I need advice on how to get rid of the flies in my apartment?
There are these really small flies in my apartment and I have no idea if they are fruit flies or what. My roommates and I are clean people and we are looking for ways to get rid of these little irritating flies. I was wondering if any one has any suggestions as to how we get rid of these little inconveniences. We are not sure if they are fruit flies or not. They are mainly in the kitchen.
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Do you have fresh fruit sitting out on the counter?
Is there another type of fly that is about the same size as the fruit fly?
You can get these tents or traps at your hardware store
Or you can make this one
Personally, I just put out a cup of apple cider vinegar. They fly in and die.
@CaseyWVU10 Without fruit out, I’m wondering where they’d come from and what they’d be eating.
Fruit flies can come with any food sitting out… garbage that’s not been taken out, dirty dishes… anything.
The drain might have some build up. Flush it out with a mild cleaner and lots of hot water.
A small dish of apple cider vinegar will work if you put a couple of drops of dish detergent in it to break the surface tension. Leave it on the counter overnight. Make a fresh batch every day
There are new flying insect sprays made from plant extracts that are not harmful to people or pets and is very effective. I’ll try and locate the can and get you a brand name.
See ya….Gary/wtf
Last year we had a fruit fly infestation in my apartment. We made sure to take out the trash regularly, and flushed our sink drains frequently with boiling water. You can also use a little bleach or other cleaner to kill the eggs that might be in the sink drains. Make a trap by stretching some saran wrap over a cup and putting some apple cider vinegar, red wine vinegar, or balsamic vinegar inside. You can also use a slice of fruit or a pit from a peach or anything the flies will be attracted to. Poke a few very small holes in the saran wrap. The flies will enter the cup and be trapped. If you use vinegar, they will drown, otherwise just throw the whole trap away (outside!) with the live flies inside, once it’s nice and full.
Eventually the problem will solve itself, if you do these basic population control measures.
You can get fungus gnats breeding in the drains, so dump boiling water or bleach down them to clean things out. You can even find them breeding in the drip pan under the refrigerator – you should clean that periodically, too. You can also put sticky traps in the kitchen to help thin down the population so you won’t get any more eggs.
At the risk of sounding stupid…
there’s a drip pan under the refrigerator??
I know what I’m cleaning when I get home.
Does it just pull out???
Found it. Its called Ecosmart. Its an organic insecticide spray made from organic plant oils (peppermint, cinnamon, sesame) and is safe to use around children and pets. It is amazingly effective at killing flying insects very quickly.
See ya….Gary/wtf
@Cupcake – It depends on the fridge, but generally you can get to the drip pan by removing the vent strip that runs along the bottom of the fridge under the door. And typically it does slide out.
Sweet @Darwin… maybe that will get rid of my flies too :)
I had no idea
@Cupcake….As @Darwin states, at the bottom of your refrigeratror (usually) you will find a kickplate that is probably an open grill. Behind that you will find a drip pan with a pull tab that will allow you to pull it out for cleaning. Also under there are the refrigerant coils that probably have quite a dust build-up on them. Take a vacuum and or a brush to remove the build-up and your refrigerator will run better and more efficiently. See ya…..Gary/wtf
@whatthefluther – yuck. That’s sure to be nasty. Thanks for the heads up… maybe I can convice @fireside that cleaning drip pans and coils is manly and sexy work.
@Cupcake….Actually, it may indeed be considered sexy work depending on the person actually performing the job and the spectators perception and preferences. For example, this video depicts a reversal of common roles for a task that similarly requires one to get down and dirty. You and @fireside can select roles and decide where to take things upon completion of the task at hand. See ya….Gary/wtf
Fruit flies and/or small flies also love dampness. If you have a washcloth that is damp, they’ll show up.
Frogs.
A big bowl of frogs on the counter should be a great help. lol
I always have a frog in my kitchen in the summer.
@coloma we have a cat for that. she’s known as “Zoe, the fly killer”
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