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Gnats??? Fruit Flies????

The TVClubHouse: General Discussions ARCHIVES: 2005 Sep. ~ Nov.: Gnats??? Fruit Flies???? users admin

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Archive through September 15, 2005Texannie25 09-15-05  4:02 am
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Faerygdds
Member

08-29-2000

Thursday, September 15, 2005 - 7:29 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Faerygdds a private message Print Post    
Hang in there Tex it takes time to get rid of the little buggers. Keep in mind if you start catching them and they are still swarming -- you haven't found the source yet.

I'll never forget 2 or 3 years ago we had a terrible time. They were everywhere. I threw away everything, scoured my kitchen and still could not find the source. It got worse until one day I was in the bathroom and saw one of them crawl INTO the trash can. I got the sinking feeling and took the can outside. Sure enough... I opened it and a gazillion flies came out! The culprit??? An orange peel and a peach pit that my hubby had used to make a natural face mask for me. He had thrown them away in the bathroom because that is where he prepared the masks. That had been MONTHS earlier, but we rarely use that trash can, so no one thought of it!

You never know where those guys are hiding

Juju2bigdog
Member

10-27-2000

Thursday, September 15, 2005 - 9:44 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Juju2bigdog a private message Print Post    
Don't you just hate those helpful face-mask making hubbies?

Hey, Faery, have him make you a skull face mask! Over in the dumb questions thread, there is a link. I have mine on now. :-)

Mocha
Member

08-12-2001

Thursday, September 15, 2005 - 9:50 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Mocha a private message Print Post    
Dangit now I've got a couple back in my house.

Native_texan
Member

08-24-2004

Thursday, September 15, 2005 - 10:21 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Native_texan a private message Print Post    
Are ya'll taking about the little gnat-looking varmints? I have them in my kitchen and they seem to particularly like the cats' litterbox. It's got to the point where I hate preparing any food (yeah, this seems like a good excuse) because I'm afraid they're getting into it.

Zeno39
Member

11-09-2002

Saturday, September 17, 2005 - 7:26 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Zeno39 a private message Print Post    
That is what I am talking about, NT, but nobody answered my question. These things are very small and fly, like a gnat. They don't crawl. They look exactly like a gnat, the ones I have. Maybe everybody else is talking about something different. These things are driving me out of my mind. I thought they were coming from the vent in the kitchen, right over the stove. Now, I am not sure. Anybody??

Zeno39
Member

11-09-2002

Saturday, September 17, 2005 - 7:39 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Zeno39 a private message Print Post    
While it is on my mind, I used to live in a cruddy place while I was waiting to get into where I am now, and I had a huge problem with cockroaches, the ones that look like a B-52 bomber, and I put beer in plastic cups and set them around, and the roaches were drawn to the beer. They would get right in there, and drown, I suppose. Anyway, it got rid of them. Course, if you are overrun with them, call an exterminator! (Florida is well known for having these awful pests, and I shivver if I see one. You can be the cleanest person in the world, but those things can crawl under your doors, etc., and get in. You can't fight them unless you have an exterminator come in.)

Zeno39
Member

11-09-2002

Saturday, September 17, 2005 - 7:42 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Zeno39 a private message Print Post    
Sorry for misspelling the word "shiver".
I know better.

Texannie
Member

07-16-2001

Sunday, September 18, 2005 - 3:50 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Texannie a private message Print Post    
Zeno, I do that with slugs in my garden! LOL

My bugs do fly and seem to crawl, so not sure if we are talking about the same thing. Try the vinegar/soap trap and see if it helps.

Mocha
Member

08-12-2001

Sunday, September 18, 2005 - 2:24 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Mocha a private message Print Post    
The few I had have seemed to multiply. I've been spraying raid all over the kitchen. I've now moved all of the trash cans outside.

Juju2bigdog
Member

10-27-2000

Sunday, September 18, 2005 - 11:18 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Juju2bigdog a private message Print Post    
Well, we ate dinner at a friend's house, and we had wine, and those little buggers were all over that wine. It was all I could do to keep from laughing. We live in the Pacific Northwest. We generally don't have many bug problems up here.

Yep, something is definitely going on this year on the whole continent.

Abby7
Member

07-17-2002

Sunday, September 18, 2005 - 11:28 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Abby7 a private message Print Post    
i'm interested about this fruitfly trap.

did anyone try it? it sounded like a great idea. did it work?



Costacat
Member

07-15-2000

Sunday, September 25, 2005 - 6:23 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Costacat a private message Print Post    
Drosophilus, otherwise known as fruit flies, don't have a very long life cycle, about a week during the late summer/early fall months. Unfortunately, their gestation period is short (something like a coupla days). They breed in overripe fruit, potato bins, and the like, as well as moist soil or any other damp areas.

In order to completely get rid of them, you need to eliminate their food source (which is also where they lay eggs). If you still have "swarms" of them, then you've not eliminated their food/breeding source.

Once you've eliminated their breeding source, use a fruit fly trap using the plastic bag technique (you can also use a small paper funnel).

A weird side note: Fruit flies have been used in research of gene mutations. I used to work at UCSD and they had several studies going on drosophilus. LOL...

Victoria713
Member

08-13-2005

Friday, September 30, 2005 - 12:59 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Victoria713 a private message Print Post    
The vinegar and dishsoap trap dose work! I worked in a small meat market and in the summer time we would get them from the fruit and veggie stand next door, so we kept one up on a shelf all the time.

Native_texan
Member

08-24-2004

Friday, September 30, 2005 - 1:18 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Native_texan a private message Print Post    
Mine have disappeared on their own.

Mocha
Member

08-12-2001

Friday, September 30, 2005 - 1:38 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Mocha a private message Print Post    
Mine have multiplied. I'm getting a vat of vinegar tomorrow.

Teachmichigan
Member

07-22-2001

Friday, September 30, 2005 - 4:51 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Teachmichigan a private message Print Post    
LOL (and a huge sigh of empathy) for Mocha. Go for the apple cider vinegar -- it works great!

Texannie
Member

07-16-2001

Friday, September 30, 2005 - 4:52 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Texannie a private message Print Post    
Mine are gone, so cleaning everything in site, putting out the traps and having your kitchen smell like a salad seems to work!

Mocha
Member

08-12-2001

Friday, September 30, 2005 - 5:13 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Mocha a private message Print Post    
Salad huh, lolol.

Texannie
Member

07-16-2001

Friday, September 30, 2005 - 5:48 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Texannie a private message Print Post    


Teachmichigan
Member

07-22-2001

Friday, September 30, 2005 - 5:59 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Teachmichigan a private message Print Post    
LOL -- too true...that is one of the reasons I like the plastic wrapped glasses better than the cut up coke bottles (that, and none of the little buggers get out -- with the coke bottle a few do!)