I need a mother's help fruit flies are overtaking my room

[flyingpig]

My stupid college housing forgot to install a bug screen on my window (we have at least 300 rooms and mine was the only one forgotten. I didn't even know rooms were installed with bug screens) and now my room is being overtaken by flies.

I don't have vinegar, so I can't use the vinegar and cup trick.

There is absolutely no way I am going out of my way to Wallmart o buy one bottle of vinegar, no.

I am not catching 50+ flies with my hands either.

Any advice from mothers?

 

[Evo]

Call maintenance and have them install a screen, then buy a can of flying insext spray, or start swatting.

 

[flyingpig]

Call maintenance and have them install a screen, then buy a can of flying insext spray, or start swatting.

I did, I even went to the front desk and guess what the the lady said "Oh that can't be right, it is a new building. I will tell them [maintenace] next time I see them"

WELL JEE LADY, IT IS MY ROOM SO I AM PRETTY DARN SURE I KNOW I DON'T HAVE A BUG SCREEN.

Aren't sprays even mroe expensive than vinegar?

 

[flyingpig]

Omg what am I saying? Why does it look like I am taking this out on you...I am sorry.

 

[Evo]

Omg what am I saying? Why does it look like I am taking this out on you...I am sorry.

Not at all.

 

[Borek]

Vinegar is so cheap.

 

[Evo]

Is he talking fruit flies or gnats? Beer is great at attracting and killing them.

 

[Jimmy Snyder]

Is he talking fruit flies or gnats? Beer is great at attracting and killing them.

Heaven forfend. I'd rather live with the insects.

 

[flyingpig]

Is he talking fruit flies or gnats? Beer is great at attracting and killing them.

There is a difference? The ones I am talking about the really really small ones, brownish color and you could barely see their wings.

I don't drink alcohol...

 

[nucleargirl]

Not a mother, but if they are fruit flies then:

1. get rid of any fruit/rotting veg from your room.
2. make the apparatus in Borek's post. if you don't have vinegar, put a banana peel in the bottom of the container.

The key to getting rid of bugs is to remove whatever that attracts them in the first place. Then they will start leaving by themselves.

 

[JaWiB]

Not a mother, but if they are fruit flies then:

1. get rid of any fruit/rotting veg from your room.
2. make the apparatus in Borek's post. if you don't have vinegar, put a banana peel in the bottom of the container.

The key to getting rid of bugs is to remove whatever that attracts them in the first place. Then they will start leaving by themselves.

This. I had fruit flies in my house a few weeks ago and it took me a couple days to realize someone left a banana in a plastic bag on the refrigerator, for several weeks...

On the other hand, I had tiny flies in my bathroom and never figured out where they came from, but presumably they weren't fruit flies.

 

[AlephZero]

Heaven forfend. I'd rather live with the insects.

Well, they say that you can't make top quality cider unless you drown a couple of rats in it while it's fermenting.

Maybe a few flies would improve the beer, on the same principle as http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snake_wine ...

 

[lisab]

Not a mother, but if they are fruit flies then:

1. get rid of any fruit/rotting veg from your room.
2. make the apparatus in Borek's post. if you don't have vinegar, put a banana peel in the bottom of the container.

The key to getting rid of bugs is to remove whatever that attracts them in the first place. Then they will start leaving by themselves.

Fruit juice or wine works well too.

 

[flyingpig]

Guys, they finally installed a new screen for my window and they god rid of the flies too! I got some vinegar from the cafe so that worked out

New problem

The maintenance left a message about asking me where the old screen was and they say they might charge me for the new one...

I went to the front desk and I told them "Why would you think I know where you went...?" and they had their own chat about the maintenance leaving sticky note messages. Basically I don't even know what is going to happen after.

Anyone have advice for me? BECAUSE I WILL NO WAY PAY FOR THE NEW SCREEN.

 

[Proton Soup]

i would just bug the heck out of people, all the way up the chain of command if necessary. if they want to charge you $50 for something they left off, then be at least $100 worth of pain in the rump.

you could also ask them to document that the screen was there, go through any maintenance records, etc. but make them want to make you go away.

