Fruit Flies!

[digitS']

It was probably about this time of year ... I think it was @journey11 who had advice for me on a fruit fly trap.

I finally decided to try and trap the dang flies with vinegar. The plan was for a bowl with about a cup of vinegar, a drop of dish soap and covered with plastic wrap. Poked some holes in the plastic so the flies could get in.

This is the time of year for baskets of tomatoes in the utility room, and melons. Oh my, fruit flies love melons!! What are they thinking, that at some future time you will slice open that heavy skin and just let the flies gorge themselves instead of locking away that fruit in the fridge? Anyway, they come into the house looking ...

And, come in, they do! This house has good window screens but I doubt that any stormdoor can stop a determined fruit fly. I suppose that having a towel-draped bucket with melons in it just outside the backdoor might act as an attraction ..?

I set my bowl of vinegar on top some ripe tomatoes in the utility room. Twelve hours later, there were 18 dead bugs in the vinegar! Not one fruit fly could be found around those tomatoes.

Two days pass. Most of the tomatoes have been made into sauce and are in the freezer - more have come in from the garden! There are ripe tomatoes on the kitchen table, ripe bananas and a few peaches, a friend has given us a bag of plums ..!

I move stuff into the utility room and set out a fresh bowl of vinegar. Twenty three fruit flies by the end of the day! Not one can be seen in the room.

Steve

 

[Nyboy]

I am battling them right now. I keep meaning to put some honey on cardboard to trap them. Mine love sink I think it was @Ridgerunner who said they need water to breed.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Steve, I'm amazed at you being able to catch them all with that trap so quickly. I'd get some but not all, though I did not try that plastic film with holes over it. Maybe that traps them in so they hit the liquid better. That drop of dish soap is essential to break the surface tension so they drown, otherwise they land on the cider vinegar and fly away. Next time I'll know to try that plastic film.

It's not so much that they need water, they need moisture. A ripe fruit will have enough moisture. A favorite spot is a garbage disposal or sink drain. Last year mine were breeding in the top of my Mister Coffee coffee maker. It doesn't take long for them to start laying eggs when they get in, you need to locate that breeding area to eliminate them.

Steve, they may be coming in from outside through cracks around doors or windows but it's highly possibly (probable) you are bringing the eggs in when you bring the melons or tomatoes in. You've probably got fruit flies outside laying eggs on that stuff before you harvest.

 

[digitS']

The flies may show up for awhile under the film and act like they are trying to get out.

In fact, those that I notice acting like that seem so intent that I wonder if all of them behaved that way. They may only end up in the vinegar by accident, flying about. BTW, I successfully tried both wine and apple cider vinegar.

Honey on paper, @Nyboy? Besides the vinegar bowl, I just saw the inverted paper cone in the jar trap. It uses fruit and the flies are set free outdoors.

Cooler weather has arrived. That should put the skids under them. With the breeze out of the northeast, the smoke is back! Additional torments.

Steve

 

[ninnymary]

The key is not to have fruit that is too ripe on your counters! Especially bananas. I've bought this cute little thing that looks like an apple with some liquid inside. Works like a charm. All gone in 2 days.

Mary

 

[digitS']

Especially melons! But, they attract fruit flies even if not overripe. Yes, overripe fruit is a special draw.

Yesterday, I took the cut-up pieces of galia melon out of the fridge. Hadn't seen any flies in the house in a couple of days. Suddenly, there is a lone fruit fly circling above the bowl of melon!

I set up the bowl and vinegar trap. This time, there is only one fly and I tried to pay attention. The fly crawled thru the plastic within about 30 minutes. Five minutes later, he was still crawling around the inside of the bowl and trying to find a way out. Five minutes after that, he is dead in the vinegar.

A dozen holes in the plastic cover, I imagine that they are something like inverted cones. The flies can't crawl out easily. Flying about is a little random and they finally end up in the vinegar.

Over 24 hours later, I still haven't seen a fruit fly in the house. Baskets of ripening tomatoes sitting around. Only that one fly under the plastic and in the vinegar.

Steve

 

[Nyboy]

Steve you watch a fly for 40 minutes

 

[thistlebloom]

Steve you watch a fly for 40 minutes

Things are slow in the garden this time of year.

 

[digitS']

No.

I looked at the trap ..

. 3 times over about 40 minutes.

Steve