing brain cells and fruit flies since 2007!

 

[Homercidal]

Apfelwein can't get rid of your headache or curb your swearing.

 

[Owly055]

Is beer less effective than apfelwine? I'm tempted to just put some beer in a bowl and try it.

H.W.

 

[1977Brewer]

I've been using bottle dregs and my wife's leftover wine (she hardly ever finishes a glass) in a jelly jar. Seems I have an endless supply of bottle dregs.

 

[ImNoExpert]

Is beer less effective than apfelwine? I'm tempted to just put some beer in a bowl and try it.

I think it would depend on the beer. More yeasty esters and phenols, more effective. Hefe, yes. Pils, not so much.

You can always do one with apfelwine and one with beer for a side-by-side comparison.

Zounds! That sounds like an exBEERiment! Alert the Brewlosopher!

 

[beersk]

I don't keep fruit in the house anymore because of those pesky fruit flies. The last couple years I had pretty bad infestations. I had to go around and kill them pretty much one-by-one. I also did apple cider vinegar traps with a mason jar (heated for 10 or so seconds) and plastic wrap on top with little holes. That catches them. Usually they start up right about now, but I've only seen one, made a trap, killed him, and haven't seen any more (knock on wood). Seriously, it makes me not want to brew when I have an infestation of those f*ckers.

But, I think the most important thing is keep counters clean, sinks clean, don't keep fruit or veggies out. Unfortunately bananas can't go in the fridge. I just don't keep them at home anymore.

 

[aprichman]

You guys have covered all of the basic ideas that are recommended to keep pests under control in the industry which is called integrated pest management (IPM for short). The basic principle is to keep the pests under critical levels by first cleaning and sanitizing the problem areas (i.e. removing fruit from the area, cleaning the drains w/ boiling water), then using mechanical means (i.e. traps), and finally using a small amount of chemical to targeted areas if necessary (i.e. green gel poured down the drain).