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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 25 of 73. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by TamaraJ on June 16, 2005, at 16:15:38
I don't even know where they came from, and, man, those little suckers multiply very fast. I am not a slob or anything. It seems that when the weather gets warm, I end up with fruit flies in my kitchen. I don't leave fruit out, I rinse juice glasses and then put them in the dishwasher, any containers for recycle are either rinsed or sealed with the cap that came with the container. I have tried loose basil in various spots on the counters, have cleaned the counters and cupboard doors with bleach and have even left drops of bleach on the counter. It is very annoying.
Anyone have any tried and true solution?
Thanks.
Posted by rainbowbrite on June 16, 2005, at 16:41:08
In reply to Help - How do you get rid of fruit flies!?!?!?!?, posted by TamaraJ on June 16, 2005, at 16:15:38
get something sweet, like part of a fruit and put in in a cup...leave it out for awhile and all the fruit flies will swarm to it. It has always worked for me, they go to it. (not tha tI get alot of fruit flies or anything :-)) Once they are all in the cup, cover it up and take it out side.
Trust me on this one...I understand fruit flies.
Posted by Bobby on June 16, 2005, at 16:41:51
In reply to Help - How do you get rid of fruit flies!?!?!?!?, posted by TamaraJ on June 16, 2005, at 16:15:38
It works for me...
cut a slice of tomato or bannana and put it on a plate. Set the plate in the problem area. When the flies congregate on the plate---take a vacuum cleaner and sneak up on them. stick the hose and, with good aim, quickly suck them to eternity. Sounds crazy--but try it and see.
Posted by happyflower on June 16, 2005, at 16:43:39
In reply to Help - How do you get rid of fruit flies!?!?!?!?, posted by TamaraJ on June 16, 2005, at 16:15:38
This happens almost every summer at my house. I think they are brought in from any kind of produce. The only thing that works for me is to remove all food off the counter top, bread, fruit, everything and put that stuff in the fridge. Eventually they will die in a few days because there will be no food source.
Sometime I put a small pop bottle in the sink with something sweet in it to attract them, and then when a ton of them are inside the bottle , I drown them in water. This sometimes work, but it takes several times to get rid of them. Oh yeah, they are attracted to the garbage too. I sometimes put the trashcan outside for awhile. Good Luck!
Posted by Gabbi-x-2 on June 16, 2005, at 17:35:47
In reply to Re: Help - How do you get rid of fruit flies!?!?!?!?, posted by happyflower on June 16, 2005, at 16:43:39
> This happens almost every summer at my house. I think they are brought in from any kind of produce.
Yeah, they are, they eggs are in the skin of the produce so it has little to do with housekeeping.
I thought bleach would work too, but they made a home on the bleach bottle Saucy, little beggers.
Posted by Shortelise on June 16, 2005, at 17:53:00
In reply to Help - How do you get rid of fruit flies!?!?!?!?, posted by TamaraJ on June 16, 2005, at 16:15:38
Fruit flies play a part in my summer hobbies, those things I do for fun and distraction when I need fun and distraction.
I love to vacuum fruit flies. It has everything you need in a hobby: physical activity, creativity, the need to use the old nogin, mystery (where DO they come from?), and an element of just plain fun!
This is also true of some of my other summer hobbies: the snail toss. This entails hunting the snails in the garden, then walking into the street and tossing them into the sewer drain. It's a great game, and takes considerable skill, both to spot the snails (they are well-camouflaged little devils) and to toss them between the bars in the sewer grate.
Then there is slug hunting. This takes stamina as one must bend over from the waist and search through greenery to find them. The fun is snipping them in half with a scissor.
Then there's the sow bug stomp. Pick up anything in the garden and start stomping! They make a great little crunching sound, and can run like hell when they've a mind to, so there's a kind of dancing involved. Excellent cardio exercise.
OK, so I'm having kind of a bad day, and this is all sort of grusome, but this feels like a nice way to get rids of some of my hostility.
The best way I've found to get rid of the fruit flies IS to vacuum them, and to do it often - every few days until they've stopped hatching, then go after them again when the numbers start to, um, bug you.
There are two billion of them in my compost bin in the back yard.
I keep my little kitchen compost keeper in the fridge and empty it often.
