Fruit Flies - How can I get rid of them?

[Rathji]

My wife and I moved into our current 2br suite on an acreage about 7 months ago. About 3 months ago we noticed there seemed to be some fruit flies gathering if we left some food on the counter for a bit. It didn't get worse or anything, so we just made sure our cans & bottles were always put in the cover bin outside the suite, food was always away etc. Now fast forward to 2 weeks ago. The bugs start increasing like mad, gathering along our white cupboard door frames , light colored picture frames etc, but only in our bathroom and kitchen ( which are not directly connected, but back onto the same wall)

We put up some fly paper type stuff that caught some of them but they just keep coming. I pull out the vaccuum when I come home every day and suck them up from the walls and stuff , but it just keeps getting worse. I thought they might be coming from the drains, but no where else in the house seems to have the problem. We did a top to bottom cleaning of every room in the house looking for a possible hidden cause, but came up empty.

So my question is this: Is it possible that these are not fruit flies, and if they are not, what would they be or what might cause them to spawn/thrive in my house? And what can I do to get rid of them? Do those fly bags work for bugs this small, is there a good type of fly paper or bug ultrasound repelent device? I dont want to use chemicals/poisons unless it is a last resort because we have a new baby.

[photon]

Fruit fly lifespan is really short (a couple of weeks max), so there's obviously a place they're laying eggs and able to hatch new ones.

We had them once, and what we did is put out a few fruit fly traps (just a jar with a banana in it and a paper cone on top, they can fly in but not out), and combined that with keeping nothing food-like in an open container or garbage (i.e. put any waste food in a bag and tied off that bag and put that in a sealed garbage can in the garage). Cleared up a lot within a few days and in a couple of weeks the problem was gone.

[McG]

they might be coming from your plants as well. you should get those yellow fly sticky paper things too. i know that my wife has put some of these plants outside into the cold to try to kill them...

we also got a venus fly trap and it did some good stuff as well.

beyond that though...sorry i can't offer much more.

[4X4]

I had a fruit fly issue once. I still don't know if it was pop cans or plants...

What worked for me: make a cone out of paper and put it in a large tumbler glass with a piece of plum (or some sweet fruit) in the bottom of the glass. The bottom of the cone should be about the size of your pinky nail. The top (obviously) needs to be big enough to rest in the rim of the glass.

Stupid flies. You'll come home and there'll be ~30 of the idiots buzzing around in the glass. Take the glass out into the alley and pull out the cone. The morans will die of hypothermia before they can fly back to your door.

[Mike F]

Some tips from Do It Yourself Pest Control.

I don't see it on that page, but some other literature I've read has extolled the virtues of sacrificing your firstborn son (if you have one) for infestations and the like.

[monkeyman]

try adding a bit of dish soap to the water when you water the plants. I'm pretty sure I heard that somewhere.

[blankall]

red wine vineger worked the best for me as bait. If you have them at this time of year though they must be living and reproducing somewhere in the house. There is no way they are surviving outside and like the previous poster said they have short life spans.

Your best solutoin is to find whatever it is they are eating and get rid of that. Otherwise any other solutoin will only limit their numbers and not get rid of the problem. Apparently they can reproduce in old trains if there is a buildup, the best way to check for that is to plug the drain overnight and then pull off the cover to see if there are any in there.

Otherwise I would try not leaving any garbage around ever, and also checking any household plants you have. Check behind the fridge or other crevaces for a piece of fruit that might have fallen there.

I had very similar problems about 4 months ago. Ended up checking the garbage bin beneath the bag... and sure enough one old piece of fruit that was producing hundreds of fruit flies. I think the issue is that the flies move inside once it starts to get cold, then they stay there if you don't get rid of their source.

[4X4]

Originally Posted by fotze

Do you drink wine?

Whenever we have an opened bottle of wine, even with the cork in it. The fruit flies come out. No wine, no flies, its bizarre.

So is that what you say to the old lady when she gets naggy?
"Hey, baby... You remember the last time we had 'whine' in our house... The flies. They were everywhere!".

[Hack&Lube]

Use the paper cone trap. Get a jar with a narrow opening, fold a cone of paper so there's a small opening at the bottom big enough for flies. Put apple, banana, etc. inside and allow to rot to attract the flys. They will get in but not know how to get out.

[Tooz]

Do a search on Drain Flies. They live and breed in the inside of your drains in the scum and sludge that builds up there. In our old house, the bathroom sink where we brushed our teeth got them a few times. Take the drain plug out, get a long bottle cleaning brush, give it a good scrub, then pour lots of boiling water down the drain. I can't remember if we used insecticide or anything but I don't think so.

[Rifleman]

My friend had this problem before. She put pebbles on top of the soil to all her houseplants. Got rid of them completely after that.

[Smyth's Skate]

You want to get rid of fruit flies?

Here is what REALLY works.




























Get the straight flies to beat them up!

[DuffMan]

If you smoke or know someone who does, mix the tobaccy from a couple of cigarettes into the plant water.

[llama64]

Get a pet bat. Or maybe a frog. They are cuter then that icky yellow tape.

[Circa89]

Tooz had the right idea. These are most likely not fruit flies (drosophila) if you are finding them in the bathroom as well as the kitchen.
2 most likely scenario's drain flies and fungus Gnats.

Fungus gnats are associated with over watered house plants. If you do not see any drainage issues or new poinsettias etc brought into the house recently then the problem is more than likely drain flies.

Drain flies: Home solutions, try bleach down the drains. As suggested try cleaning the drains of organic build up thus eliminating a food source where these guys lay their eggs. The eggs require this organic matter once hatched. If you can remove the organic build up in the drains for the larvae you can end the life cycle.

Those trap ideas are great however you are only capturing the adults and the cycle of life will continue. To end this fast get to the source and remove potential breeding sites.

[Rathji]

We have no plants indoors. Will look up Drain Flies and try cleaning out the drain pipes.

[SarichFan]

Wierd, I had a ton of Fruit Fly's still do that live in one of our plants, I saturated the dirt with Off Bug Spray and Water to the point they drowned and were nuked instantly.

Now we have another plant, that we've had forever but don't want to risk putting off in it because it might kill it.

Probably try that Cone thing sometime

[troutman]

^^^^
Bats. I agree.

[Circa89]

Originally Posted by SarichFan

Wierd, I had a ton of Fruit Fly's still do that live in one of our plants, I saturated the dirt with Off Bug Spray and Water to the point they drowned and were nuked instantly.

Now we have another plant, that we've had forever but don't want to risk putting off in it because it might kill it.

Probably try that Cone thing sometime

If you have little success ridding your self of the fungus gnats with the homemade "green" solution of the cone thing you can try a product called Vapona which is available at Canadian Tire etc.
It is an organophospahte pesticide that acts as a localized fumigant for flies.
It is safe and approved for domestic use in Canada. I just wouldn't use it as long term as a solution, but is completely safe short term, much safer than using OFF!.
Basically it is a plastic strip impregnated with Dichlorvos and acts in the same manner as a dog flea collar, which slowly releases a constant supply of pesticide killing the adults and larvae simultaneously.

[LChoy]

Knock out with ether and dump them into motor oil
(Biol 311 anyone.....)