Killing fruit flies

[Ed Norman]

Somebody once told how to kill fruit flies with dishwashing liquid or something. Help! I think the plants that got brought into the house from the greenhouse were breeding them and they are everywhere now.

[ELOCN]

We control fruit flies that come into the house on the fruit we buy by putting every part of the rind or peel we cut off into a plastic bag (with no holes) and tying a knot in it.

[Callieslamb]

I learned on this forum a while back to put vinegar in a jar with small holes punched in the lid. Place the jar near the fruit or in your case - where the fruit flies are gathering. They will go in the jar after the vinegar and drown.

[Shrek]

Originally Posted by Callieslamb

I learned on this forum a while back to put vinegar in a jar with small holes punched in the lid. Place the jar near the fruit or in your case - where the fruit flies are gathering. They will go in the jar after the vinegar and drown.

Apple cider or wine vinegar seems to work best.

[BikerChick]

The fastest, most effective way to kill fruit flies within hours is to use a product called Golden Malrin. It's EXTREMELY poisonous to animals, so you have to be careful with it, but it always works. Just put a little in a jar that can be thrown away, dissolve it with a little wine (works best), and put a paper towel in to absorb the liquid and provide a landing spot for the flies. Put it on a counter where kids/animals can't reach, and by the next morning, you'll have a jar full of little nasties.

My husband keeps marmosets who like overripe fruit, so unfortunately, we've become unwillling experts on killing fruit flies.

[momofseven]

I use my oven. Put some fruit peelings on a plate in the oven and leave the door slightly ajar overnight. Next a.m. shut the door and turn it on to 250....= dead fruit flies.

[LandRover]

Google 'fruit fly trap' and use one of the designs to make one. I made one with a small coke bottle, some tape and paper. Bait it with some fruit (removing anything that could have attracted them in the first place) and then give it a few days. They'll all gradually be drawn in.

[mammabooh]

Here's what I do and it's as simple as can be. Take a shallow bowl and pour some apple cider vinegar into it. Add a squirt of dishsoap. That's it...no need for a cover. They flock to it and drown...I'm a sick-o and like to count them!

[CarolynRenee]

mammabooh, you think you're a sick-o? How 'bout this...

When we have fruit flies (which is pretty often around here with all the scraps, even in a sealed tupperware container), I hunt them down.

I'll get a lighter, a can of cooking spray, wave a dishcloth around the kitchen counters to get them in the air & I flame the little buggers on the wing!

DISCLAIMER: YES, I know this is very dangerous, so don't try this unless you have plenty of fire extinguishers available nearby! (but it's still fun!!) Also definately NOT a good idea when the kids are watching!

[Jim-mi]

Renee, Next time you wanna do that I'll be there with my camera.
We are gonna make a lot of money on this movie.

. ."Crazy Lady In The Kitchen Brandishing A Fire Brand" . . .

[gobug]

As an exterminator for decades, and an organic gardener, my advice is not the traps. They do capture fruit flies, but do not eliminate the problem.

Most fruit flies are indigineous. They come inside because you have something in your inside space which attracts them. This is usually fruit (duh). Rather than placing a trap which will attract those in the immediate area plus continuing to attract them from their normal habitat (outside) find that which attracts them and eliminate it.

Fruit flies are tiny and have visible red eyes. Are you certain it is a fruit fly? If it is, rather than spending money and effort on a trap, find and eliminate what is attracting them.
Gary

[Ed Norman]

Outside they are frozen hard. It's cold. Like I said, I think they came in when DW brought in a bunch of plants from the greenhouse a month or two ago. Peppers, cherry tomatoes, pineapple, avacado, all sorts of plants. I read that you can hold off on the water and let the soil dry to kill the cycle, but you have to be careful and not kill the plants, too.

Fungus gnats are another possibility I read about. I'll catch one and look at him under the 10X eye loupe, but he might shut his eyes when he dies.

The money and effort on the trap consisted of cutting off a pop bottle, reversing the top, and adding some bait.

[gobug]

Fungus gnats are the bug commonly mistaken for fruit flies. The visible red eye (without magnification) is the distinction. If it is a fungus gnat, letting house plants dry out, or changing the soil, or lessening the standing water usually ends the problem. Transplanting is sometimes required. If so, this would require removing the entire root ball from the soggy soil.

Fruit flies need fruit. I don't care about your climate, they do. If you do not provide what they need, they will stay away. You do not need traps or pesticides.

Your reference to fungus gnats makes me wonder about your enviroment. When I say environment, I am not thinking from a human perspective. Why would either fruit flies or fungus gnats be there? Because what they want and need is available. If you have a large collection of house plants, the bugs do not have red eyes, and you are generous on the use of water; the solution is more complicated than fruit flies. With fruit flies, just eliminate the fruit. It could be under the refrigerator or some other obscure location. If the small fly does not have visible red eyes, forget the fruit. Look for stagnant water in cuttings, plants which are over watered with either a wet root ball, or water standing in the runoff tray.

Traps are a good indicator that a problem exists, but a poor solution to getting rid of the problem. A good example is a yellow jacket trap. After the spring, place them by the neighbor you do not like. All the wasps in the neighborhood will frequent that space. Many will be captured, but no nests will be eliminated. The same goes for fruit fly traps.
Capturing fruit flies in a trap is proof they exist, but not elimination. Change their habitat. Eliminate the fruit. Forget the traps unless you want to monitor the changes in population. The same goes for fungus gnats. It is too late for them to be so active inside your habitat, unless you are providing what they need.
Good luck. Ask anything, I will be glad to give you an exterminators view.
Gary

[CarolynRenee]

You know, now that I think about it, I'm not sure that my "Fruit Flies" had the red eyes like I used to remember seeing them. I'll have to see if I can catch one of them (un-singed) and take a look-see.

Thanks for the fungus gnat / fruit fly info. Not that it will stop my pyro-exterminating.

[Mulish]

I would guess fungus gnat since you said they might have come in on plants from the green house. I had an infestation last winter. They were breeding in the spagnum moss that I use to grow some of my orchids in. When I asked about how to clear up the problem on a orchid forum, I was told to get mosquito "dunks" and break off a tiny piece, dissolve it in water and water the plants with the solution. It took a while but it did kill the little buggers!

[gobug]

There is a water soluable formulation of the organism in the dunks which can be sprayed through a normal garden sprayer. BT or Bacillus Thuringus (sp?) is a naturally occurring organism in the soil which attacks larval stages of insects. The water soluable version is available at Johnny's (and probably elsewhere - its is just not a common product). I have never heard of anyone using it for fungus gnats, but I could see it might work. I would suspect that the soil is drenched, not the plant sprayed. While there is no catepillar stage of the fungus gnat, there isn't one for mosquitos either, and that is the most common use for the dunks.

[Ed Norman]

What's a dunk and where are they sold?

[gobug]

you should find them at just about any garden supply store
or, google mosquito dunks