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Suzan
True Blue Farmgirl

659 Posts

suzanne
duncannon pa
USA
659 Posts

Posted - Sep 15 2009 :  07:18:23 AM  Show Profile
I have been inundated this summer with fruit flies. Anyone have any suggestions as to how to get rid of them? I've cleaned everything, checked potatoes and onions, made sure there isn't anything around to tempt them, poured boiling water down my drains, I need HELP!

mellaisbella
True Blue Farmgirl

1862 Posts

melanie
living on Anne of Green Gables land
Canada
1862 Posts

Posted - Sep 15 2009 :  07:20:03 AM  Show Profile
me too!!!

"we must be the change we wish to see in the world"
farmgal #150
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Ms.Lilly
True Blue Farmgirl

826 Posts

Lillian
Scotts Mills OR
USA
826 Posts

Posted - Sep 15 2009 :  07:33:02 AM  Show Profile
Put a small bowl of apple cider vinegar on your counter and stretch a piece of double sided (clear works best) sticky tape across the center of it. This works great, they flock to the vinegar and stick to the tape.

Lillian
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mellaisbella
True Blue Farmgirl

1862 Posts

melanie
living on Anne of Green Gables land
Canada
1862 Posts

Posted - Sep 15 2009 :  07:34:51 AM  Show Profile
thank you soooooooo much! I will try that right now!

"we must be the change we wish to see in the world"
farmgal #150
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SheilaC
True Blue Farmgirl

1948 Posts

Sheila
Vermont
USA
1948 Posts

Posted - Sep 15 2009 :  07:36:17 AM  Show Profile
Last year someone posted this and I've been using it successfully--put some cider vinegar in a dish and a drop of dishsoap and the fruit flies really do come and drown! This works wonderfully in my kitchen.
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Alee
True Blue Farmgirl

22941 Posts

Alee
Worland Wy
USA
22941 Posts

Posted - Sep 15 2009 :  07:59:17 AM  Show Profile  Send Alee a Yahoo! Message
Yup! Apple Cider vinegar is the key! It smells sweet/rotten to them which is their favorite smell ever. I put it in a bottle that has a wider base than the bottom, they fly in and drown and the ones that try to fly away can't find the exit before they get gassed by the fumes of the vinegar.

Alee
Farmgirl Sister #8
www.awarmheart.com
www.farmgirlalee.blogspot.com
www.allergyjourneys.blogspot.com
Put your pin on the farmgirl map! www.farmgirlmap.blogspot.com
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Suzan
True Blue Farmgirl

659 Posts

suzanne
duncannon pa
USA
659 Posts

Posted - Sep 15 2009 :  09:42:08 AM  Show Profile
I will do it tonight!
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kristin sherrill
True Blue Farmgirl

11303 Posts

kristin
chickamauga ga
USA
11303 Posts

Posted - Sep 15 2009 :  11:59:57 AM  Show Profile
Another thing that works is a little bit of banana in a small mason jar. Put plastic wrap on the opening and either tape it or use a rubberband reallt tight. Poke small holes in plastic wrap. They go in but can't get out. You have to change it at least every 5 days. It really works.

Kris

Happiness is simple.
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Roxy7
True Blue Farmgirl

1083 Posts

Robin
Denver CO
USA
1083 Posts

Posted - Sep 15 2009 :  1:45:37 PM  Show Profile
Also, hairspray slows em down and a dirt devil vacuum sucks em in. But you have to empty it outside before they try to fly back out. I also found that a fan running air in the kitchen helped them to go away.
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Suzan
True Blue Farmgirl

659 Posts

suzanne
duncannon pa
USA
659 Posts

Posted - Sep 16 2009 :  05:21:43 AM  Show Profile
tried the vinegar last night, they didn't even look at it...trying the banana thing tonight...
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gramadinah
True Blue Farmgirl

3557 Posts

Diana
Orofino ID
USA
3557 Posts

Posted - Sep 16 2009 :  06:22:37 AM  Show Profile
Suzan I had an old refer that had a tray underneith it for water collection and that is where I found my fruit fly condo I removed washed and replaced. and got rid of them.
Diana

Farmgirl Sister #273
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krissy
True Blue Farmgirl

278 Posts

Kristen
Snohomish WA
USA
278 Posts

Posted - Sep 16 2009 :  11:42:00 AM  Show Profile
Wow, am I glad I saw this thread! We have those nasty little fruit flies right now quite bad also. I will try the vinegar trick!

http://lateinlifemommy.blogspot.com/
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Libbie
Farmgirl Connection Cultivator

3579 Posts

Anne E.
Elsinore Utah
USA
3579 Posts

Posted - Sep 16 2009 :  2:12:50 PM  Show Profile
Okay - I've been canning peaches GALORE the past couple of weeks, and here's the ol' Utah version of a fruit fly trap. It's really working for me - really. You take a quart Mason jar and make a funnel out of paper. Then you put some rotten peaches (I know, gross...) in the bottom and stick the paper funnel in. Tape the funnel down on the sides. The flies are "smart" enough to go in, but not smart enough to get out.

