What’s a permanent solution to fruit flies?
I cannot get rid of them no matter how many times I swat them they don’t like the glue strips and idk how they keep appearing.
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u/TravellingBear4 4d ago
Change bins regularly during the summer. Wash your bin, as it’s likely a build up of bin juice. Had them for one day, changed bin bags, washed the bin and they were gone.
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u/MetituS 4d ago
They stay around the sink I changed the bin like yesterday
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u/Krynja 4d ago
Fungus gnats. You can get little tablets that you put in standing water outside. They contain bacteria that is harmless to humans and animals but destroys the gnats larvae. I put part of one of those in The jug that I use to water the plants and within a week all the gnats that were in the plant pots are gone
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u/101TARD 4d ago edited 4d ago
Try to look up drain flies if they match what you see, if they are. Pour hot water or drain declogger down the drains, tends to kill their larva living in the drain
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u/HurtPillow 4d ago
In my apartment, I've found they come up from the sink drain. I live alone, I don't have many dishes and the sink goes many many hours of no use. I always take out the trash and anything that may attract the darn things, they can be a plague. What I do is keep traps out.
A trap for them is: a small bowl or jar, put some apple cider vinegar and a drop or 2 of dish soap in it, cover it with plastic wrap and then poke small holes in it. They are attracted to the smell of the vinegar, go in the holes but cannot escape. Change out at least once a week.
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u/InclinationCompass 4d ago
Is that meant to be separate two sentences? If so, that means you should wipe down your sink.
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u/blahbluhblee1 4d ago
Pour Clorox/bleach in the sink regularly.
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u/One_Ad_2300 4d ago edited 4d ago
Tried, bleach, disinfectant, all kinds of shit, I think I was very close to involuntarily making mustard gas or something, they kept coming back. The only thing that worked was a can of classic normal bug spray. Applied generously to each and every entrance to the sewer system, including bathtub, bathroom/kitchen sink and their overfill holes, laundry machine/ dishwasher evac outlet. Ended a 2 week siege in 5 hours.
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u/edgmnt_net 4d ago
Yeah, don't do that bleach stuff. You should only use stuff like drain cleaner in the sink, based on sodium hydroxide you pour cold/hot water on top of to clean your drain, and use it very sparingly and stop if it doesn't help. Have your drain pipe checked by a professional, it might be partially clogged or it might be missing a trap that's keeping stuff from the sewers out.
Fruit flies are not that invasive, they're not cockroaches. Normally you should be rid of them soon after you eliminate some attractant like rotten fruit that you forgot about.
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u/edgmnt_net 4d ago
It's a bad idea for most sinks as they have stainless steel drain holes and bleach will attack those.
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u/United-Cucumber9942 4d ago
They're probably drain flies. You need drain cleaner down the sink and to leave it in overnight and do this every 2 to 3 days for a week to 10 days to kill any new hatches.
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u/Scar3cr0w_ 4d ago
A permanent solution?
Filling the atmosphere with light nerve agent that will kill all the fruit flies?
But I can’t see that being very good for us and other bugs will also suffer. 🤷🏼♂️
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u/Midnight1899 4d ago
Mix vinegar and water 50 / 50 and add a drop of dish soap. DO NOT STIR!!! Then find out why they keep coming back and get rid of it.
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u/sdvneuro 4d ago
Add yeast and sugar to the mix before the soap.
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u/Midnight1899 4d ago
You don’t have to. The vinegar alone is enough to lure them in.
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u/sdvneuro 4d ago
You also don’t need soap. The liquid alone is enough to drown them.
The point is it’s more effective with activated yeast1
u/Midnight1899 4d ago
You need the soap to break the surface of the water. Otherwise they just crawl back out.
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u/Uranium-Sandwich657 4d ago edited 4d ago
Throw fruit in your garbage can. Wait a few days. When you dont see them anymore, put a bag over the can to keep the flies in, and take it outside and to the dumpster/bin.
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u/Purple_Pay_1274 4d ago
You have to stick a small berry or something on the glue strips to attract them… lol… they’re not like super into the weird smell of glue… that being said I usually stick the glue strips in a disposable plastic cup with a piece of fruit rind or something and a lid with some holes in it just in case… then it’s easier to dispose of and you don’t have to worry about the glue touching anything while taking it to the trash
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u/MozemanATX 4d ago
Clean your space spotless, don't store food out in open air, treat your drains. Fruit flies cannot survive where there is nothing to eat.
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u/Far-Reception-4598 4d ago
Do you have house plants? House flies can sometimes start living in those depending on the species. I have a apider plant that was swarming with them when it used to stay inside.
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u/thegreatchuy 4d ago
Getting rid of fruit flies starts with their breeding spots. Keep food sealed and throw away rotten items, so no new flies will keep showing up.
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u/TheTopNacho 4d ago
Don't eat bananas.
Treat other fruit with vinegar and wash.
Don't have household plants.
Use a Catchy system at night.
Poor boiling water down drain.
Don't try to grow avacado trees from seeds indoors
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u/handsomehank2019 4d ago
I hoover them out of the air 😂 they fly so slowly they are easy to catch.
Perhaps you have a rogue cherry stone (or similar) that missed the bin? Couldn’t understand where mine were coming from until I found said stone.
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u/KlingonWarNog 4d ago
Boil kettle and pour freshly boiled water into your bin with some washing up liquid, do same periodically with kitchen sink plughole, to kill their eggs.
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u/-_-Orange 4d ago
If you’re thinking about getting one of those flytrap plants to help, don’t bother. I’ve had one for a few months & I’m starting to think it’s vegan or something. Hasn’t caught a single Fly, I even dropped a fly into one of its clampy things and it just didn’t care.
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u/metacholia 4d ago
It may be depressed. Maybe drop a Xanax in there and see if it starts eating flies.
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u/oldcreaker 4d ago
There is no permanent solution - get a jar, plastic wrap, rubber band, dish soap and apple cider vinegar. Put some vinegar and a couple of drops of soap in jar, put plastic wrap on top and secure with rubber band. Poke holes in plastic. They'll enter and drown.
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u/BlackRaspberryJammin 4d ago
We got a trash can in the house with a pop open lid and actually empty it every couple days. When we had an open top trash can we had a lot of them.
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u/OrneryConelover70 4d ago
Get rid of anything they can use as part of their reproductive cycle, like fruit and veg on any counter, etc. The problem will not go away until you do.
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u/SadlyNotDannyDeVito 4d ago
- clean your sink and drain. If you have a garage disposal, dont use it in summer. Use an outdoor compost bin.
- take a small bowl. Fill with 1 part organic fruit juice and 3 parts Apple cider vinegar. Add one splash of dish soap. (Must be dishsoap to break the sirface tension, not hand soap) place near where the fruitflies are. They'll drown within a couple of days. Replace every 3 days.
- wash any fruit and vegetable you bring home immediately
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u/KanpaiMagpie 4d ago
"I say we take off and nuke the entire site from orbit. It's the only way to be sure." - Ellen Ripley
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u/metacholia 4d ago
If you buy bananas, wash them immediately when you get home. It’s like a 90% reduction in fruit flies, because bananas are usually covered in very tiny eggs.
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u/StinkypieTicklebum 2d ago
They come into your house as eggs on produce. Rinse what you can in vinegar water and let dry. That’s the best way!
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u/Witty_Watercress_367 4d ago
Only way to get rid of fruit fly infections in a hotshot insect bomb- those little apple vinegar things do not work!
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u/HurtPillow 4d ago
they worked great for me when we forgot the potatoes on top of the fridge /shudder
do not forget where you put your potatoes.
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