Kitchen

[FunkyHulaGirl]

The last few days I've been seeing fruit flies all over the place - mostly in my kitchen, but they're even in my bathroom and my basement (the door to which is off the kitchen). I've put away any food that was out, but they're still there - I'm having to dump the cats' water bowls every few hours because there are always some dead fruit flies floating in them.

Anyone have a tried-and-true way to get rid of these pests? Please?

[ReeVue]

This looks interesting:

http://www.instructables.com/id/Easy-Fruit-Fly-Trap/

I've used cider vinegar and sugar as the bait, with the inverted cone method (cone made by inverting the spout end of half a liter bottle pointing downward into the base half of the liter bottle.) There are a gazillion search results for these things if you're interested.

It isn't as immediate as just spraying bug getta all over the place, but it's effective over time.

[ReeVue]

Some designs for this are quite elaborate -- this one actually has a built-in pedestal for the fruit:

http://www.thinkingfountain.org/t/2literbottle/2literbottle.html

Making certain that the drains in the kitchen and bath are very clean may help. If anything remains there that the insects can sniff out, that's often the problem spot.

[sfnative]

Hi FHG,

We just moved up here from San Diego where we had fruit flies for maybe 5 months out of the year (and had the same issue with our kitty's water bowl). Because we didn't have kids at home any longer, DH went to Lowe's and purchased a bunch of those swirly paper sticky fly strips, which he hung off the ceiling in our condo. He replaced them when they were almost full. Was an inexpensive way to get rid of the pesky creatures.

I also placed most fruit in the frig. That which was rippening, was placed in a basket in a far corner of the master bedroom, which worked well.

Good luck!

[FunkyHulaGirl]

OK, thanks, everyone. I made some traps filled with sweet wind and a few drops of Dawn; we'll see what happens. If I still have them in a few days I'll try those sticky strips. I don't want to spray them because I don't want my furbabies exposed to poison - or me either. (sigh)

I'll let you know how it works!

[solitaregal]

Fought them couple year back. What got rid of them for good was pouring Clorox down the sink drains and letting it sit as long as possible (at least overnight). Now when I'm going to be away for more than a day I stuff the top of the drains with Clorox wipes. The drain for the garbage disposal seems to be the biggest culprit in my house.

[fthunt]

Yup - fruit and fruit flies are related! When we bring fresh fruit in the house the fly eggs are already on the fruit - then they hatch. Nothing to do with drains, etc. These tiny flies also come in through our window screens.......I eliminate them by buying a pest love smell (to other flies) plastic triangle 'house' and put it on counter next to the fruit bowl.

These have sticky material inside - so when the bug enters thinking s*x - they get stuck like fly paper. Check SOLUTIONS website and Improvements or any other home solutions catalogs.

The traps should be replaced every month and you get like 2 to a box. I've used them for years and years = flies disappear quickly.

[gonnab]

Signs of summer = fruit flies and sugar ants!!! They're everywhere and almost impossible to eliminate. Really really frustrating. I can look down at my wood floors and see those pesky little sugar ants crawling around. and heaven forbid that a crumb falls to the floor - they come running! Have found that a paste of boric acid and water left in a bottle cap will help to reduce and control them but it doesn't completely eliminate - they always come back. They come through the cracks of the wood planks. Fruit flies are another problem. There is a spray by RAID that helps but it means cleaning everything off your counters, tables, etc and spraying - make sure to include the sink drain because they LOVE to hang out there!!! And then don't leave anything out - every bit of food in the refrigerator. Wipe the counters off with a good disinfecting spray every time you use the counter. It's a pain! And just wait for the first frost of Fall which will then get rid of them until next summer! During this long hard winter, I promised myself I would not complain about the "joys" of heat, humidity, bugs, etc - but that didn't last long!

[fthunt]

Ants............only thing to eliminate them is an exterminator! We had the sweet ants every year for decades crawling on counters, stove and flooring until I hired 'eliminator' for $400 3 years ago - haven't seen an ant in the kitchen/house since.

There's a nest somewhere in your home - mine was in the basement on top of the cement poured foundation - back behind the pink insulation and I had the wood chips and rotted wood railroad ties around my garden (that was near the house foundation) taken out and a stone wall installed - and - stones in the garden instead of wood chips.

Ants...........gone!

[RedTop]

I put cider vinegar and about 5 drops of dish detergent in a small jar, cover with plastic wrap and cut a slit in the center of the plastic. The fruit flies are drawn to the vinegar, and then drown because the detergent weighs them down.