# Fruit Fly Repellant?



## PrincessinAK (Sep 19, 2005)

Hi everyone! 

Does anyone have any tips on how to keep fruit flies away? I'm a fruit girl and LOVE fruit but hate these annoying fruit flies. 

I try to keep as much as possible in the fridge but we buy lots of variety in bulk from costco and some just has to stay out. 

Any tips or suggestions? Thank you!


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## urmaniac13 (Sep 19, 2005)

I know they are soooo pesky aren't they and we have the same problems... What we can do is just leave the least matured fruits outside the fridge and when they become mature put them in the fridge, and the left overs, like the skins and pits, they are really their favourite things, so we try to take them outside immediately, or put them in an extra plastic bag and tightly seal it before placing in a dustbin... it helps the situation a little.


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## Chief Longwind Of The North (Sep 19, 2005)

We trap 'em.  Take a large, wide-mothed jar and place a used banana or mellon peel inside.  Leave on the counter in the morning.  Then when you get home from work, sneak up on the little pests and quickly clamp the lid on top of the jar.  Then, you can either throw away the jar, drown the flies inside (a tricky buisness), or release them outside.  I prefer to do the little critters in.  If you crack the lid and insert an eye-dropper full of rubbing alcohol into the jar, and re-tighten the lid, it will kill them.

To paraphrase Yosemte Sam, "I hates fruit flies".


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## urmaniac13 (Sep 19, 2005)

Whoa, what an idea!!  Definetely deserves to be tried!!


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## PrincessinAK (Sep 19, 2005)

Thanks for the info! I do all those things but they still manage to hang around. I guess the only way to get rid of fruit flies 100% is to stop buying fruits. Lol yeah right!


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## PrincessinAK (Sep 19, 2005)

Oh, I posted before I saw your post goodweed! I'll definitely try that!! Thank you, Thank you,Thank you 

Those little suckers are going DOWN!


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## kitchenelf (Sep 19, 2005)

They can be pesky but it sounds like they are after something that is a tad too old.  Make sure the basket/bowl/whatever you are using to store the fruit in is cleaned between each uses.  If I hunt through my stuff I can usually find the piece of fruit that is attracting them.  Tomatoes are the culpret a lot - the skin will start turning on a side I can't see.  And bananas - if they start swarming make banana bread!  lol

These little guys only breed where there is a suitable breeding ground i.e., decaying fruit and vegetables with fermenting going on.  If you use a wire basket of some type it will need to be cleaned in hot soapy water.  If you see them the breeding ground is there somewhere.  I spilled something outside my trashcan under the sink - didn't realize it until I had major fruit flies one afternoon.

Usually you can locate the piece of fruit or vegetable and remove it thus eliminating the fruit flies.


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## middie (Sep 19, 2005)

leave a bowl of apple cider vinegar on the counter. this attracts the flies and they drown .


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## licia (Sep 19, 2005)

I use apple cider vinegar also, but I put some in a very small pitcher or jar, etc - put a small funnel in with the point down. The fruit flies will go down the funnel to ge to the vinegar and can't get back out and die.  I leave mine for several days at a time and just toss when a few get there.  They dissolve and there is nothing but a sediment left of them.


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## Alix (Sep 19, 2005)

Gross, but good ideas here. I just thought maybe you could buy one of those picnic net things and cover your fruit. I like the cider vinegar idea though.


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## Piccolina (Sep 20, 2005)

If memory serves me right we used a glass of apple juice when I was growing up, so the vinegar makes perfect sense.


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## thumpershere2 (Sep 20, 2005)

Great ideas here on getting rid of the pesky fruit fly. I'm canning tomatos and I have several in the basement and have fruitflies around even tho I check the tomatos everyday. I'n sure going to try all the suggestions. Thanks.


