Well, OK. They didn’t exactly rip my flesh, but all of a sudden our home of over five years (in So. Cal.) is infested with tiny flies. The flies seem to be attracted to fruit and wine, often drowning in the latter.
We’ve never seen anything like this here. I assume they’re some kind of fruit fly. Has anyone else seen them? How did you fight them
Like little gnats? The ones I had last year turned out to be breeding in the drains, since they like damp surfaces. If they’re like mine, you can take care of the problem quite easily by pouring bleach down the drains.
You might be experiencing a return of the So. Cal. Weasel. Reportedly, they will rip your flesh.
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That’s a good one…I obviously was thinking about that song/album title. I’m just getting into late '60’s Zappa but only have Freak Out! so far. Turns out that FZ is someone I have too long overlooked, heretofore having only been familiar with his toilet humor of the mid '70’s.
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These flies are pretty common, in SoCal. I’ve had occasional problems with them in every apartment I’ve lived in here in Pasadena.
You can bring them home from the grocery store or in prepared food. Once, when I was having no problem with these flies, I brought home some El Pollo Loco, devoured it, and as is my habit, put the foam container back in the plastic bag and double-knotted the bag’s handles (sealing it) before putting it in the kitchen trash. Two days later when I went to empty the trash, the sealed El Pollo Loco bag was filled with hundreds of little flies. It was disturbing - clearly one or more of the foods had contained eggs and/or larvae. Perhaps lots of them.
I once had a similar problem in a decorative fruit bowl I made the day before my Mom came to visit. One of the pieces of fruit had been colonized before I brought it home. By the time I discovered it, it was impossible to tell which one.
Cleanliness is really the only solution. Keep your sinks clean, your dishes clean, your garbage covered, and don’t leave any food or beverages out. Wipe or sweep up any food and crumbs you spill. Don’t let standing water sit in your sink or dish drainer. Clean your toilet and sink regularly and make sure your tub and shower curtain dry out completely after bathing. By doing this you give the larvae few places to thrive and you are depriving them of food.
Their larvae are quite large, so you don’t have the normal problem with regular gnats whose larvae are so small they can live in the tiny films of water that naturally occur in places like baseboards, window ledges, and door frames.
Oddly, for some reason, they’re especially fond of beer, wine, and cannot seem to resist my brand of single malt scotch (Glenfiddich). So rinse out your glassware when you’re done, and also the empty bottles before you put them in the discard bin. The only thing they seem to ignore is diet soda.