XOXO, Libbie

"Farmgirl Sister #10," and proud of it!!!
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Annab
True Blue Farmgirl

2900 Posts

Anna
Seagrove NC
USA
2900 Posts

Posted - Sep 17 2009 :  09:49:03 AM  Show Profile
A -HA!

Will try the apple cider vinegar too.

I get tired of the flies when we keep a small bucket for kitchen scraps on the counter or keep bananas in the house. They seem to show up instantly

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geminidream62
True Blue Farmgirl

74 Posts

Molly
Spokane Washington
USA
74 Posts

Posted - Sep 17 2009 :  8:42:08 PM  Show Profile
Mine were too smart for the cider vinegar. They'd fly to it...walk around the edge, sit on the tape (Scotch brand, too!) and fly away. Oh well, at least they were concentrated in one area and I could mash more of them with my washcloth. yucky...

Molly
http://geminisdream.blogspot.com/
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FarmGirl~K
True Blue Farmgirl

512 Posts

Kelly
TX
USA
512 Posts

Posted - Sep 18 2009 :  05:45:08 AM  Show Profile
Molly if the vinegar w/the double sided tape doesnt work. Try the plastic wrap over the top & poke tiny holes in the top as Kristin suggested. It has always worked for us. It may take some time & you will sometimes just see them around the container, but they eventually will go in. We put it near our sink & sometimes a few others around the counters. We usually use something like a small glass or coffee mug. Something not too big & about an inch of vineger. We've also used wine. Before you know it, it will be full of them. I didnt realize how many we had one time until I saw what was at the bottom of the cup. They multiply like crazy. Good luck. They sure are pesky little things!

"I have an irrepressible desire to live till I can be assured that the world is a little better for my having lived in it."
– Abraham Lincoln
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Roxy7
True Blue Farmgirl

1083 Posts

Robin
Denver CO
USA
1083 Posts

Posted - Sep 18 2009 :  07:33:19 AM  Show Profile
Pouring boiling water down the drain helps kill where they breed. I also heard that leaving ice in the drain to melt overnight will help kill off the breeding area.
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Alee
True Blue Farmgirl

22941 Posts

Alee
Worland Wy
USA
22941 Posts

Posted - Sep 18 2009 :  10:58:49 AM  Show Profile  Send Alee a Yahoo! Message
Yes, it usually takes a day or two before the vinegar trap really works best. I am not sure but maybe the vinegar has to mellow a bit? Hope your little visitors die off soon!

Alee
Farmgirl Sister #8
www.awarmheart.com
www.farmgirlalee.blogspot.com
www.allergyjourneys.blogspot.com
Put your pin on the farmgirl map! www.farmgirlmap.blogspot.com
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acairnsmom
True Blue Farmgirl

1319 Posts

audrey
cheyenne wy
1319 Posts

Posted - Sep 18 2009 :  11:32:09 AM  Show Profile
This is all good info. I thought it was just me having an unusual large amount of these this year. Finally had to stop putting things aside for the compost, just too many congregating there no matter how often I took it out. I tried the vinegar but that just became like a disco for the pests! Think I'll try the trick with the paper cone or the plastic wrap!

Audrey

Toto, we're not in Kansas any more!
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geminidream62
True Blue Farmgirl

74 Posts

Molly
Spokane Washington
USA
74 Posts

Posted - Sep 18 2009 :  4:49:40 PM  Show Profile
Kelly, I'll keep after them. They drive me crazy. At least my paranoia about them makes it easier to get my teenager to help take out the compost bucket. What i'm using now is a small rice bowl and about 1/2" of vinegar. I'll try your suggestions and just keep up the teenager nagging. :D

Molly
http://geminisdream.blogspot.com/
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quiltin mama
True Blue Farmgirl

436 Posts

Heather
Crescent City CA
USA
436 Posts

Posted - Sep 20 2009 :  09:58:51 AM  Show Profile
"Another thing that works is a little bit of banana in a small mason jar. Put plastic wrap on the opening and either tape it or use a rubberband reallt tight. Poke small holes in plastic wrap. They go in but can't get out. You have to change it at least every 5 days. It really works."

Yep, that's the same thing I do- works like a charm! :)

my blog www.mountainhomequilts.blogspot.com
handmade quilts on etsy www.mountainhomequilts.etsy.com
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