How do you kill fruit flies for good???

Question

We have a SERIOUS fruitflie problem in our apartment right now. At one point (before I lived there) the dishes hadn't been done in probably 2 months (and nobody went into the kitchen where the sick was filled with rotten food on the dishes) BUT, when I moved in, my "rent" for that month was to do the dishes and clean some other parts of the apartment and buy groceries. That was it. So I did it. The fruit flies were TERRIBLE cleaning the dishes that time. They were all very little, but I started annilating them with the 409 Cleaner spray and it killed them quickly and they all died. Well, I kept coming back to the sink (the next days) and every day new little flies were sitting on a clean sink!! I kept the garbage disposal lid over the sink (so they can't be coming from there) and also we got a trash can with a lid cause I noticed about a week ago they were landing on the trash now. WHAT CAN I DO TO KILL THEM? I've now resorted to sucking them up in a vacuum, but more show up!

They started out being little brown ones, but now they've "hidden" out and grown in larger black ones that are attracted to lights. I've kept the kitchen spotless (kept all food in the fridge) and kept everything wiped down and clean. Now, it seems the little ones have hidden somewhere and are big now and there are more everyday. I went around the CLEAN house last night and sucked up as many as I could from the vacuum...THE VACUUM KILLS THE ONES I CAN SEE...but where do the other ones keep coming from?? They are never ending. I can't really do a bug bomd either because we have 2 people with severe asthma in the house and have had problems with bug bombs in the past...what else could be done?
***We've left out a cup of juice for them to land in and BELIEVE me the juice cup WORKS...but it's not killing all of them.

**PEOPLE....THERE IS NOT FRUIT!!!!

Answer 1

You have to make sure you keep everything that has to do with food VERY clean. They have a life span of only a few days, so if you can eliminate them all and their eggs for a few days, they will be gone. They have to be living off of something. You'll have to search around to find it (roomies' dishes in the bedrooms? food in trash can? outside trash too close to your house and doors?).

We have that problem every year when canning fruits and veggies. Just have to clean EVERYTHING like it's a hospital.

Answer 2

Eradication
Once a structure is infested with fruit flies, all potential breeding areas must be located and eliminated. Unless the breeding sites are removed or cleaned, the problem will continue no matter how often insecticides are applied to control the adults. Finding the source(s) of attraction and breeding can be very challenging and often will require much thought and persistence. Potential breeding sites which are inaccessible (e.g., garbage disposals and drains) can be inspected by taping a clear plastic food storage bag over the opening overnight. If flies are breeding in these areas, the adults will emerge and be caught in the bag.

After the source of attraction and breeding is eliminated, a pyrethrum-based, aerosol insecticide may be used to kill any remaining adult flies in the area.

A better approach, however, is to construct a trap by placing a paper funnel (rolled from a sheet of notebook paper) into a jar which is then baited with a few ounces of cider vinegar. Place the jar trap(s) wherever fruit flies are seen. This simple but effective trap will soon catch any remaining adult flies which can then be killed or released outdoors.

Hope this helps!! Good luck, I know how annoying those little boogers are! I got them when I moved my plants into the house.

Answer 3

With every day pass, our country is getting into more and more trouble. The inflation, unemployment and falling value of dollar are the main concern for our Government but authorities are just sleeping, they don’t want to face the fact. Media is also involve in it, they are force to stop showing the real economic situation to the people. I start getting more concern about my future as well as my family after watching the response of our Government for the people that affected by hurricane Katrina.

According to recent studies made by World Bank, the coming crisis will be far worse than initially predicted. So if you're already preparing for the crisis (or haven't started yet) make sure you watch this video at http://www.familysurvival.tv and discover the 4 BIG issues you'll have to deal with when the crisis hits, and how to solve them fast (before the disaster strikes your town!) without spending $1,000s on overrated items and useless survival books.

Answer 4

Fruit flies live for only a few short hours. If you have an ongoing problem, they are hatching from somewhere. Find the source and remove it. Open food? Fresh fruit on counters? Food in the garbage disposal that is rotting? Trace the source and rid the food and they will be gone.

Answer 5

If you are sure they are fruit flies, make a cone out of paper with a small opening at the bottom. Tape this to a jar with a piece of fruit in the bottom. They will go in for the fruit but not be able to escape. I had that problem once, and it also worked for a friends restaurant.

Here's a link

edit: How did honeybee get a thumbs up when all she did was go to the same link and copy and paste? I remembered and wrote it in my own words!

Answer 6

Raid works pretty good. There is a food source somewhere-maybe another apartment nearby- that allows them to keep multiplying. You've got to find that source and get rid of it! Otherwise, once summer is over they should die only to return next season.

Answer 7

Thus far you have described the problem, but give us the source (where they are coming from) and we can give a proper solution.

Answer 8

Throw away the fruits!

Answer 9

Enjoy them. They make good pets.