fruit fly control in kitchen

[patandchickens]

Does anyone have any good ways of discouraging fruit flies from colonizing fruit you've got sitting out waiting to finish ripening? This happens to me every single year and I've never really found a good way of dealing with it.

This afternoon on the way home from the giant farmer's market on the other side of the city, laden with really a lot more early peaches and apricots and plums than I should have bought, all of which need further ripening, I found myself wondering what would happen if I enclosed the fruit (in a bowl) in an old pillowcase or such. Idea being to hopefully allow reasonable air and moisture exchange while keeping the &#(@* fruit flies out. I may try it (although I am a bit skeptical about the 'reasonable air and moisture exchange' end of the equation), but it made me realize that probably out there are people who have much BETTER solutions to the problem.

Which I would love to hear

Thanks,

Pat

 

[Rosalind]

The traps that go in cutesy little soapstone containers? Yeah, they don't work too well. A waste of $20.

Only thing that I have found works is throwing fruit to the chickens the instant it gets so much as a bruise. Also making sure that all window screens fit very securely.

Pillowcase might work. I've kept tomatoes and such in a bowl covered well in a large dishtowel, and it has kept off not only fruit flies but also predatory omnivorous cats.

 

[country freedom]

I get those Fruit flies every year! The only thing i have found that works are those fly sticky paper that you can buy for cheap. I do not allow anything poisonous inside/outside my home to be used for killng any insecet or animal. They come with tacks and are in a box rolled up. I love'em.

 

[blurose]

Isn't it more likely that the fruit flies' eggs are already on the fruit and hatch out sitting in your kitchen? I usually only have a problem here with fruit flies when I buy bananas from the store. I keep my bananas in a seperate room from all of my other fruit and the fruit flies only appear on the bananas. I have seen those "green bags" advertised on TV and wonder if they might help you. What about closing the fruit up in a brown paper bag to ripen? If the fruit flies are coming from somewhere else, they won't be able to get to the fruit in the bag, right?

 

[robbobbin]

I'm with bluerose on this one. I read that the fruit flies hatch off the fruit. That their eggs are already on the fruit and hatch as the fruit ripen.

 

[patandchickens]

That's an interesting idea about flypaper, I never though of trying it for fruit flies. I'd have to cover it with something to keep the cathair (and cats) off it, but it might be worth putting some up right next to the fruit bowl.

Yes, I'm sure the fruit flies are coming as eggs (or even larvae) in fruit that I buy. However, I'd like to be able to isolate them to where they came from rather than letting them happily infest every single piece of fruit in the kitchen

Brown bag would be a good idea except I don't have any - nowhere seems to use them anymore

Thanks, y'all,

Pat

 

[averytds]

I've only had problems with tomatoes. Getting a mill so I could process faster and then spraying the kitchen was all I came up with.

I have a ton of pears I'm needing to ripen. I'll try the brown bag and let you know how it goes.

 

[country freedom]

That's an interesting idea about flypaper, I never though of trying it for fruit flies. I'd have to cover it with something to keep the cathair (and cats) off it, but it might be worth putting some up right next to the fruit bowl.

Yes, I'm sure the fruit flies are coming as eggs (or even larvae) in fruit that I buy. However, I'd like to be able to isolate them to where they came from rather than letting them happily infest every single piece of fruit in the kitchen

Brown bag would be a good idea except I don't have any - nowhere seems to use them anymore

Thanks, y'all,

Pat

Fly paper gets hung. I hang my fly paper off the ceiling where my children won't walk into it face first, and get it stuck all over their heads. My oldest is 6'6, next is 6'4, and all the others will probably as tall.

 

[Nubsmum]

I have a trash can off the floor to keep it away form our dogs. If I get fruit flies I hang the fly paper right near the garbage can and "bait" it with a small piece of fruit. The flies congregate where the fruit it and get stuck on the paper. It does not take them all out but it sure helps to keep the "teaming hordes" down to a dull roar. They also love yeasty bread.