Kitchen

[house_cat]

By the time I realized one of my onions had started to rot, my kitchen became infested with fruit flies!  

Yikes!  I hate them!

I cleaned everything out yesterday morning, but the flies are persistent.  There aren't so many of them, but even a handful makes me crazy.  My Google search suggested putting out a glass of wine to lure them to their death.  It worked for a few, but not all.

Is there something else I can be doing?

Thank you.

[debic]

I had those once, it was horrible.  I used apple cider with a drop of dish soap.   I did see fruit fly traps just the other day in the garden center at Walmart.

[house_cat]

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@debc wrote:

I had those once, it was horrible.  I used apple cider with a drop of dish soap.   I did see fruit fly traps just the other day in the garden center at Walmart.

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Did you put it out in a bowl for them?

[Tigriss]

I put a small bowl of a bit of water, a good splash of apple cider vinegar and a drop or two of dish detergent to break the surface of the water so they get pulled into the mix and drown.  That should attract them, especially if you have emptied the trash cans, so that is the only fodder for them to go to.

[debic]

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@house_cat wrote:

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@debc wrote:

I had those once, it was horrible.  I used apple cider with a drop of dish soap.   I did see fruit fly traps just the other day in the garden center at Walmart.

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Did you put it out in a bowl for them?

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I have condiment bowls that I used.

[Mothertrucker]

When you say "fruit fly" do you mean those little gnats? if you do, I use the little apple shaped traps I get at Home Depot- works like a charm...

If you mean the kind e used in Biology in High school, then, no...

[JeanLouiseFinch]

I've never had fruit flies from a bad onion, but have had them from a bad banana.  The source doesn't really matter, the method would be the same.  The cider vinegar option works, but I've also used a piece of the bad fruit (in this case, onion) as the bait and set up a trap for them.  Put your choice of bait in a small dish (custard cup, baby food jar, etc.).  Cover the container opening tightly with Saran wrap.  Take a very sharp knife or scissor and poke several small holes in the wrap - just pierce it.  Somehow the fruit flies find their way through the wrap and into the container, but can't figure out how to get out. 

I've also read that you can coat a disposable plate with cooking spray and fan it in the swarm of fruit flies.  They'll get caught on the cooking spray.

[house_cat]

Thank you so much for the responses.  I'm currently using Marsala wine (that's all I had) in a mason jar.  It's attracting the flies, but they seem to be hanging out on the rim, rather than plunging to their deaths.  I'm going to spray the jar with cooking spray, thanks to that suggestion. If they get stuck on the jar I can murderize them myself!!! 

(Did I mention that I hate bugs? I really hate bugs.)

[JeanLouiseFinch]

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@house_cat wrote:

Thank you so much for the responses.  I'm currently using Marsala wine (that's all I had) in a mason jar.  It's attracting the flies, but they seem to be hanging out on the rim, rather than plunging to their deaths.  I'm going to spray the jar with cooking spray, thanks to that suggestion. If they get stuck on the jar I can murderize them myself!!! 

(Did I mention that I hate bugs? I really hate bugs.)

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@house_cat you'll have some happy, drunk flies - LOL  The cooking spray idea is only for a plate, in order to catch them in flight as you fan the plate.  It's not intended for the jar.  The wine should work fine. Put some plastic wrap over that rim and do what I said about piercing little holes.  The flies will find their way inside.  If they don't die soon enough you can give the jar a little shake and they fall in and drown.  

[RedTop]

I use apple cider vinegar and drops of dish detergent in a small jar covered with plastic wrap that has a hole in it.  Fruit flies are drawn to the vinegar, but the soap weighs them down to where they cannot fly out.  It will take several days for all of them to find their way into the jar.  The open glass of wine will lose its fermented tang after a few days, which is what draws the fruit flies in the first place.