Blech! It's fruit fly season here at the winery, and these little buggers are annoying wineries & wine drinkers everywhere. You're probably fighting them at home too. Did you know this itty bitty flies can fly up to six and a half miles per day? They are attracted to ripened fruit and - guess what? - fermented products!
So if you have fruit flies, what can you do to help get rid of them? I've got a few techniques to try.
First up: prevention & cleaning! Try to keep your fresh fruit in the refridgerator, and don't let anything sit out rotting on a counter or table top if at all possible. Second...rinsing dirty dishes, wine glasses, etc. immediately after use (or just go ahead and get them washed) will drastically cut down on possible food sources.
Put half opened bottles of wine, soda, juice, etc. in the refridgerator too. And it doesn't hurt to empty out your trash can more often this time of year too so that food sources aren't available for the flies.
Second up: getting rid of an infestation. Try putting an ounce or so of wine or apple cider vinegar in a bowl or container. Seal the top with plastic wrap rubber banded around the container to seal it tight. Then use the tip of a knife to poke teeny tiny holes in the plastic wrap. The flies will go in to eat and won't be able to get back out, thereby dying a wine/vinegar death.
Or, my new favorite method, use these electric bug zapper tennis rackets. They give a satisfying zap with each bug they kill, and they won't hurt you.
You could also try calling the Orkin man I suppose - their site has lots of information about fruit flies. But those bug zappers are way more fun, trust me!
Finally, if you are trying to enjoy a glass of wine and the flies are just annoying the heck out of you, move to a location under a ceiling fan or set up a fan to blow across where you are at. The flies are so tiny that a medium breeze will carry them far away from your wine glass.
Do you have any tips to get rid of fruit flies? Let me know in the comments.
Happy Trills,
Katie
You are right with that. We have been dealing with fruit flies everyday of our lives. I have tried many things but they just keep coming back. Hope this will really work for good. - http://www.howtogetridoffruitflies.us
Posted by: oscar | 01/25/2013 at 09:36 AM