Author |
Message |
Texannie
Member
07-16-2001
| Monday, September 12, 2005 - 4:58 pm
I don't know what they are, but they have attacked my kitchen! I don't see them till I start cooking and then I can hardly prepare my food without them getting in it!!!!!!! HELP!!!!!!!!!!
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Weinermr
Member
08-18-2001
| Monday, September 12, 2005 - 5:02 pm
I don't mean to be obvious, but look for some rotting fruit that you may have tucked away somewhere. Or vegetables of some kind in the pantry or cupboard. Also, they could be living in one of your houseplants. We had a heck of time getting rid of them. They just kept coming back until we finally found the right plant and sprayed it, and killed all of them PLUS any eggs that were layed. It was gross! Good luck.
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Mocha
Member
08-12-2001
| Monday, September 12, 2005 - 5:03 pm
I've had the same problem and realized they came from the potato/onion wooden bin I have sitting in my kitchen. It was like a swarm in there so I chucked everything out and swabbed it down with pine sol and then I also let off one of those fogger things. So far they're gone.
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Ophiliasgrandma
Member
09-04-2001
| Monday, September 12, 2005 - 5:35 pm
Make a fruitfly trap. Take a quart jar. Take a sandwich bag and cut a tiny hole in one of the bottom corners. Put some fruit in the jar, melon works real well. Put the sandwich bag over the top of the jar with the point of the bag with the hole aimed into the jar. Make sure the little hole is open. Secure the bag to the top of the jar with a rubber band. The little buggers are attracted to the fruit, climb down into the hole and can't figure how to get back out of it. I guarantee in no time you'll have a jar full of fruitflies. Best trap in the world. I've used this method for years. Let us know how it works for you, Tex.
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Skootz
Member
07-23-2003
| Monday, September 12, 2005 - 5:51 pm
OG, I am off to my kitchen to check this out and see if it works. This year the fruit flies have been terrible.
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Mocha
Member
08-12-2001
| Monday, September 12, 2005 - 5:54 pm
Oh I like that idea. I'm making a note for next time.
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Schoolmarm
Member
02-18-2001
| Monday, September 12, 2005 - 6:27 pm
Cinnamon also gets rid of them.
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Texannie
Member
07-16-2001
| Monday, September 12, 2005 - 6:31 pm
I have cleaned all my counters. (you should see them come out of the blue when I pour a glass of wine!) I have the bowl of vinegar on the counter. I will try the trap!
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Tess
Member
04-13-2001
| Monday, September 12, 2005 - 6:41 pm
Annie, we had a swarm of them one year, too. Seemed like thousands and all of a sudden. It turned out that my sister had put a bag of potatoes in one of my cupboards (where we NEVER put food) and when I opened that cupboard..........ack!! Got rid of the potatoes and cleaned like Mocha did and we haven't had any since. And we learned to check all cupboards after my sister comes to visit!
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Supergranny
Member
02-03-2005
| Monday, September 12, 2005 - 7:45 pm
Thank you so much for the hint OG. We have them terrible this year too. We have apple trees in the back yard and it seems to draw them. Plus we end up with the back door open for the girls (our dogs) and it just invites them in. I have macular holes so I have all these brown floaters in my eyes. It is driving me insane to have these little black things in my vision too! I am going now to get the quart jar. Thanks again.
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Zeno39
Member
11-09-2002
| Monday, September 12, 2005 - 8:14 pm
Are you all talking about little tiny gnat-looking things? If so, for some reason, I have had a problem with them that I have never had before. They have about driven me crazy. I think that mine are coming in through the vent over my stove, because one morning when I went into the kitchen, they were above the stove on the wall. I am going to try what OG said. I can't stand this!!
