Fruit Flies!

Came back from holiday to find that the house had been invaded by fruit flies.

After running around like a loon clapping them to death for a day or two I did a bit of research. So, if anyone else is having a problem you need to put some white wine vinegar in a saucer with a couple of drops of washing up liquid then stand back and watch them take a dip in THE SWIMMING POOL OF DEATH.

They are attracted to the smell of the vinegar, but the detergent breaks the surface tension so they sink to the bottom. Grim, but effective.

Username doesn’t check out.

I think they have been becoming more numerous over the past few years, I assume it is a symptom of climate change.

You’d better work quickly. They’re a genetic model organism for good reason and will adapt to eat your frozen sausages and Bombers. Don’t leave your shoes uncovered 🙂

From recent experience an open bottle of Malbec with have a similar ‘mass suicide’ effect on the little buggers, but that then involves pouring away half a bottle of Malbec, which is upsetting

I prefer THE SWIMMING POOL OF DEATH approach though. Cheers for the pointer.

Fruit Flies!

Not according to Sir Isaac Newton

If I just put the lid on the compost properly they go away.

If they’ve no food,  they’ve no interest in being there and so just leave

From recent experience an open bottle of Malbec with have a similar ‘mass suicide’ effect on the little buggers, but that then involves pouring away half a bottle of Malbec, which is upsetting

What no sieve?

Fruit Flies!
Not according to Sir Isaac Newton

The guy who discovered gravity when he fell out of an apple tree?

We left no fresh food in the house as we were away for 2 weeks. Apparently they like sink wastes and overflows. Little gits.

Anyway, we’ve got three bowls full of dead ones and a house that smells like the Seabrooke’s factory, so Win-Win!

What no sieve?

Strewth, you Aussies are soft!  Strain it through your teeth then spit or swallow according to your protein requirements

Having had an infestation of the wee shits  a couple yrs back, I wouldn’t wish it on anyone.

I feel your pain sir

What no sieve?

We’re talking hundreds of the little bastards here. It was like every fruit fly in a 5 mile radius had signed up to some kind of Argentinian death pact.

Even a borderline alcoholic like myself ain’t drinking that! 😉

Spit, swallow, gargle = like, love, showing off

fear I might have miscontrued Rubber buccaneer’s message

but on fruit flies, a slice or two of banana in the swimming pool of death also seems to work here

We’re talking hundreds of the little bastards here. Even a borderline alcoholic like myself ain’t drinking that! 😉

‘Full Bodied’

After running around like a loon clapping them to death for a day or two

Running around like a loon with the hoover is also quite satisfying. Hunter-killer mode.

What a way to go? Drowning in Malbec

Fruit flies like a banana

So do monkeys though. He could be risking replacing the fruit flies with a chimp infestation

I like the idea of baiting the traps with THE BANANA OF DOOM.

Denise’s Christmas Punch?

Denise’s Christmas Punch

Sounds like a band name…

“Time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like a banana”

Are they definitely fruit flies and not the little bastard compost fly things?

Are they definitely fruit flies and not the little bastard compost fly things?

I haven’t asked them.

I use a glass with a couple cm of cider vinegar at the bottom and a drop or two of washing up liquid to break the surface tension. I then put a layer of clingfilm over the top of the glass and punch a few holes in the film. Keeps the wee buggers from getting back out again.

We never had a problem with them until our council started collecting food waste. The fruit fly hooligans started hanging out in our kitchen once we got a wee kitchen food waste bin that’s filled and transferred to the outside one a couple of times a week.

you need to put some white wine vinegar in a saucer with a couple of drops of washing up liquid

Thanks for this, ever since I repotted my cacti*, the house has been infested. I shall create a pool of death in each room tonight!

*not a euphemism

I use a glass with a couple cm of cider vinegar at the bottom and a drop or two of washing up liquid to break the surface tension

Great idea, if only someone had mentioned it before!! lol

I’ll adapt one of the SWIMMING POOLS OF DEATH with a cling film ROOF OF NO RETURN.

We tried the vinegar bowl pool of death thing, and the wine idea, but nothing has beaten leaving no edible items out in the open and one of those electric tennis racket zapper things. Get ’em zapped before they have a chance to proliferate has been the way we’ve got on top of them the past 2 years.

Oh, and close of your plugs before you go on holiday – we’ve made that mistake before!

Thanks for this, ever since I repotted my cacti*, the house has been infested. I shall create a pool of death in each room tonight!

those probably won’t be fruit flies – sounds more like Fungus Gnats which breed in soil – tend to hitch a lift in in potting compost or shop bought potted plants and supermarket herbs.

Its just the top half and inch or so of the soil that they breed in and if that dries out they can’t survive, So the trick to getting rid of them is to water plants from the base rather than the top of the pot.

No idea if they’d be partial to wine or vinegar but that would only trap the adults and you’d still have the lavae in the soil

SWIMMING POOLS OF DEATH

ROOF OF NO RETURN

Both tracks on The Falls 13th studio  album

If fruit flies can drink beer, how many fruit flies would a mountain biker need to swallow in a ride to get drunk?

binners ,I like the jar of marbles you have set up to attract them across the banana pool of death.

🙂 🙂

@MrSparkle –

I’ll adapt one of the SWIMMING POOLS OF DEATH with a cling film ROOF OF NO RETURN.

So they can admire the swimming pool of death without falling in?

I think i see a flaw in your plan

It seems be a year for them.

Mrs BigJohn is an avid grower of fruit and vegetables.  We have piles of tomatoes, courgettes, sweetcorn, runner beans, shallots, potatoes, beetroot etc. in the kitchen.

The “insectocutor” sitting on top of the fridge is zapping happily away and probably costing more in electricity than we are saving at the greengrocers.

Over night the three LIDOS OF DOOM seem to have harvested the remaining fruit flies other the two dopey ****ers that I got with THE EXECTUTIONER’S HAND CLAP.

THE EXECTUTIONER’S HAND CLAP

Is that the next Viz annual?