Help I Have Fruit Flies

I had the same problem recently. The two things I did that worked (it took a few days) was a fly strip ($2 at Walmart) and taking a tall bottle and filling the bottom with balsamic vinegar. Good luck!

A.,
When we get fruit flies what we do is put some fruit peelings in an empty bread bag, not many maybe just the peelings from 1 or 2 apples. I use a clothes pin to clip the top of the bag to one of my kitchen cabinet knobs so the top is open good and wide, and the bottom of the bag is hanging, or sitting on the counter. Leave it there overnight.

The fruit flies will fly down into the bag to get to the fruit, the trick is that there is so much plasic bag between where the peelings are and the opening of the bag you can quick close the bread bag before the fruit flies can scatter and fly away. Leave the bag sealed up and throw it directly into the garbage (outside if you can). You may have to do this 2 or 3 nights but that should take care of it.

Apple cider vinegar works for me. I fill an old baby food jar about 1/2 way with it and add a couple drops of dish soap. Poke some holes in the lid with a safety pin and screw it on. I put it on my kitchen counter behind the fruit bowl. they are attracted to the vinegar, climb in the holes, get covered in vinegar and soap (which makes them slippery so they can't climb out) plus, the way the holes are punched in they can get in but can't get back out.

That said, I've never seen red fruit flies! I think it might be from a plant like another mom suggested.

Good luck!

Alli,
I know this will really really sound like I don't have a life, so bear with me. (frankly I don't, but not for lack of trying)
Wanna enjoy getting rid of the fruit flies? Yes there are far better, more sane forms of entertainment, contentment, satisfaction, but at my house there are 2 battery powered zappers that look like tennis rackets. And fruit flies give off THE most satisfying snap when you fry them with this. Good for spiders, flies, meal bugs, anything that gets in your way, gets on your nerves, whatever. In the evenings, little white flies seem to get in through the screens and I don't even bother with them. They won't be around when it gets colder anyway.
I imagine these hand held zappers could be found at hardware or dollar stores. I haven't a clue where ours came from. And the dumb thing? The one in the basement just sits there unused. I know the basement has its little creepy crawlies.

Are you sure they're fruit flies? IF so, if you find the source of the attraction and remove it, the flies will be gone also. since you said it is in your living room, I have to think of fleas. Do you have a pet, or has one been in your house? Those eggs can last a year and then hatch. If they are fleas, you will have to use a chemical specifically (flea bomb) for that and clean everything, and then wipe it all down when you are done so your child doesn't get the chemical. YOu could also check with a vet for more natural remedies, but I find that the chemcial eradicates them permanently. Good luck!

Sometimes fruit flies come in with the produce from the grocery store or produce stand. When I get them I do the following and it gets rid of them every time.

Get a tall jar and put a piece of banana and about an inch and a half of vinegar in the jar. Put plastic wrap over the top of the jar and secure it. Place a straw through the plastic wrap and only put it far enough into the jar so that it is above the vinegar and tape it in place. The flies will go down the straw and they can't get back out. Then when it looks like I've got them all I just throw the jar away. It's not a pretty thing to have sitting on my counter but it works.

T.

Hi A.,

When my son was a baby, we used a Diaper Dekor in the living room for his poopy diapers. We didn't want to "waste" the expensive liners by using the bin for wet diapers, so we only used it for #2's. Needless to say, after a while I noticed an invasion of fruit flies, even with little or no fruit on the counters. Yep, they were coming from the diaper bin. We had good intentions, but by only using the bin for poopy diapers, they sat in there twice as long and the fruit flies went nuts. After I took it outside and cleaned it out, I put it in storage and never used it again :) It would be worth checking out if you're still using a diaper bin.

Hope this helps!
A.

Put a very small cup of apple cider vinegar in the room with some saran wrap over the top (with a rubber band) and poke some small holes in the saran wrap with a tooth pick. In a few days, you'll see a bunch of fruit flies floating in the vinegar. Also, to prevent them from coming back, make sure you are washing all of your fresh fruits and vegetables in very cold water after bringing them home from the store. The cold water kills the eggs usually found on bananas, etc. Good luck and let us know how it works!! It worked very well for me last year. :)

Put out basil seasoning in a dish or cup. For some reason fruit flies don't like the smell

We had this problem last year something awful - again at the beginning of this summer. The only thing that seemed to work for us was taking straight bleach and pouring it down all of your drains - that means - kitchen sink, bathroom sink, bathroom shower/tub drains - all drains...let it sit for a while and then use as normal...we think that it was possible food was in the traps in the sinks! I hope this helps - best of luck!

Leave a few bowls of apple cider vinegar on the counter. It worked for me!