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## tancowgirl2000 (Sep 20, 2005)

In the one house we lived in these things were every where.  we arent much of fruit people but we do purchase it every so often.  However I often found the little buggers hovering around my plants as well.  Not sure if they nested in them that there was something that they liked but the only way i ridded of them was watering my plants with the dirty dish water.  I dont know If im the only one that notice them around house hold plants but sure enough they were....just a thought, I like the vinegar idea as well, thanks


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## silentmeow (Sep 20, 2005)

Dirty dish H2O?  Does it work?  I have a zillion of them in all my plants and it drives me crazy!  Just seems to be this time of year. Does it hurt the plants?  We are talking live plants here, right?  Just kidding.  I put a bowl of vinegar out with plastic wrap on top and punch a couple of holes in the top, they go in and can't get out.  My MIL used to ripen pears from her trees on the kitchen table!  The kitchen was full of them, yuck.


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## tancowgirl2000 (Sep 21, 2005)

YES we are talking LIVE plants.  They plants actually thrive from it, dont know why, but tis no different then spaying your trees outside with dish soap in water to get rid of aphids.  I have been doing this for a while!  Of course not always to get rid of bugs but just cuz the waters there for the using.  My mom has had some house plants with so many "spider" eggs in them that the inside of the pot was white with eggs....a couple doses of dish water and they were done for!


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## kitchenelf (Sep 21, 2005)

Yep - when I notice the white stuff on my plants I fill a sink full of sudsy water and swish my plant upside down in the suds really well.  Then I turn the plant right side up and submerge it in the soapy water and then drain the sink letting the soapy water filter through.  I then spray the leaves off with the sprayer hose.  Works like a charm on those little suckers.


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## silentmeow (Sep 21, 2005)

This makes my day, well summer actually.  I lost 39 houseplants this summer due to that white cottony stuff on the leaves and stems.  First the color turns from bright healthy green to pale green and then to brown.  I kept washing them off but didn't think about the culprit being in the soil!  My husband doesn't seem to mind, said I had too many plants anyway!  Can't help it I love the green in my house!  I have been growing a bird of paradise for four years now, it's 2 ft. tall, not bad for Michigan, but I noticed those white things on it the other day.  I don't want to lose it, it's my daughter's favorite flower and well....you know.  It's too big to even get into the shower but I'll try spraying it liberally and then hosing it off.  Thanks for all the information.  My Mom gave me a plant when I was 18 and it went everywhere with me.  29 years later the plant died as she was dying, how ironic!  Well I'm off to mix up some suds and H2O and launch a full scale attack.  Thanks again.


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## mish (Oct 9, 2005)

I know this is a little late, but if someone is still looking for some info, here's what I found.

FRUIT FLIES 

The fruit is gone and you are still seeing flies. What can you do now? Before you go to bed try placing a dish of cider vinegar out on the counter. Add a sprig of basil for good measure. They will be attracted to both and drown. Toss it in the morning and repeat as needed. Some people also have good luck with a little wine in a dish that is then covered with plastic wrap that you've poked a few holes in. Leave it out all day and replace as needed until the fruit flies are gone. 

Fruit flies also look for moisture. If they are hovering around the sink you may need to flush the drain with bleach. Make sure you clean around the rims--anywhere it becomes damp. If you have a faucet that drips it will need to be replaced to stop that moisture. 

To prevent fruit flies keep fruit in the refrigerator when possible and cover it. If it's out on the counter, make sure it's eaten before it's over ripe. When you do have to throw fruit out, make sure you put it in the garbage and close the cover. Keep your compost pile away from the house. Rinse out soda cans or other cans that have had sweet things in them. Keep them in a covered container until they can be recycled or returned to the store.


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## In the Kitchen (Oct 10, 2005)

*mish*

Guess you confirmed how to take care of the pesky t hings.  They are a nuisance.  I don't have that kind of problem but other problems with spiders.  Seems like ongoing starting  with ladybugs and now these spiders.  What next?  Thanks mish.  Reminds me another reason to get my dripping faucet fixed. AGAIN!


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