Fruit Flies

Welcome to summer!  So if your house is full of fruit in the summer and you live in Texas or another warm southern state, you have probably been inundated with some uninvited guests, fruit flies. 

As you can see from the photo, they are ugly little guys if you aren't convinced yet that they are ugly and totally annoying.  They come in on fruit from the store and if you leave fruit out (like bananas - which they LOVE) or a watermelon or cantaloupe on the counter, you are doubling your chances to see these little pests.

They lay their eggs anywhere and they hatch out in about 7-10 days.  So first thing to do is to clean everywhere.  Get your counters clean and keep them wiped.  If  you have heavy appliances sitting on the counter, you need to be sure to wipe under everything.  The object is to find the eggs.  If you have a trash compactor, run hot water down the drain and turn it on.  Using some bleach, scrub the drains, strainers and don't forget to change all towels.  Get rid of any grime that is clinging to the drain.  Those little buggers love the stuff.  If you have a compost bucket under the sink, you need to clean it up and make sure there is tight lid on it.  Any food crumbs or particles is a source of life for this guys.  Add this ritual to your kitchen clean-up until they are gone.

A pipe cleaning idea I read about is to combine salt, baking soda and white vinegar and make a homemade drain freshener that will eliminate build up in your drains, and kill the fruit flies.

Do it like this:

1. 
   
   pour a half cup of salt down the drain
2. 
   
   follow that with a half cup of baking soda
3. 
   
   end it off with a full cup of white vinegar.

Let the drain foam overnight and then wash it all down with a pot of boiling water in the morning.  The object is to rid the drain of any food source for them.

SOME HOMEMADE TRAPS:

1. 
   
   Mineral Oil Trap: Take a slice of banana and put it in a shallow dish of mineral oil. The mineral oil is viscous enough that the flies will land in it and be unable to take off again – leave this out someplace where you can monitor it for about 24-48 hours, and then throw it out, along with all the dead flies.
2. 
   
   Apple Juice Trap: Another trap can be made out of pop bottle with some apple juice and dish soap (the dish soap breaks the surface tension of the cider, which attracts them – they can’t pull away from the soap).
3. 
   
   An easy & effective fruit fly trap is to set out a bowl of vinegar with a couple drops of citrus smelling liquid dish detergent. This attracts the fruit flies and they drown. Lay a fresh bowl out each day to keep the smell strong enough to attract them.
4. 
   
   Cider Vinegar Trap:  Add 1 cup water, 1cup cider vinegar and 2 tsp dish washing liquid.  Directions: Pour into a jar or bottle and set out close to fruit & produce. The smell will attract the fruit flies and they will come investigate, getting themselves covered with soap and then drown.
5. 
   
   Fresh Fruit Trap: Place a piece of cut fruit in a jar (use a ripe/overripe banana if you can, this seems to be their favorite). Roll a piece of paper into a funnel (cutting the bottom tip so there’s an entry) and place into the top of the jar to trap fruit flies. Make sure the bottom opening of the funnel doesn’t touch the fruit (you don’t want the fruit flies to have an easy exit) and that the sides of the funnel fill the jar opening completely (no cracks for the flies to get out). Make sure to remove and replace the fruit every two days to avoid breeding new fruit flies. You could also skip the funnel and just cover the jar with plastic wrap, poking a few small holes in the top for them to enter.
6. 
   
   Coke Trap: Leave an inch or two of Classic Coke in the bottom of a pop bottle and twist on the cap. Take a hammer and nail or drill to make a small hole in the cap (about 1/4″ diameter). Set the bottle in the room where the fruit flies are heaviest. Fruit flies will crawl in and won’t be able to get back out.
7. 
   
   Beer Trap: Fill a mason jar about 2″ to 3″ deep with beer, cover opening with a piece of plastic wrap secured with a rubber band. Poke a few holes in the top of the plastic so the fruit flies can get into the jar to get at the beer–they won’t be able to get out.
8. 
   
   Yeast Trap: In a mason jar, sprinkle active dry yeast over 1/3 cup warm water. Add 1 teaspoon of sugar and stir. Once the yeast is activated and starts to foam, cover the jar top tightly with plastic wrap (try to keep the surface wrinkle free), secure with a rubber band. Make a small hole in the top for the fruit flies to find their way in, most will be unable to get out.

SOME THINGS TO REMEMBER:
* If you have an especially heavy infestation, set out a fruit fly trap in a small room with the light left on overnight. Although fruit flies are most active during the day, the flies will be attracted to the light and make their way to the room (and their tempting trap bait).

* Once it seems you’ve gotten rid of the fruit flies, you may notice a fresh batch flying around–these are likely those that have hatched from the eggs of the previous fruit flies (the gestation period is about 7 to 10 days). Repeat the cleaning process and lay out the traps until there’s no recurrence. This is why it’s important to find all their food sources, fruit flies lay eggs on the food that will hatch later.