Okay. I am at the end of my rope with these stupid little flies that will NOT STOP buzzing about the kitchen. All produce is kept under wraps or in the fridge but they still seem to show up. I heard if you leave vinegar in a bowl it will kill them but that seems to only bring in more. Short of a flamethrower what will get rid of them?!
Try lots of bug spray.
I had them once and I noted that they seemed to be especially attracted to whiskey. So I set a stool in the middle of the kitchen with a saucer with whiskey. After a few minutes I had quite a few flies there. I sprayed bug spray on the stool which killed all the flies. I washed the stool and the saucer and repeated the process. After a few times, it started to take longer and longer to get enough flies. So I checked it several times a day. After a few days…no more flies. They showed up again, from previously laid eggs I guess. I repeated the process. And that did it!
It worked for me. YMMV.
Do they feel fuzzy? Do they turn to powder when squashed?
If so, you probably have drain flys. These critters live in your drain feeding, and reproducing on the waste within. We had them in our Master bath. I took apart/snaked all the drains (two sinks, one tub, one shower) to clean them out as much as possible. (I believe the tub was the problem, I removed a strange looking clump of hair and god knows what else). I then reassembled and poured bleach down each. Haven’t seen 'em since.
Second the drains. My parents had them for months, tried every hygeine & chemical substance/method. In the end, one dose of bleach down the external drain solved the problem.
Battling the beasts here too. Make sure you squirt a good amount of bleach down the overflow holes in your sink, etc.
If you’re talking about those little black flies, we get them every summer and they attack our kitchen fruit bowl unless I stick it in the fridge, then they will travel to the bathroom.
The only thing I’ve found that helps is those rolled up sticky strip things that you hang from the ceiling. I think they must be attracted to the goo on the strips because it doesn’t take long to catch them all.
We had luck with the following combination of things:
- Put out vinegar–but not in a saucer. We poured apple cider vinegar into a Snapple-type bottle and pounded some holes in the lid with a nail. The flies flew in, drank the vinegar, and then couldn’t get back out and drowned.
- A Venus flytrap
- A pitcher plant
I’m not sure which of the three had the greatest effect. I know the vinegar worked to get rid of at least some of them.
Thanks everyone!
I’ve become an expert in the last two days now (trial and error). What I do know is conventional sprays or sticky tape does not work that well. I tried some wine in a jar. The flies fall in it or sort of get drunk off the fumes and die - but not all of the buggers.
This site (http://fruitflytraps.com/hometrap.htm) had a clever yet simple way to build your own traps. It worked for us.
Joe