 

[turbo]

On the other hand, I had tiny flies in my bathroom and never figured out where they came from, but presumably they weren't fruit flies.

They probably were fruit flies if they were tiny reddish-brown and hard to swat. Fruit flies love fermenting stuff in sink traps.

 

[DaveC426913]

Wow! A kindred spirit! I can do some good in the world!

I currently have a nasty infestation of fruit flies in my kitchen.

I tried the cone, sure it would work. While I watched, a half dozen fruit flies climbed back out through the tiny hole and flew away.

These strips however are working great.

I've got one on my bananas and one in a glass with a bit of wine. Fruit flies loooooove wine.

 

[flyingpig]

Wow! A kindred spirit! I can do some good in the world!

I currently have a nasty infestation of fruit flies in my kitchen.

I tried the cone, sure it would work. While I watched, a half dozen fruit flies climbed back out through the tiny hole and flew away.

These strips however are working great.

I've got one on my bananas and one in a glass with a bit of wine. Fruit flies loooooove wine.

What? Flies are now smart enough to do that? Damn you evolution.

 

[blip]

If you really want to get rid of them. If you've eliminated any food or trashcan waste then they are probably coming from your houseplants. What you need is a spray bottle. Fill it with water and a little bit of liquid dish soap. Maybe a tablespoon or something. Then just spray the base of your plants (the soil) and the bottom where the water collects as drainage. Do this every other day for a 1-2 weeks and they should go away. The chemicals in the soap won't harm your plants but they will break up the egg casing of yet to hatch fruit flies.

 

[DaveC426913]

As blip mentioned, and I was going to, the most important thing is to scour your room top to bottom, getting rid of the smallest traces of food. That includes things as diminutive as dirty glasses, and wiping down the surfaces of spills.

The flies will find it and keep breeding until there's no food.

 

[DoggerDan]

They probably were fruit flies if they were tiny reddish-brown and hard to swat. Fruit flies love fermenting stuff in sink traps.

Insinkerator.

That and a good flushing of one's drains, taking out one's garbage daily, and never keeping overripe fruits on hand tends to eliminate just about all fruit fly problems.

Oh, one other thing: A lot wines tend to attract them, so keep the bottles corked and in the fridge, and keep your glasses covered. When you put them in the sink, rinse 'em.

Not so much a problem in humid climes like florida, as other critters get them. More so in dry climes.

 

[DaveC426913]

...keep the [wine] bottles ... in the fridge...

Uh, only if they're white.

You Philistine.

 

[DoggerDan]

Uh, only if they're white.

You Philistine.

Lol. Well, I like all wines chilled, but I can appreciate a good one served at room temperature. Not much into white wines. I've noticed fruit flies love hovering around a cabernet sauvignon, but don't seem very attracted to a merlot. Something with the fragrance? Perhaps the grapes use in merlot have a natural resistance or repellent to fruit flies.

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

Put a banana peel on a plate, wait 30min, come back and spray the banana peel with some kitchen cleaner.

 

[DaveC426913]

Put a banana peel on a plate, wait 30min, come back and spray the banana peel with some kitchen cleaner.

Well, I've been at it for days, 24hrs a day. I've caught about a hundred.

That would be OK for a few, but as a group they cold breed faster than he could wipe them out.


Also, they're notoriously agile at getting away when approached.

 

[DoggerDan]

Are you using central A/C or merely keeping the windows open? Fruit flies go right through regular screens.

 

[Dale]

I tried the cone, sure it would work. While I watched, a half dozen fruit flies climbed back out through the tiny hole and flew away.

These strips however are working great.

I've got one on my bananas and one in a glass with a bit of wine. Fruit flies loooooove wine.

I also had a similar lack of success with the cone approach, so I went with sticky strips too. I put a sticky strip right next to a small cup with vinegar and banana inside a clear plastic box with a relatively small opening.

 

[DaveC426913]

I also had a similar lack of success with the cone approach, so I went with sticky strips too. I put a sticky strip right next to a small cup with vinegar and banana inside a clear plastic box with a relatively small opening.

Ooh. I like the nesting-inside-the-box feature. That would work even better. Doesn't prevent them smelling it and entering, but it makes it much more likely that they'll land on the strip, since there's less to land on.