This is a very social question, I think.
ShortE
Posted by rainbowbrite on June 16, 2005, at 18:03:10
In reply to Re: Help - How do you get rid of fruit flies!?!?!?!?, posted by Gabbi-x-2 on June 16, 2005, at 17:35:47
I only notice them when I leave food rotting for days and days...or weeks. so does that mean they are there but dont come out till the food is there?
Posted by Gabbi-x-2 on June 16, 2005, at 18:32:28
In reply to Re: Help - How do you get rid of fruit flies!?!?!?!? » Gabbi-x-2, posted by rainbowbrite on June 16, 2005, at 18:03:10
> I only notice them when I leave food rotting for days and days...or weeks. so does that mean they are there but dont come out till the food is there?
That's because the eggs are in the skin of the fruit when you buy it, and when it's warm enough, and you leave them long enough they hatch.
It's not really something anyone likes to know.
I probably should have put a trigger warning on it : )
Posted by rainbowbrite on June 16, 2005, at 18:37:56
In reply to Re: Help - How do you get rid of fruit flies!?!?!?!? » rainbowbrite, posted by Gabbi-x-2 on June 16, 2005, at 18:32:28
OMG that is disgusting! Is that really true?? A Serious trigger warning needed LOL! I just ate a soft peach :-( EWWW
Posted by TamaraJ on June 16, 2005, at 18:42:19
In reply to WHAT?? Major trigger! » Gabbi-x-2, posted by rainbowbrite on June 16, 2005, at 18:37:56
Be careful, be very careful. That peach may be what turns you into < eerie music plays > The Fly!!!!! And, you will spend the rest of your days dodging Shortelise, and her bug killing ways. LMAO
Posted by rainbowbrite on June 16, 2005, at 18:45:25
In reply to Did you ever see the movie the Fly (the original). » rainbowbrite, posted by TamaraJ on June 16, 2005, at 18:42:19
I didnt see it but now I must LOL
I was going to say something earlier about all these killing techniques...sucking them into a vacuum :-( poor little guys
so have you captured any fruit files yet
Posted by fallsfall on June 16, 2005, at 18:53:56
In reply to Help - How do you get rid of fruit flies!?!?!?!?, posted by TamaraJ on June 16, 2005, at 16:15:38
The ugly yellow spirally strips that come in a little cylinder work really well, but they are really ugly. Vacuuming sounds like more fun. But if you are short on time, hang up some of the sticky strips.
Posted by TamaraJ on June 16, 2005, at 19:01:16
In reply to ShortE's grusome summer hobbies, posted by Shortelise on June 16, 2005, at 17:53:00
suggestions!! I have got my Shark hand-held vaccum ready, and the banana, tomatoe and fruit juice traps are set. Those little suckers won't stand a chance LOL.
Oh, and Shortelise, you made me laugh. You have ummmmmmmmm very intersting summer hobbies LOL. I think you may just be the Freddie Kruger or Jason of the bug world. I killed a beetle once. It wasn't bothering anyone, wasn't in the house, nothing. Just squashed it dead with my foot. And, I felt bad after I did it. Don't know why. Craziest thing, really. Haven't had the heart to kill another.
Posted by Gabbi-x-2 on June 16, 2005, at 19:03:14
In reply to Re: Did you ever see the movie the Fly (the original). » TamaraJ, posted by rainbowbrite on June 16, 2005, at 18:45:25
> I didnt see it but now I must LOL
>
> I was going to say something earlier about all these killing techniques...sucking them into a vacuum :-( poor little guys
>
> so have you captured any fruit files yetYes Rainbowbrite it's true. I got very disgusted too when I learned that, but then I realized well, I've been eating them all my life. Don't worry eventually you tune out the knowledge :l
And yeah, the killing techniques, I hear you.
I poured salt on a slug once and I cried.
I thought it killed them instantly, but it doesn't. I ran into the house to get water to pour water on it but it didn't help the little guy. I won't ever do that again.
Posted by TamaraJ on June 16, 2005, at 19:04:11
In reply to Re: Help - How do you get rid of fruit flies!?!?!?!? » TamaraJ, posted by fallsfall on June 16, 2005, at 18:53:56
Thanks, fallsfall. I didn't even think of the sticky, yellow strips. I remember we used to use them on my grandparents' farm. Very effective. Well, I will try to pick up one or two tomorrow. More amunition - yipee!!!
