Killing fruit flies?

[QueenTrident]

I have been invaded by fruit flies and can't get rid of them. I've cleaned everything and thrown out anything that was open. Any ideas? I just sold my house and our inspection is in a few days. I need to get rid of these things! I was trying not to use anything poisonous, as I'm 6.5 months pregnant, but will resort to that if I have to. I just don't know where their "nest" is. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[Aimeedyan]

We resorted to poision when we got invaded by them. THey multiply quickly, and can live in plants, garbage disposals, anything you can think of.

We just bought the flying insect RAID spray. It tells you to just spray towards the middle of the room. So, we covered everything we could up and I started in the back of the house and sprayed each room liberally, shutting the doors as I went. THen you have to leave the house for a couple of hours.

I repeated in a few days just in case, and we haven't had them since.

The can was only $3, so it might be worth trying that first before resorting to bombs and such. They might be finding enough things to live off of even without having their original source around, you know? Meaning, you could kill this round and they be gone... that happened with us.

 

[Tuffcookie]

I posted about this last month. Youngest DS left banana peels in his paper can and boy, did we have fruit flies!
I suffered for a couple days and then went to K-Mart and got the Raid Flying Insect Spray. I completely cleared the kitchen of everything on the counters. My diningroom and kitchen could be sealed off from the rest of the house. DS and animals were sent upstairs. I sprayed the center of the kitchen and the sink drain.. Then I went to the livingroom to let the stuff work. And boy, did it! When I went back an hour later. (You don't have to wait that long, buy, hey, I was DISing ) Then I wiped all the counters down, rinsed the sink, and washed the floor and the fruit flies were history. Maybe with you being pregnant someone else should do the spraying. Good luck. They sure are annoying!!!

TC

 

[QueenTrident]

Thanks for the advice. I'll try that when DD is out of the house and I can be out for a few hours. Maybe I'll stay home a bit one morning, after she goes to school, then I'll head to work. They're just so gross!

When I was pregnant with DD, we got infested with black flies - they came in our live Christmas tree. We had to resort to poison then, too. I have an issue with bugs and pregnancy.

 

[HoneyPooh]

Here is what DH and I used: three jars with about an inch of apple cider vinegar in each. Cover tops with plastic wrap and put a few small holes in the plastic. Place jars in areas where the fruit flies are congregating.

We put these out before bed and when we got up in the morning we had jars of fruit fly and vinegar soup but it worked like a charm! The fruit flies were lured into the jar by the vinegar and couldn't find their way back out.

We scrubbed the kitchen and laundry areas and never saw another fruit fly.

 

[QueenTrident]

But, I always thought the saying was "You catch more flies with honey than vinegar."

Thanks for the suggestion! That's an easy one to try.

 

[RhondaS]

At the bottom of the page in the link below is another version of the above mentioned trap.

Fruit Fly Trap

These types of traps really work.

 

[disneyatl]

That is amazing. I never knew you could catch fruit flies with vinegar. Will have to remember that!

I had another suggestion but the vinegar idea sounds much better. We had fruit flies that were infested in a house plant. I read that you should wash all houseplants with soap and water. I did this to all of mine and it seemed to help. I just took a paper towel soaked with soapy water and washed every leaf on the plant. I guess the soap kills them.

 

[KristaTX]

If you have any houseplants, go poke around in the dirt and see if any small insects fly out. The dirt can become infested by and serve as a breeding ground for small flying insects. I've had this problem before at home and at work. Sneaky little bugs .

If that is the problem, there is some type of spray to get rid of them, but I can't remember the exact name. "Houseplant Insect Spray" or something like that - check in the gardening section. Mine came in a yellow spray bottle with a red top, but I can't remember the brand. There are directions on how to treat the dirt and plants.

 

[HoneyPooh]

DH and I had never heard of the vinegar thing either, but we found it on the internet and figured we had nothing to loose. We were amazed at the results and tell everyone......they are actually getting sick of hearing about it. Thank's for another opportunity to spread the word .