I had the same problem about a month ago. If you have any CIDER vinegar that attracts the fruit flies to it. Place the vinegar in a clean plastic pop bottle. a 2 liter bottle works good. Once you have collected a lot of fruit flies in the bottle...place the cap on it. Then take the bottle outside and throw it away. Then get another bottle and start over. The only thing you are losing is the bottle refund. I am pretty sure you wouldn't mind that!
Good luck!

get big glass vase or jar, halk water and vinger. but some sugar in the flies like the sugar and the vinger kills. they will lay their eggs in too

the fruit flies could be coming from house plants

I swear there's a fruit fly epidemic going around. I consider myself a clean person and I have a few of them too. My mother-in-law is a neat freak and she's even complained about them. I have no idea where they're coming from. I don't have fruit left out, I take my trash out regularly, I use diluted bleach to clean my sink and counter tops, and I keep my bathrooms clear of sitting water. I've gone through every room nesting to get ready for my newborn and can't find the source. I'm only left with the thought that when I occasionally have the window open, they're fitting through my screen. Other than that, I'm stumped. So you're not alone.

At night before going to bed pour bleach down all your drains even the tub and toilet. (anything that shoots water) It will take about two to three days but it does work. And get rid of or put away the extra fruit and food on the counters. (They love the snoop around in it. If nothing has worked this will.

Good Luck!

By any chance to you have live house plants? Last year I thought I had a fruit fly invasion and it turned out that we have some sort of 'bug' that was infecting our house plants. They looked a lot like fruit flies but were primarilary in our living room and when I went up to the plant and watched carefully I would see them in the plant attaching to the underside of the leaves.

I got some yellow(they are attracted to yellow) sticky plant tape from a garden store and put them in the edge of the pot. Within 2 weeks they were all gone.

Good Luck!
L.

Last year I discovered them all over my bedroom ceiling....YUCK! We were watching TV and I looked up and they were everywhere. I was livid b/c we just replaced our windows. I realized that they can fit through the mesh in the screen! THEN I realized that the outdoor trash can was near our bedroom window. I moved the trash can, and solved the problem.

~L.

Do you have potatoes laying around ANYWHERE? We had the same issue before and it turned out to be from the potatoes! We couldn't figure it out for anything, until I went and move the potatoes and 10000 flied out! I never leve potatoes out of the fridge anymore! lol

Hi A.,
Here is a great way to get rid of them - I found this solution on the University of Kentucky website and it worked great for me. You'll need a large jar, apple cidar vinegar, a piece of paper and tape. First pour a small amount of vinegar (about 1/4 inch deep) into the jar. Roll the paper to make a cone (you want the smaller end to go into the jar and it to fit around the edges of the mouth of the jar so the little buggers don't sneak out the sides!), put a small piece of tape to hold the cone shape and place in the jar. The flies will fly in to get the cider and get trapped. After a few days you'll see that you've got a nice little collection of them on the bottom of the jar -I usually wait until they die and then flush them down the toilet - don't want them coming back!Good luck!

A.,

You may have something other than fruit flies which are just tiny little nat like bugs that disappear when the over ripe fruit is tossed out. Grain based products like pancake mix and flour if stored outside a fridge for a long time can produce small moths that eventually make their way out of the package and into your house. I was told that there are tiny eggs in the grain and if left long enough can produce these moths. I was completely grossed out then I actually found some in an old box of mix way in the back of my pantry one time. (What can I say, working mother, no time to clean!) How they actually got there is up for debate, but they were there. Anyway, you might try a search of your pantry if you don't store those types of things in the fridge. I do now and never had the problem again.

Good luck to you,
S.

if you have alot of indoor plants, you may want to change the soil. they can breed and live on the plants and dirt. after changing to fresh soil just wash the plant down with a lightdish soap water wash cloth. try that. if you have older windows, sometimes moisture can accumulate on the inside sills maybe their comeing from there?
try spraying and wiping sills with a bleach solution.

hi there,
i recently read somewhere that if you have fruit flies, put out a cup of apple cider vinegar, my dad does this and it works somehow...

There is definitely always a source. Last year we had a really bad problem and could not find a problem anywhere we thought. Than My DH was cleaning the garage and discovered that one of my Kids had thrown a way a half eaten ice cream in the trash can outside the kitchen door in the garage that did not have a bag in it. and it was coated all over the bottom of the bin. The fruit flies were swarming all over it and every time we open the kitchen door to come into the house they would come in with us. I get rid of them by using apple cider vinegar in a cup with plastic wrap over it I used a rubber band to hold it on a few small holes to let the flies in and they could not get out. This is simple and works great.

We had our own "invasion" last year & it was terrible! They are actually sewer flies, which sound even grosser! try a small jar (Manwich, salsa, pickles), clean it out well. Pour a small amount of beer in the jar. Then take a baggy with a small hole in a corner & put it in the jar like a funnel, without the bag actually touching the beer, and wrap a rubber band around the top. The flies will go in to get the "beer" & get trapped. We put multiple traps around the house & were quite successful. We also poured straight bleach down all the drains daily for a week or two. Good luck!

Hydorigen Perioxide down your drains and keep all drains closed. (cover them with a butter tub lid, etc.