Getting rid of fruit flies:

[HardDrive]

I've tried a steady campaign of cursing. No results yet, but I'm going to keep trying.

[GH85Carrera]

Originally Posted by HardDrive

I've tried a steady campaign of cursing. No results yet, but I'm going to keep trying.

Profanity helps you relieve pain and stress, but has no effect on insects.

[speeder]

So you leave some orange peels in the trash and you suddenly have fruit flies. Do they somehow spring from the orange peel or banana peel, or do they smell it from down the street and book it over to my place?

Stuff like this keeps me up at night.

[cstreit]

Home traps work okay, but last time this happened to me their birth rage was higher than my kill rate. I bough some traps for the hardware store, looked like little apples. Gone in 3 days

[herr_oberst]

Originally Posted by speeder

So you leave some orange peels in the trash and you suddenly have fruit flies. Do they somehow spring from the orange peel or banana peel, or do they smell it from down the street and book it over to my place?

Stuff like this keeps me up at night.

https://www.mnn.com/health/healthy-spaces/questions/where-do-fruit-flies-come-from

[Turbo_pro]

Originally Posted by speeder

I seem to have a fruit fly infestation in my kitchen, not sure what originally drew them to my place but maybe fruit?

They don't seem to pose any health threat that I know of, (do they?), and I sure don't want to spray Raid or some other toxic bug killer in my kitchen. Short of burning the place down, any bright ideas?

TIA as always.

After reading your screed on PARF, I would suggest a shower.

[pwd72s]

Originally Posted by cstreit

Home traps work okay, but last time this happened to me their birth rage was higher than my kill rate. I bough some traps for the hardware store, looked like little apples. Gone in 3 days

Same here....the home made vinegar/water/soap mix caught them but not well enough. These did the trick in a few days:

https://store.doyourownpestcontrol.com/review/product/list/id/1218/category/898/

[Zeke]

Originally Posted by speeder

So you leave some orange peels in the trash and you suddenly have fruit flies. Do they somehow spring from the orange peel or banana peel, or do they smell it from down the street and book it over to my place?

Stuff like this keeps me up at night.

Banana peels will attract flies, or more commonly known as gnats. And, yes, they seem to come out of nowhere. They aren't truly the 'fruit flies" that our state is seriously worried about. All the same, you ought to make a call to the County and set some out in a jar to be examined by someone from vector control, just to be sure and help out the community. Back yard citrus is a key objective right now and has been for the last few years. There is a quarantine in place in several local counties.

The vinegar thing works because over ripe fruit produces a low level vinegar smell (that we may perceive as slightly sweet) that attracts these flies from outside. They are literally everywhere and can lay 100's of eggs that hatch within hours.

Honestly, I would just refrain from having fruit outside the fridge and wipe down the kitchen with a vinegar solution as it's a very good cleaning agent in its own right. While the insects are attracted to the vinegar scent, they can't survive the contact.

Moisture plays a big role in this as well. Say you live in a small place and the shower raises the humidity level considerably, even temporarily, this is conducive to a fly infestation. Even the drying towels on the rack aren't good for the situation.

Case in point: do you see this in the winter when heating the place?

[Bob Kontak]

Originally Posted by Mark Howard

Had this problem recently. They survive by getting water from you kitchen drain in the P trap. Pest control guy told me to put a half cup of bleach in the kitchen drain at night and let it sit. Worked well.

I am not sure if they drink it or lay eggs in it (water in the trap) but I did contact the person who I thought said put soap in and I was corrected. Olive oil puts a cap on the water.

Same concept but I would defer to your pest guy's idea given depth of knowledge.