Fruit Fly Problem

An excellent way to get rid of them is to give them something they like even better: in a tall glass, put some apple cider vinegar, some juice or beer or wine, a dash of dishwashing soap, and then fill to 2/3rds with water. Mix it with a spoon, and leave on the counter.
The juice/vinegar/wine mix attracts them; the soap breaks the surface tension of the water so they drown. In 24 hours, you will be rid of them. If they come back, or if your infestation was very bad, you will need to do it again.

mh

in General Discussion 8 years and 8 months ago

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zacklouis100 | 8 years and 8 months ago

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So this probably a bit off the normal course of business for this blog but I figured many people in the area must be dealing with the same problem.

I have a row house and an office in the greenwood heights area. Every year from May through October we cant seem to prevent both locations from getting swarmed with fruit flys, both inside and out.

Has anyone found a way to cut down on these flys getting in, or a good way of managing them if they do get in?

Any advice would be a great help! Thank you all in advance!

nyc_sport | 8 years and 8 months ago

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These work well at my weekend house in farm country.
http://www.gardeners.com/buy/fruit-fly-traps-set-of-2/05-243.html

daveinbedstuy | 8 years and 8 months ago

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Fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster…I did a genetics experiment with them in high school) have a lifespan of 40 days or so. They need fruit (preferably decaying) to lay eggs. I have never seen them without that nearby. Put the fruit away. https://www.orkin.com/flies/fruit-fly/life-span-of-fruit-fly/

eave | 8 years and 8 months ago

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i hate those fruit flies there annoying

eave | 8 years and 8 months ago

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i hate those fruit flies there annoying

eave | 8 years and 8 months ago

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i hate those fruit flies there annoying

cityrat | 8 years and 8 months ago

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We actually had a fruit fly plague one time in my East Village loft years ago. Never seen anything quite like it, it was disgusting. the walls were almost black with them, we were vacuuming them up with the vacuum cleaner and then watching how the wall would slowly fill up again (this from someone that’s been generally infestation free in all my years in NYC otherwise. So I did some research. The getting rid of fruit thing is key. We lived above a deli so we’d guess they had a source nearby.

But they are also “drain flies” that are attracted to dampness and water. That’s what brought them to our doorstep in the firstplace, we had a bad leak behind our kitchen cabinets that resulted in constant dampness. Two things made them take their life cycle elsewhere and were the pieces of advice i found the most prevalent. Pour bleach in the drains daily and keep them covered with saran wrap when not using them, not forever, just til the flies are gone. And make absolutely sure there are no persistent damp spots in the house mostly in the kitchen. Not like a wet shower or towels but like a soggy back of a cabinet or leaky pipe in a ceiling that’s dripping on wood or similar. Once the leak was fixed and the soggy ceilings and cabinet backs dried out the flies left.