Invasion of fruit flies!

[LilyRose]

Anyone else having problems with (what I presume are) fruit flies?
In the kitchen especially, attracted to any food or juice.

Is this problem weather related?
We can't seem to get rid of them.
Any ideas?

[Zelenina]

Yes I have them too! It's probably because late summer and autumn is the main time of year for ripening and rotting fruit. But warm conditions help them breed faster and fly more actively to colonise new places. They multiply very fast, which is one of the reasons why biologists and biology students use them for studying genetics.

I think trapping the adults is the best way to control them. They eat other things, but they are most attracted by rotting fruit and fermenting juice, so you can use them as bait. if you goggle it you can find various designs of home-made traps, some of which involve drowning them in juice or vinegar, and others making a funnel design that they can't easily fly out of.

Generally I just leave some bits of over-ripe fruit or fruit & vegetable peelings and cores lying around in a plastic bag or flower bucket until I think most of the flies are inside. Then I sneak up on them and quickly close the bag, or put a bag on top of the bucket, and remove them. You probably won't get them all the first time, but eventually you will, as long as you don't leave the trap long enough to breed a new generation.

[Two_Sheds]

If you wrap all your kitchen scraps and peelings in a couple sheets of newspaper, the flies will disappear

[Knight of Albion]

If you wrap all your kitchen scraps and peelings in a couple sheets of newspaper, the flies will disappear

Excellent advice.

[Knight of Albion]

Anyone else having problems with (what I presume are) fruit flies?
In the kitchen especially, attracted to any food or juice.

Is this problem weather related?
We can't seem to get rid of them.
Any ideas?

I would check your stocks of fruit and vegetables - esp. if you have a sack of potatoes. If any have gone rotten ...
Dry wipe any surface where you keep fruit and vegetables.
That should do it.

[Alison]

I find it can be a big problem in summer but now it's cooler much less so.

[alldigging]

Usually means you've got something gone off in the kitchen. Track it down. Quite often you can have a mushy potato at the bottom of the bag.

[daviddevantnhisspiritwife]

If you have some cider or wine vinegar, pour an inch depth into a jar, add a drop of washing up liquid (literally a drop), give it a swirl. Make a funnel from a bit of paper - stand it in the top of the jar.

The flies will be attracted to the vinegar - they go in though the top of the funnel and can't get out. The washing up liquid breaks the surface tension of the vinegar so when they go for a drop they drown.

Example here: http://www.squawkfox.com/2008/10/02/...homemade-trap/

* This person uses a piece of old fruit, but the cider vinegar is better as you dispatch them so to speak.

[muddled]

I put a drop of wine in a glass, cover the top with clingfilm and pierce once in the middle with a pencil or knife tip.
Leave the glass on the counter top for a day or two.....all the flies will be gone.
(and they'll have died a happy, drunken death ;-)

muddled x

[LilyRose]

Thanks for all the helpful tips, peeps!

So far we have considerably reduced the quantity of the pesky flies using many homemade traps. ........ I am persevering, and hope the weather turns soon to finish them off!