Fruit Flies

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KarenNEIA Sumner, IA(Zone 4b) Sep 09, 2007

As I am processing all of this fruit I am finding an abundance of fruit flies in my kitchen.
Does anyone have any suggestions for keeping them out? I pick the fruit and deal with it right away, but sometimes these recipes (such as dealing with pears) that you have to pick them before they are ripe, but full grown and let them ripen on the counter, same with tomatoes? Does anyone have any suggestions?

Post #3954251
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bettydee La Grange, TX(Zone 8b) Sep 10, 2007

I found two references to apple cider vinegar:

Quoting:
Although trapping is nowhere near as effective as practicing good kitchen sanitation, some commercially available traps use vinegar to lure fruit flies into a container the flies cannot escape. You can make your own trap inserting a paper funnel (rolled from a sheet of notebook paper) into a jar baited with a few ounces of cider vinegar. Place the jar trap(s) wherever you see fruit flies. Simply release the trapped flies outdoors.


Quoting:
RE: Fruit Fly Control
First pour bleach down your drains and wash all your fruit. (10/19/2004)

By dsbaby14
RE: Fruit Fly Control
Take small bowls filled with apple cider vinegar with 3 to 5 drops of dish washing liquid mixed in and place where you notice the flies. They will be attracted to the vinegar and as they investigate will drown since the soap creates a barrier that prevents them from escaping. Empty the bowls daily and keep putting out fresh bowls of the vinegar mixture until the flies are gone. With severe problems you may find that the vinegar traps work for a while and then stop working. This tends to occur when several different types of fruit flies are present. Some are attracted to the vinegar scent and others don't seem to notice. When the vinegar doesn't work you can use left over wine. Leave the wine in the bottle add a couple of drops of the dish soap and leave the opened bottle where you notice the most flies. Good luck! (10/19/2004)

By Deb
RE: Fruit Fly Control
You have to make sure that there is nothing a fruit fly can eat. I have a dish washing soap dispenser sitting on the counter. I found them clustered on that. I think they were eating the soap! When I have a problem I take everything off my counter. I bleach all surfaces, including the sink and sink drain. I cover the cat food and move it out of my kitchen. You can not have anything in your house that they can eat. They do not just stay in the kitchen either. They will go anywhere in your house that they can find something to eat. I have tried the trick of putting some fruit in a brown paper bag. This works okay for me...I slowly move up to the bag and swoop down on it, trapping the bugs inside the bag. I have not tried the bowl of vinegar and soap yet. The next time I have the little pests I will try that. (10/19/2004)




This message was edited Sep 9, 2007 10:36 PM

Post #3956962
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KarenNEIA Sumner, IA(Zone 4b) Sep 11, 2007

Bettydee, thank you! Sounds easy enough to do! Between the tomatoes, pears, plums and 1/2 eaten banana left on the counter (my youngest) they seem to come from everywhere!

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