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JillUser
JillUser
Join Date 11/2003
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Itty Bitty Fruit Flies

October 14, 2006 9:49:47 PM from JoeUser ForumsJoeUser Forums

Has anyone else out there been plagued with itty bitty fruit flies?  If so, how do you get rid of them?  They are everywhere in my house and are annoying the heck out of me!

I don't know if they came in with my apples, bananas or tomatos.  It doesn't matter now.  I realized the were attracted to and drowning in a glass of wine that had been left out so I have placed it away from the kitchen hoping to kill a bunch of them.  It's a start.  They seem to be everywhere though!

I don't think they pose any harm of any kind but they give me the itchy scratchies and make me feel like my home is unsanitary.

 

Help!!!!!

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JillUser
Tova7
Join Date 09/2005
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Reply #1 October 14, 2006 10:21:38 PM
from JoeUser ForumsJoeUser Forums
We were invaded by them last year. They came in off our apple trees I guess. So this year we picked up all the apples every single day and wa-la no problemo.

You may want to check your house plants if you have any, especially if you recently got a new one or brought one into the house. Once fruit flys find soil they breed and you pretty much have to throw the plant out, put it outside.

After last summer, I threw out every plant in my house except one. I was bummed out.

Good luck getting them...I hate the little buggers.

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JillUser
MasonM
Join Date 01/2004
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Reply #2 October 14, 2006 10:22:08 PM
from JoeUser ForumsJoeUser Forums
Those things are very annoying. Bananas are the most likely culprit. The first thing you should do is to find out what food item they arrived in and dispose of it immediately as there is bound to be larvae.

Once you've gotten the future pests out of the house you'll be fine as the flies have a very short life span. They only live for about 3 or 4 days. Leaving some wine out or even some honey is a good way to trap and kill the little buggers. They will get stuck in either one and die.
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JillUser
MasonM
Join Date 01/2004
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Reply #3 October 14, 2006 10:25:37 PM
from JoeUser ForumsJoeUser Forums
Oh, forgot to mention this. If you have a dog, check the dog food. We had them last year and matter what we disposed of they were still there. We finally figured out that they had either come in the dog food or had taken it over. Either way, once we disposed of the bag of dog food they were gone in just a few days.
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JillUser
Locamama
Join Date 12/2003
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Reply #4 October 14, 2006 10:26:25 PM
from JoeUser ForumsJoeUser Forums
I have had them come out of my garbage disposal, I'm assuming they were in something that got put down there, peels or something. I filled my sink with bleach water and then ran it through the disposal and they were gone.
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JillUser
Spc Nobody Special
Join Date 08/2004
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Reply #5 October 14, 2006 10:31:06 PM
from JoeUser ForumsJoeUser Forums
Beware rotten fruit and overwatered houseplants. Find the source, and you'll stop the flies. The fruit is out there........
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JillUser
JillUser
Join Date 11/2003
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Reply #6 October 15, 2006 10:20:04 AM
from JoeUser ForumsJoeUser Forums
Wow, thanks all! I have a disposal, fruit and houseplants so I have no idea of where they are coming from. If I put my plants outside right now it will be certain death for them since it has been freezing here. We have a lot of plants so I can't imagine killing them all!

Aargh! I may have to resort to sacrificing the plants though. I think there are more of the buggers every day and they are driving me nuts!
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JillUser
Moderateman
Join Date 11/2004
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Reply #7 October 15, 2006 11:33:55 AM
from JoeUser ForumsJoeUser Forums
I use safer soap, it's a product with no poison, yet seems to make house plants inhospitable to most critters. you can spray the soil and the plant and not worry about killing yer kids.
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JillUser
Tova7
Join Date 09/2005
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Reply #8 October 15, 2006 11:46:54 AM
from JoeUser ForumsJoeUser Forums
Aargh! I may have to resort to sacrificing the plants though. I think there are more of the buggers every day and they are driving me nuts!


A good way to check it its the plants is to water them and watch closely for them to hover by the plant...water will displace the flying ones...but if you see them that means they have babies in your plants...and I've never had luck getting rid of them from soil, even with chemicals.

If you have plants by a window, check the windown sash or ledge and see if there are dead ones there...that is another way to know they are in your plants.

Good luck
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JillUser
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Reply #9 October 15, 2006 10:15:36 PM
from JoeUser ForumsJoeUser Forums
JillUser -

This will absolutely work - I promise - even with fruit and plants still in the house!

Take a small bowl and fill it 1/4 full with white wine (I'm sure any fruit juice would work too but I haven't tried it). Add a few drops of dish soap. Leave on the counter and be amazed at all the flies it collects. They are attracted to the sweet wine(juice) but the soap changes the surface tension so they sink!

I'm not sure where I found this but it definitely does work.
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JillUser
Tova7
Join Date 09/2005
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Reply #10 October 16, 2006 11:05:24 AM
from JoeUser ForumsJoeUser Forums
I'm not sure where I found this but it definitely does work.


Yup tried it...but if they laid babies in soil then she will have to leave a glass out pretty much for the rest of her life. hah.
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JillUser
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Reply #11 October 16, 2006 10:13:07 PM
from JoeUser ForumsJoeUser Forums
I can guarantee you that if she puts the glass out the little buggers will pick that over the soil. It make take a week or so but they'll figure out where the good stuff is.
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JillUser
jennifer1
Join Date 08/2006
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Reply #12 October 21, 2006 9:50:40 AM
from JoeUser ForumsJoeUser Forums
They are attracted to the sweet wine(juice) but the soap changes the surface tension so they sink!


sneaky   
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JillUser
Tova7
Join Date 09/2005
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Reply #13 October 23, 2006 10:50:24 PM
from JoeUser ForumsJoeUser Forums
Well what's the update Jill?

Any luck?
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JillUser
JillUser
Join Date 11/2003
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Reply #14 November 13, 2006 8:06:55 AM
from JoeUser ForumsJoeUser Forums

Believe it or not, we still have a few flies hanging around after all this time.  I eliminated all of the fruit that I had been putting out in fruit bowls, put wine out, got professional traps, and found out they had been breeding in the sink drains both in the kitchen and bathrooms so got professional foaming spray for the drains. 

I found out they have a 10 day gestaion from egg to adult.  Every time I thought something was working (like the wine), there would be another group a few days later.  I hope I never get those things again!

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JillUser
Tova7
Join Date 09/2005
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Reply #15 November 13, 2006 8:23:37 AM
from JoeUser ForumsJoeUser Forums
Yup, those little monsters are tuff stuff. hahahaha.

I pour bleach and water down the drain a few times a summer to help keep them out of the sinks. Ew.

I tried for several months to get rid of them last year. They ended up breeding in an over watered plant, I let my kids water and "take care" of. So we ended up throwing out all the plants to be safe. Glad they didn't make it into yours.

Nothing like taking a big yawn only to have one kamakazi toward your face. hahahahaha.
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JillUser
Zoologist03
Join Date 04/2004
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Reply #16 November 13, 2006 9:18:47 AM
from JoeUser ForumsJoeUser Forums
Fill your home with geckos! Afterall, they're adorable.

~Zoo
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JillUser
lifehappens
Join Date 07/2004
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Reply #17 November 17, 2006 2:28:54 PM
from JoeUser ForumsJoeUser Forums
I had an issue and I filled a spray bottle with dish soap and water. I just misted my fruits and veggies and plants daily, or whenever I saw a fly...It worked.
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