Tamara
> The ugly yellow spirally strips that come in a little cylinder work really well, but they are really ugly. Vacuuming sounds like more fun. But if you are short on time, hang up some of the sticky strips.
Posted by Gabbi-x-2 on June 16, 2005, at 19:05:55
In reply to WHAT?? Major trigger! » Gabbi-x-2, posted by rainbowbrite on June 16, 2005, at 18:37:56
> OMG that is disgusting! Is that really true?? A Serious trigger warning needed LOL! I just ate a soft peach :-( EWWW
I'll leave you with a favorite quote of mine from Calvin and Hobbes"The problem with nature is there's always something spewing mucous on you"
Posted by rainbowbrite on June 16, 2005, at 19:07:59
In reply to Re: WHAT?? Major trigger! » rainbowbrite, posted by Gabbi-x-2 on June 16, 2005, at 19:05:55
HAHAHA OMG thanks for the visual. I am seeing fruitflies Im not kidding...OMG they are after me. I hope that was dust I saw LOL
Posted by rainbowbrite on June 16, 2005, at 19:11:06
In reply to Re: Did you ever see the movie the Fly (the original). » rainbowbrite, posted by Gabbi-x-2 on June 16, 2005, at 19:03:14
> Yes Rainbowbrite it's true. I got very disgusted too when I learned that, but then I realized well, I've been eating them all my life. Don't worry eventually you tune out the knowledge :lGROSS :G (thats a barfy face)
> And yeah, the killing techniques, I hear you.
> I poured salt on a slug once and I cried.
> I thought it killed them instantly, but it doesn't. I ran into the house to get water to pour water on it but it didn't help the little guy. I won't ever do that again.AWWW that is so sad, I avoid stepping on ants, but one time I did it and it broke my heart. It was a bigger ant not the kind you can barely see. OMG I felt so bad.
Posted by TamaraJ on June 16, 2005, at 19:11:15
In reply to Re: WHAT?? Major trigger! » Gabbi-x-2, posted by rainbowbrite on June 16, 2005, at 19:07:59
Posted by rainbowbrite on June 16, 2005, at 19:20:04
In reply to Be afraid. . . . Be very afraid . . . LOL (nm) » rainbowbrite, posted by TamaraJ on June 16, 2005, at 19:11:15
Posted by rainbowbrite on June 16, 2005, at 20:32:01
In reply to Re: Help - How do you get rid of fruit flies!?!?!?!? » rainbowbrite, posted by Gabbi-x-2 on June 16, 2005, at 18:32:28
The tomatos, lettuce, cucumber, and carrots that I am eating right now are all covered with fruit fly eggs? <:-/
Posted by rainbowbrite on June 16, 2005, at 20:32:41
In reply to Just to make sure I understand, posted by rainbowbrite on June 16, 2005, at 20:32:01
Posted by happyflower on June 16, 2005, at 21:23:40
In reply to Just to make sure I understand, posted by rainbowbrite on June 16, 2005, at 20:32:01
> The tomatos, lettuce, cucumber, and carrots that I am eating right now are all covered with fruit fly eggs? <:-/
Not unless you didn't wash the stuff! lol
Posted by happyflower on June 16, 2005, at 21:25:30
In reply to above for Gabbix2 (nm), posted by rainbowbrite on June 16, 2005, at 20:32:41
If you love gardening, you hate HATE slugs. I take great pleasure in drowning them in soapy water overnight. :) Does that make me an abusive person? Oh well , I learned it from my parents! It is their fault
Posted by Gabbi-x-2 on June 16, 2005, at 21:27:50
In reply to Just to make sure I understand, posted by rainbowbrite on June 16, 2005, at 20:32:01
> The tomatos, lettuce, cucumber, and carrots that I am eating right now are all covered with fruit fly eggs? <:-/
But RainbowBrite, I'm sure yours are a special strawberry kind.
Yes that's true, and it's true even if you wash them because they are in the skin, (otherwise rain and getting knocked around would get rid of them) You could peel everything, but then you'd miss out on the bioflavinoids and nutrients that prevent wrinkles.
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