Fruit Fly Infestation

How was your weekend? Mine was okay. But I spent a large portion of it battling our fruit fly infestation.

I don’t recall ever having a fruit fly problem like this before. Sure, we’ve had a few hovering around a banana from time to time. But this fall it seems like they are everywhere! I’ve put our bananas in a bag and I’ve been tossing any smelly trash we have into a sealed slop bucket under the sink. But they still wouldn’t go away.  So this past weekend I went on the offensive!

My first weapon was that old farm remedy for flying pests, fly paper.  On Saturday morning I went to my local hardware store and picked some up. They come in boxes of 8, which seemed like 7 more than what I needed, but I got them anyway. I was both determined and optimistic that this would do the trick.

Soon after I brought home my purchase, I ripped open the box and strategically placed the gooey strip of death in my kitchen window.

 Then I waited,

 and watched,

 and waited,

 and watched.

Unfortunately, I was more interested in the fly paper than the fruit flies.

Sunday morning I found a significant number on the paper, but just as many happily hovering all around it. So then I googled, “How to get rid of fruit flies.” One suggestion was to make a fly trap. You place some bait in a clear plastic container and punch a few holes in the lid. The flies go in, but can’t find their way out. That sounded easy enough.

The best bait, according to the website, is red wine (which we do not have), apple cider vinegar (which we do not have), prunes or raisins (nope), or a piece of rotting fruit. I had to improvise. My recipe for fruit fly bait consisted of orange juice, honey, ketchup, and a few craisins. Later I also added liquid dish soap, which they seem to be attracted to, and a banana peel. 

The trap wasn’t as successful as I’d hoped, but no less effective than the fly paper. I decided to keep both the fly paper and the fly trap out and hope that by Monday I could declare my victory.

Well, it's Monday, and we're not quite there just yet. There’s still a few stragglers here and there. But I’m confident they won’t last too much longer. Fall is here, and winter is only a couple of months away.  If my traps don’t get them, the falling temperatures certainly will.

I guess winter is good for that, if nothing else. It keeps the bugs down.

 And that is the end of my blog. For those who read the entire thing, I commend you. You either have a fascination with killing small insects, or you're my mom. Hi, Mom. See you at Chrissy's wedding on Saturday!