I got home last night and found several dozen flies stuck to the pest strip hanging over the kitchen sink and maybe 20 in the dish with the soapy water, piece of banana and apricot. Only one or two were still flying around, and I killed them.
Then I cleaned my counter again. I didn’t just put the bag of potatoes (fresh potatoes, jb_farley) in the fridge, I also disposed of/put away the empty plastic gallon jugs, wild rice recipes, rice cooker, frying pan and pet wallaby that were also hanging out on said counter.
Then I emptied the dish and put it in the dishwasher, scrubbed the sink again, and poured a few ounces of bleach, straight up, into the sink drain.
Finally, I took an orange out of the refrigerator and set it on the sink, then went to check email, sort socks, read a novel. Many minutes later I went back to the kitchen. Where, two nights ago, the orange would’ve been covered in flies, now there were none.
I looked again this morning. Still no living flies.
Is the problem solved? Or is the smell of the bleach just keeping them at bay? I’d like to think the former, but life has made me skeptical.
But if I can just get past my party on Friday, that’s all I’m asking for in a solution. After Friday, Wood Thrush, I promise I’ll call an exterminator and do the job properly.