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Teachmichigan
Member
07-22-2001
| Monday, September 12, 2005 - 8:20 pm
We own an 18-acre cherry orchard and live less than feet from the trees. There are two "for sure" ways to get these little buggers w/out using food. First: Take a cup or small glass and put about 1/4 inch of vinegar in it (red wine or apple cider vinegars work best). Then add a drop or two of dishwashing soap. Top it with plastic wrap (with a rubber band around it to keep it tight). Then cut three or four slits in the top. Next -- make the same mixture of vinegar and soap. Instead of a glass, cut off the top 1/3 or so of a plastic pop or water bottle. Turn the top upside down and place it inside the bottom section (so it looks like a funnel going down into the bottle). Put the vinegar in the bottom of the bottle. The second way attracts more flies faster, but the bigger opening means they might actually find their way out. We usually set out a couple of each. We have about 2-3 weeks a year where they are just everywhere! With the vinegar solutions out, we can even leave bananas on the banana tree on the counter and they won't bother them. Change the vinegar/soap mixture every couple of days to keep the smell fresh (and to empty out all the dead fruit flies.) One last note -- this isn't nearly as much fun, but it you're drinking a glass of wine, usually three or four will commit suicide before you can drink the glass! LOL At one point, I'd put a small magazine over the top of my glass every time I'd set it down! 
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Juju2bigdog
Member
10-27-2000
| Monday, September 12, 2005 - 8:34 pm
Must be a bad year for them. We don't have them in the house yet, but a friend was over a couple days ago and sitting in the back yard drinking a glass of wine, and they were driving her crazy getting in the wine. So ... I think we have all parts of the country covered.
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Wargod
Moderator
07-16-2001
| Monday, September 12, 2005 - 8:44 pm
Here too! I wish I'd thought to post about it at the time cuz that trap may have worked! Funny enough, it was the exact same thing that happened to Tess. We came home from Vegas and were swarmed with the damn things. It took forever to find the bag of potatoes that mom had shoved in a cabinet while we were gone...I'd thought they used them all.
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Texannie
Member
07-16-2001
| Tuesday, September 13, 2005 - 4:06 am
well. shoot. I do have a bag of potatoes in my pantry. It's on the opposite side of where they seem to be collecting so it didn't dawn on me it might be that. (there are none in the pantry)
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Mocha
Member
08-12-2001
| Tuesday, September 13, 2005 - 7:04 am
Yall are right must be the year for them cause I don't remember having this problem last summer.
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Callasin
Member
06-21-2005
| Tuesday, September 13, 2005 - 7:23 am
We use the No Pest Strips and they work well. You can get them at Home Depot or Lowes. I've never had to use more than one to control flies in the entire house even though it says they only cover a certain area.
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Texannie
Member
07-16-2001
| Wednesday, September 14, 2005 - 2:37 pm
They are getting worse!!!!!!!!!! The bottle/funnel thing with soap doesn't seem to be working at all and they seem to LOVE the bowl of white vinegar alone!! I have nothing on my counter. I cleaned my coffee pot. But they are just swarming!!!!
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Teachmichigan
Member
07-22-2001
| Wednesday, September 14, 2005 - 4:07 pm
Did you try the vinegar w/the plastic wrap rubberbanded to the top? It takes a while to catch them all -- but that is more effective. Good luck -- ours have finally "died" down, but it took about a week to really get rid of them. Persistent little buggers!
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Ophiliasgrandma
Member
09-04-2001
| Wednesday, September 14, 2005 - 4:09 pm
Ya'll need to get a gecko. lol
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Ophiliasgrandma
Member
09-04-2001
| Wednesday, September 14, 2005 - 4:13 pm
One of these should do a first class, bang-up job of getting rid of those little pests.
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Texannie
Member
07-16-2001
| Wednesday, September 14, 2005 - 4:15 pm
tried that yesterday, might need to try it again hell, i think i can find a gecko in the front yard!!!
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Texannie
Member
07-16-2001
| Wednesday, September 14, 2005 - 5:08 pm
it seems to attract more of them.......is that right????
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Teachmichigan
Member
07-22-2001
| Wednesday, September 14, 2005 - 9:28 pm
Yes, Tex -- it attracts them so that they go down INTO the vinegar and then DIE! We usually set the "traps" away from food (like on an end table or on the counter away from other food)...many times it will take them some "think time" to get under that plastic wrap, but I've never seen one crawling back OUT! LOL
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Texannie
Member
07-16-2001
| Thursday, September 15, 2005 - 4:02 am
Woke up this am and nothing swarming, but then made coffee and they attacked my coffee pot!! This is just so frustrating!
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