Fruit Fly Infestation HELP (floor, fireplace, flea, drain)

[no kudzu]

I've done all the things suggested on the internet- no food out in the house, empty garbage every night,nothing in the disposal, no pet food out, fly strips in the kitchen and flying insect spray at night. We can't set off a bomb cause we have kitchen open to family room and we have gas fireplace with pilot light.

We have fruit flies so bad they are even in the fridge and spice drawer. I've emptied the fridge and washed it down. Don't see any flies on any fruit but obviously they came in the house on fruit.

Any suggestions on a different kind of product we can use?

[Vectoris]

I had this two weeks ago because we went on holiday and left old bananas in the trash. The only thing that worked was a bowl of apple cider vinegar on the counter with some dish detergent in it. But it took a good three days. They are so annoying, I agree. They also seem to love lemons, and tea. I found a cluster of them on a lemon wedge I left on the counter, and even more on the rim of my tea cup, which didn't have lemon in it but milk and sugar. There were no flies in the open sugar bowl either. But I put out several bowls of the apple cider vinegar. I tried red wine vinegar at first and it worked, but not as well as the apple cider. The kitchen did smell a bit like a fish and chip shop, though!!

[blazerj]

Originally Posted by Vectoris

I had this two weeks ago because we went on holiday and left old bananas in the trash. The only thing that worked was a bowl of apple cider vinegar on the counter with some dish detergent in it. But it took a good three days. They are so annoying, I agree. They also seem to love lemons, and tea. I found a cluster of them on a lemon wedge I left on the counter, and even more on the rim of my tea cup, which didn't have lemon in it but milk and sugar. There were no flies in the open sugar bowl either. But I put out several bowls of the apple cider vinegar. I tried red wine vinegar at first and it worked, but not as well as the apple cider. The kitchen did smell a bit like a fish and chip shop, though!!

We didn't have it that badly, but this worked for us.

Apple cider vinegar, with some dish soap in a bowl, then cover with saran wrap and poke holes (with a fork or something) into the wrap. Leave some (maybe 4-5 bowls) out and you will be good to go.

LINK

[karen_in_nh_2012]

I've tried these and they HAVE worked relatively quickly (within a couple of days):

- a few ounces of apple cider vinegar (or any vinegar) with a few drops of dishwashing liquid and then several ounces of water -- they're attacted by the scent, then get stuck on the bubbles and can't get off
- a very ripe banana in the bottom of a plastic cup, sometimes partially covered by orange juice (cider vinegar would likely work too, but they LOVE ripe bananas) -- saran wrap over the cup with a few holes poked in it with a knife or fork. They are able to get in but can rarely get out as they can't seem to find the hole from the inside.
- beer/wine/rum in a cup, otherwise the same as above -- they seem to be attracted by the alcohol and then can't get out
- fly strip -- I used this in my work office when I left a banana peel in the trash and didn't realize it wouldn't be picked up for a couple of days -- came back to an office full of fruit flies, ugh!!!!! The fly strip caught them pretty quickly (I think I put a piece of ripe banana on the bottom) but it was really gross.

NK, I really feel for you -- I had an infestation in my kitchen (not quite as bad as yours) earlier this summer and I was able to get rid of them with the above techniques (which I found online). For such tiny insects, they sure are HUGELY annoying and disgusting.

[Kayekaye]

Garbage disposal may have crud on the underside of the flange in the sink. Take that out and clean it. Also anything left on the sides inside the garbage disposal too.

Gross but true, the toilet bowl wand stand can collect them too. Disinfect that.

They lay the eggs in any moist areas and it doesn't take much. Good luck!

[Flamingo13]

There is a thread for this: (read the last page - I posted about this) //www.city-data.com/forum/house...l#post31341164

[wit-nit]

Locate the source, they like damp moist areas like in potting soil, fruit, dirty sinks, etc. Try these methods Fruit Fly Traps

[no kudzu]

Thanks everybody. I found the culprit. After trying everything and it only got worse it finally dawned on me there was something serious going on. Two large vidalia onions had fallen in the back of the pantry and rotten. No smell whatsoever which I find strange but they were mushy and oozing and rotten to the point the pantry floor is gooey and permanently stained. Even after I threw them away we still had a problem but using about 10 different suggestions I can see they are abating. I'll watch those sneaky onions better from here on out!

[veuvegirl]

Ha! Congrats! I was just about to post there has to be something you can't find. We had a similar situation, ours turned out to be an old wine cork that had rolled under the microwave. It is amazing how fruit flies can survive!

[harry chickpea]

Originally Posted by no kudzu

Thanks everybody. I found the culprit. After trying everything and it only got worse it finally dawned on me there was something serious going on. Two large vidalia onions had fallen in the back of the pantry and rotten. No smell whatsoever which I find strange but they were mushy and oozing and rotten to the point the pantry floor is gooey and permanently stained. Even after I threw them away we still had a problem but using about 10 different suggestions I can see they are abating. I'll watch those sneaky onions better from here on out!

I was waiting to see how this thread went. I had suspected a drain with debris in it, but your post reminds me of times I had stored potatoes go bad. Guess the whole thread needs to be mined and added to the d-i-y pest control thread.