MOM’s Organic Market’s ER Blog

Recently there has been a lot of talk on my blog about unwanted pests, so why not continue along the same lines with fruit flies, as I’m sure they plague more than just my kitchen.

Do you ever go into your kitchen, perhaps walk near your trash can, maybe throw something in your recycling bin or put a dish in your sink only to have a swarm of small flies dart away? If so, you’ve got a fruit fly problem. Fruit flies are a problem year round, and don’t favor one season over another. Fruit flies are particularly attracted to fermenting fruits and vegetables, and will also eat the sugars and vinegar produced by natural yeasts on bread, beer, cider, wine, etc. They will swarm fruits and vegetables that are ripened or damaged, lay their eggs and continue about their business.

So, what can you do to help ensure these little guys don’t get out of control? First off, make sure that you take your trash and recycling out often. Trash sitting too long starts to ripen up and send out a dinner bell to the fruit flies. Make sure that the inside of the bins are cleaned out from time to time, to help eliminate build up and the odors that attract them. Install a drain catcher for your sink. This will help catch any food particles before they head down the drain. Fruit flies are particularly drawn to kitchen sink drains, as there is a lot of decaying matter and great places to hide down there.

If these simple actions don’t work in your favor, consider making some fruit fly traps. They are super simple to make, and can be made from items right in your recycling bin. Take an old container, can be a jar or dairy type container, fill half way with vinegar or cider and a slice of apple. Next, stretch some plastic wrap over the top and affix with a rubberband. Poke some holes in the top with a knife or fork. For some reason the flies are attracted and can get in, but aren’t smart enough to get out. You can also take an old 12 oz pop bottle, fill half way with vinegar and a small slice of apple, and create a paper funnel to fit in the hole and tape shut. Again, the flies will get in, but they won’t get out.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 19th, 2006 at 3:51 pm and is filed under Tips. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.