# fruit fly problem



## MeanneyFids (Aug 24, 2010)

well we're having trouble with fruit flies. theyre getting on our nerves. ive squashed like 20 a day and its not doing much damage.


my fiance wants to open cans of veggies and put cleaning chemicals in the cans and close part the lid so its harder to get out.... 


i dont like that idea as if any escape, the cats like to eat the fruit flies and i worry they will get sick. and they like the birds veggies too so what if the birds ate them as theyre often found in the cages when i have the veggies in there.... they will get very sick too if any survived and escaped.


i'd rather just get sticky fly tape but he says no because apparently it drips and is messy! he's getting on my nerves this morning because hes not listening to me at all regarding the pets.

is there any other SAFE method i can use or suggest to him (that doesnt cost a fortune because thats another issue... he's being cheap)


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## dude (Mar 29, 2010)

yeah get the sticky glue traps !!! but make sure birds and cats and other animals dont go near them. TRUST ME when i say it is a mission and a half to get it off your cat !!! 
just sit them flat on newspaper near where all the fruit flys . oh maybe just take all the animals out and spray a good spray of bug spray, wont take long to clear out and bring animals back in.
find the problem first. that will be your prevention and your solution!!!


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## MeanneyFids (Aug 24, 2010)

lperry also sent me a good link with some home options. says mint works, and as we have some growing, i took a few leaves and smeared them on the favourite wall above the sink and its working to keep them away.... i'll work on that lol 

but now theyre on the livingroom wall, just a foot away from the mint line LOL well suppose i can squash the group of them...


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## Belinda (Oct 9, 2010)

Put all your fruit and veg in the fridge if you haven't already done so... You might need to stop feeding your pets fruit and veg (or just keep it out whilst their eating and then remove it) for a few days to get rid of the flies. If you remove the source of food they may be forced to look elsewhere or starve.


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## MeanneyFids (Aug 24, 2010)

problem is, we have a bird who cant go without. all she eats is sunflower seeds and veggies. refuses to eat anything else no matter what we've tried. ive thought about that too, but we got to be careful with how long munch goes without veggies. we'll stick to 10 minutes of veggies a day i think though.


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## This'll Do (Jun 24, 2011)

I have had success with putting out a small glass bowl of sherry or port wine. The flies are attracted to the sweetness and try to drink it and fall in and drown. Use something with steep sides, not a saucer, so they have to cling to the sides to try to reach the wine.
I don't know why the wine works better than sugar water, which I also tried. Maybe the wine is more aromatic and attracts them better.

You can fill a spray bottle with water and a squirt of dishwashing detergent for a good non-toxic way to knock them off the walls so you can wipe them up. It makes them where they can't fly and you can squish them more easily.


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## MeanneyFids (Aug 24, 2010)

good call there. i also filled a deep cup with 1/3 syrup water mix with a funnel on top... i caught a few in there 


i will definately try the spray bottle idea!


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## Lulu The Tiel (Apr 11, 2011)

Fruit flys are terrible to have around.

Dally- I hope you can get rid of em ASAP! 

This is the time for them too since it is warm outside. The other night at my bf's he had these bugs swarming around the dining room light and we were smacking them with newspaper. 

Then this morning, I saw like 3 on a bannana. I will keep the above in mind.


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## srtiels (May 1, 2009)

I have mousebirds and their diet is mostly fruit so I always have problems with fruit flys. You can go online and do a search on how to make a fruit fly trap. OR...what I just started doing that is working well is find some white or yellow *contact paper*....cut it into 3" x 8" long strips. Peel the paper back to expose the sticky surface and lay the strips (sticky side up) anywhere where fruit flies congregate.


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## MeanneyFids (Aug 24, 2010)

thanks! this contact paper, does it "leak" or drip? my fiance doesnt want sticky traps because of that.


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## srtiels (May 1, 2009)

No, contact papers glue does not leak or drip....it is a fine sticky layer adhered to the carrier paper.


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## MeanneyFids (Aug 24, 2010)

alright, where can i find it? thinking maybe i can go pick it up while hes at work... he'll never know LOL


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## Lulu The Tiel (Apr 11, 2011)

LOL! Go for it!


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## This'll Do (Jun 24, 2011)

A home improvement or hardware place will have it with the wallpaper. You may also find some at the grocery store as self-adhesive shelf liner.


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## MeanneyFids (Aug 24, 2010)

alright, when we get paid, i will go see if they have some. in the meantime i will resort to the methods above... and the primitive way of doing it. smacking them. with an oven mitt LOL thats what weve been doing....


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## TielTide (May 26, 2011)

Even better than that stuff (imo)... Witch hazel. Get a bottle of witch hazel from your pharmacy. Pour it into two or three jars, about an inch in each and set it on your counter. Take a single sheet of white computer paper, and roll it into a funnel shape. Make sure the pointy end has a very small hole, about the size of a pea.

Slip the wide end over the jar. Tape it in place.

Fruit flies LOVE witch hazel, but it kills them dead and they drown in it, which makes it smell even BETTER to the other fruit flies.

And it's cheap. 

ETA - 

I live in a home with a cat, two birds, and two big dogs. I hate sticky traps because I ALWAYS end up unsticking them from a curious kitty's head or a clumsy dog's backside and I dare not even imagine what would happen if a bird flew into it, brushed it with a wingtip, or tried to eat it... o.o!!


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## This'll Do (Jun 24, 2011)

I've never heard of using witch hazel. Neato! I will try that next time I get fruit flies. Much better than wasting my good wine on bugs.


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## TielTide (May 26, 2011)

Works like a charm! We always keep a jar of it on top of the refridgerator, and after our last big fruit fly issue last summer, we have never seen more than one or two.


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## MeanneyFids (Aug 24, 2010)

well, upon using apple cider vinegar for something with one of my birds, i had left the container on the counter... they SWARMED it. so i put some in a steep glass and ive trapped like 50 of them! who would have thought!


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

I've heard vinegar recommended as a solution for fruit flies. They say to put it in a shallow bowl, cover the top with plastic wrap, and poke holes in the wrap with a toothpick. The flies get in easily but can't get back out again.


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## TielTide (May 26, 2011)

Ditto if you make the paper cone. You'll catch more that way, they bounce off the slanted inside of the inverted cone and fall into the liquid. 90% of fruit flies inside an inverted cone can not figure out how to get back out again.

This is why they will never be the dominant species. XD


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## MeanneyFids (Aug 24, 2010)

i tried that option. seems i got the smart ones who wont go IN the tube LOL


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## MildlyAnnoyedBird (Jun 10, 2011)

Have you tried sugar water or wine laced with a cleaning agent like dish soap? We had a fly INFESTATION (and I'm talking BIG flies) and this was what we used and it worked on large and small buggers like a charm!

Also I've heard vinegar works, like a mixture of vinegar, baking soda and sugar water?


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## MeanneyFids (Aug 24, 2010)

ive tried sugar water. did nothing at all. the vinegar is working. just straight apple cider vinegar


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## lperry82 (Aug 2, 2010)

I have found this as its pet safe http://www.discountedpetproducts.net/POISON_FREE_FLY_INSCT_17_5OZ-UKP115201.html

Im sick of them too lol fly trap didnt work what i got but i want one of these http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=360383417459#ht_2607wt_1139


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## srtiels (May 1, 2009)

The fruit fly season is finially over so all of a sudden they should all disappear.


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## MeanneyFids (Aug 24, 2010)

we still got some, but we're trapping them to feed to my spider


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