Does ANYbody have a surefire remedy for fruit flies?

[Minks]

They’re driving me NUTS! Nuts, I tell you! And some of the little devils BITE! And they’re larger than they used to be!

I use the vacuum hose, squirt in some Raid immediately after turning off the motor, then seal the opening. I also use vinegar and honey down at the bottom of an old Pepsi bottle, with one tiny hole poked into a tin foil makeshift lid, and have tried those little commercial plastic apples w some sort of goo inside, and have even hung those horridly ugly, gruesome fly papers. Unfortunately the brand of electric insect eliminator I tried is not cutting it.

Does ANYbody have a surefire fast remedy that doesn’t involve fumigating? I’m no longer buying any kind of fruit or produce that doesn’t require refrigeration, but that doesn’t seem to have diminished them. I can’t sit in the yard, either, because there’re swarming out there. Lol! I keep thinking of Alfred Hitchcock!

All of my methods, except the electric wall dealie, catch some of them, but I want them gone. I do have a very large insect zapper that is supposed to be hung outside. Does anybody know if I could use it safely in the kitchen for 2 or 3 days?

Also, has anyone found an electric wall dealie that works with fruitflies? Any suggestions will be gratefully considered. Please help me put them out of my misery!

 

[Tis_Bearself]

Have you tried a no-pest strip from the hardware store? It’s not electric but you just hang it up indoors and it kills flies that come in.

 

[Minks]

Lol! I think that’s what I referred to as, “horridly ugly, gruesome fly papers,” but I’ll ask if there’s a different kind than what I bought. Thank you.

 

[Tis_Bearself]

This is what I mean. In USA we (Or at least those of us over a certain age) call them “No Pest Strips”.
The paper is inside a container and one doesn’t take it out (you can get very sick if you do).

(Please Note: This uploaded content is no longer available.)

 

[Minks]

Thank you! I’ve not seen that kind. Will try to find them today.

What I’ve used initially look a lot like a shotgun shell or short roll of coins. You pull the bottom & it starts spiraling downward. You then hang it & wait for the little devils to be curious. The fly papers have gotten a lot of them, but there are so many still zipping around, and I’ve never, ever, before seen swarms of them outside.

I really appreciate the photo.

 

[CRV]

What I’ve used initially look a lot like a shotgun shell or short roll of coins. You pull the bottom & it starts spiraling downward. You then hang it & wait for the little devils to be curious.

Ah yes, I remember those hanging in our kitchen and they did work well.

Sorry, but can’t offer anything different to what you’ve tried.

 

[Fauken]

I also use vinegar and honey down at the bottom of an old Pepsi bottle, with one tiny hole poked into a tin foil makeshift lid

For me, it was vinegar and dish soap in a measuring cup covered with plastic wrap and dotted with some holes. Even if they got out, the vinegar was poisoned by the dish soap and they died that way.

 

[Irishmom2]

I only had them once, but I put out a couple of savers of vinegar and that worked.

 

[RoseScented]

the vinegar was poisoned by the dish soap and they died that way

The dish soap also breaks the surface tension of the vinegar so that the flies can’t sit on top. I once noticed that my vinegar trap didn’t have soap in it an a fly was just walking around on top and climbing up the side of the cup. The plastic wrap over the top was keeping it in. As soon as I put the drop of soap in it when it was back in the vinegar it immediately sank.

cup (preferred) or bowl, apple cider vinegar (but I’ve used other vinegars as well), drop of dish soap, plastic wrap (held taught with tape, rubber bands, hair ties, etc.) poked with holes (I use a paper clip or a pen to poke the holes) on top ← It’s never failed me to clean up flies in a week or two. Sometimes I have to refresh the vinegar after a week.

 

[Fauken]

The dish soap also breaks the surface tension of the vinegar so that the flies can’t sit on top. I once noticed that my vinegar trap didn’t have soap in it an a fly was just walking around on top and climbing up the side of the cup. The plastic wrap over the top was keeping it in. As soon as I put the drop of soap in it when it was back in the vinegar it immediately sank.

cup (preferred) or bowl, apple cider vinegar (but I’ve used other vinegars as well), drop of dish soap, plastic wrap poked with holes (I use a paper clip or a pen to poke the holes) on top ← It’s never failed me to clean up flies in a week or two. Sometimes I have to refresh the vinegar after a week.

Right, you reminded me I used apple cider vinegar. Yup, this is the way to do it, and so easy!