I have an infestation of fruit flies

Marie5656 said:
Well, the vinegar has not helped. I will have to look into the other suggestions in this thread to find a clue. Hope to evict them before Thanksgiving. Thanks, everyone, for thoughts and suggestions.
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Rochester New York.

Turn the heat down. Open the windows and freeze them out.

Also try the candle under the sink cabinets. Also don't leave a wet mop behind anywhere. If they show up in the bathroom and the kitchen they are breeding somewhere.
 

For some reason this seems to be a banner year for fruit flies. Many people have mentioned them. Ugh. I find a little bit of red wine in a glass on the counter works better than vinegar for me. Apparently, they are dipsos.
 
Camper6 said:
Rochester New York.

Turn the heat down. Open the windows and freeze them out.

Also try the candle under the sink cabinets. Also don't leave a wet mop behind anywhere. If they show up in the bathroom and the kitchen they are breeding somewhere.
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Great idea, Camper. I have already bought a new mop head (needed one anyway) and now keep it separately. Thinking of putting it out on the deck to dry every time I use it. I have to re-read this thread, as I remember reading somewhere (here or somewhere) about the fridge icemaker. Most seem to be in the area around my fridge.
 

Marie5656 said:
Great idea, Camper. I have already bought a new mop head (needed one anyway) and now keep it separately. Thinking of putting it out on the deck to dry every time I use it. I have to re-read this thread, as I remember reading somewhere (here or somewhere) about the fridge icemaker. Most seem to be in the area around my fridge.
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Great clue. The drain for defrosting the fridge and excess water from the icemaker empties out at the bottom of the fridge in a tray.

Take the tray out and wash it out. And then add some diluted bleach and put it back.
 
The links HollyDolly posted are good, if what you have are breeding in the plant soil are "Fungus flies" , not actually fruit flies but similar.

I have already let my two houseplants go dangerously dry, which is one of the cures. Others mentioned are applying clean sand to the tops of the pots and how to wash the entire plant, roots and all and replant in clean soil, which I would never bother with unless I had a really great specimen.

Since I set out the vinegar and bleached the drains, I have only seen one. I can't tell if the flies drowned in the vinegar as I do not see any, maybe they dissolved.

My dentist's assistant zaps them with Windex when she sees them flying by.
 
So, I am back from the store...have in hand a bottle of bleach and some of the bleach wipes. I will win this battle if it kills me.
 
We had a sudden infestation this summer. One day they were just here and there were a lot of them. We tried all the things you folks have mentioned, we bought traps and still nothing worked. We would trap an occasional one but decided those were just the stupid ones because so many were getting away. We had no fruit or vegies sitting out. I had used a kitchen cloth to wipe the counter and draped it over the faucet to dry out and I noticed they seemed congregate on that. Out of desperation I grabbed the spray bottle of Windex and sprayed them .. they died immediately. So I kept the Windex on my counter and every time I came into the kitchen I would grab it and spray onto that cloth and down the drain. Eventually we got rid of them but it took a very long time.

We think the road crew caused the infestation .. all of our neighbors had them too and it all happened at the same time they were replacing water and sewer lines on our street. Once they were done and had the road put back together is when they began to go away.

So anyway ... not sure this will cure your problem but try a spray bottle full of ammonia and try setting a moist rag in your kitchen sink .. it worked for us.

Good luck .. they are a nuisance !
 
Maggie, thanks, I will make up a spray bottle of ammonia water today. Here is my progress so far: I got rid of the vinegar. Was not working. Last night I pulled everything of the counter where they were congregating cleaned it, and then used bleach wipes on the counter, backsplash and walls. I just finished with the water tray from the fridge. Actually have it soaking with some bleach water before I put it back. In the mean time, I cleaned the area where the vent and tray go the best I could. Later I will ask my husband to pull the fridge out from the wall so I can clean behind it.
Then I will set up the ammonia spray to have on hand. Lets keep our collective senior fingers crossed.
 
OK, everyone. Can you keep a secret? I think they are gone. Or at least on their way out. My house has been bleached, ammoniaed (at separate times) and windows opened. Candles burned and anything else I could come up with. This morning, for the first time, there were none flying around by the fridge. I saw maybe 3 stragglers in the whole house, who have not yet figured out they are not welcome. Hope this is the end of them
 
The preponderance of the evidence points to the fridge. For the stragglers. Keep the vacuum hose handy and they don't get away.

Next on the list? Earwigs. Haven't seen those in awhile. Our winter must have been too severe. That is one bug that gives me the creeps.
 
Camper6 said:
The preponderance of the evidence points to the fridge. For the stragglers. Keep the vacuum hose handy and they don't get away.

Next on the list? Earwigs. Haven't seen those in awhile. Our winter must have been too severe. That is one bug that gives me the creeps.
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I can live without them. Now is the season for stinkbugs here. They like moving inside during the winter. Creeps me out when one drops onto my head---I get all girly when one does.
 

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