The Curse of the Fruit Fly

This little pest has been the bane of my existence this summer.  I have been battling him and his kin for almost two months now.  They arrived on a bunch of bananas and just set up camp.  The first week of their stay with us, our dear friends, Scotty and Mitzi Myers, helped us in our valiant efforts to turn the tide against this little warrior.

These were some of the weapons that were in our arsenal.

Dish washing soap, Dr. Enuf bottle and apple cider vinegar

We used green Dr. Enuf bottles and put about 2 inches of apple cider vinegar in the bottom, added a few drops of Ivory dish washing soap and then another inch of water.  The flies were attracted to the vinegar and would crawl down into the bottle.  The dish soap changed the surface tension of the vinegar and would not allow the flies to sit on the surface.  They would simply sink and drown.  We had these traps next to every sink in the house.  Sinks are a favorite breeding ground for fruit flies. 

Everything went into zip-lock bags, rubbermaid containers or the refrigerator.  NOTHING was left out on the counters.  Bread went into the fridge (yes, fruit flies will find the teeny tiny openings in the top of the bread bag and feast away).  Most fruit and veggies were thrown away (even the potatoes and onions).  We even bagged up all houseplants. Once we began re-buying fruits and vegetables, they came straight out of the shopping bag and went immediately into a sealed container. 

These two products (bleach spray and window cleaner) became what we used to bring the little stinkers out of the air.  We then took great joy in killing them after we got them to fall out of the air.

After almost 8 weeks of battling fruit flies, we were confident we had eliminated all of the pests.  I bought some little peppers from Sam's Club.  Down in the very bottom was a pepper that was starting to rot.  The bag was FULL of fruit flies.  Unfortunately, we didn't realize this until we were already home.  Needless to say, the whole thing went straight into the garbage can.  

Believe it or not...after all of this effort, we still have a few fruit flies buzzing around.  So, if you come to visit, just bring a fly swatter!!