Small flies - Ready to declare war. Ideas?

[massmedia]

Though the activated yeast is definitely more effective than apple cider vinegar, the apple cider vinegar is certainly attracting them as well. I could see thousands of eggs laid in the vinegar. Would it be against the Geneva Convention to activate the yeast with apple cider vinegar instead of water? Some factions of my army may have already taken it upon themselves to do just such a thing.

post results... am curious

 

[disappoint]

Acid might kill the yeast if in high enough concentration.

 

[NoTine42]

Find the rotting potato.

Nothing will work if you can't find the potato.

 

[mizzou]

my wife and i had a terrible fruit fly problem for months. The solution? I eventually found a bag of liquified goo potatoes in a cupboard

 

[massmedia]

Acid might kill the yeast if in high enough concentration.

i'm curious if the flies will still like the yeast if its dead.
it's a gamble

 

[Strk]

When I had my infestation a while back I cleaned everything and did the apple cider vinegar traps for a week. It worked perfectly.

 

[zinfamous]

*waves hand, fruit fly guy here. Those aren't drosophila ( "fruit flies"), but I think they are "real fruit flies," maybe something in the tiphridid family or similar. Can you see spots on the wings? That ovipositer is far longer than anything I've seen in any of the drosophila we work with, but you will find it in tiphridid (so they can lay embryos inside oranges)

It probably wasn't going after the chicken or whatever meat that was, maybe just curious. If vinegar, and especially yeast paste were successful, then it certainly likes booze. Drosophila love rotting fruit, and I tend to just toss banana peels in a jar, sprinkle some active yeast on top, then make a funnel out of paper (trap with a tiny hole) to cover the jar. That thing will collect any and all free-roaming drosphila in your house.

For these guys...that ovipositor suggests to me that they like citrus, or maybe even olives. Yeast will probably always help. I would actually try some mango, some banana, maybe even some orange...put them in separate jars, toss some yeast (or yeast paste as you are doing. they love to lay eggs in yeast paste), and see which they prefer.


Oh, the bags of water hanging in windows to keep out mosquitoes and other flying bugs....old wive's tale. That shit doesn't work and there really is no sound logic behind it.

oh wait--that's a leg in the 3rd meat pic--not an ovipositor. It's at the perfect angle to be confusing in that regard. You might have some type of drosophila, then. I'm not quite sure what those are....but I know what species they aren't (it is not melanogaster, it is notin the obscura group, it is not busckii (likes banana & potatoes), nasuta or albomicans group, it is not suzukii (obnoxious invasive pest out on the west coast)... That isn't terribly helpful--but most fly people will tell you that banana is probably the most universal means of attracting the widest variety of drosophila species.

You're Georgia, right? hmm....

 

[CZroe]

*waves hand, fruit fly guy here. Those aren't drosophila ( "fruit flies"), but I think they are "real fruit flies," maybe something in the tiphridid family or similar. Can you see spots on the wings? That ovipositer is far longer than anything I've seen in any of the drosophila we work with, but you will find it in tiphridid (so they can lay embryos inside oranges)

It probably wasn't going after the chicken or whatever meat that was, maybe just curious. If vinegar, and especially yeast paste were successful, then it certainly likes booze. Drosophila love rotting fruit, and I tend to just toss banana peels in a jar, sprinkle some active yeast on top, then make a funnel out of paper (trap with a tiny hole) to cover the jar. That thing will collect any and all free-roaming drosphila in your house.

For these guys...that ovipositor suggests to me that they like citrus, or maybe even olives. Yeast will probably always help. I would actually try some mango, some banana, maybe even some orange...put them in separate jars, toss some yeast (or yeast paste as you are doing. they love to lay eggs in yeast paste), and see which they prefer.


Oh, the bags of water hanging in windows to keep out mosquitoes and other flying bugs....old wive's tale. That shit doesn't work and there really is no sound logic behind it.

Thanks for your input. FWIW, that's actually it's other hind leg and not an ovipositor.


Haven't been able to see spots on the wings. These traps seemed to have made them start pairing up and mating in-flight, which I haven't seen nearly as often as I have today (still all over the apartment).

 

[zinfamous]

Thanks for your input. FWIW, that's actually it's other hind leg and not an ovipositor.


Haven't been able to see spots on the wings. These traps seemed to have made them start pairing up and mating in-flight, which I haven't seen nearly as often as I have today (still all over the apartment).

yeah, I eventually realized it was the other leg after looking closer. some diptera have long ovipositors like that, however.

It looks kind of strange for a drosophila, but there are so many species and many of them look very strange, so it's not out of the realm of possibility. You said they are seasonal? Do they always start popping up at the beginning of fall?

They are actually mating in flight? I only ever see them humping on the food or when grounded. I'm not aware of a drosophila that will screw in-flight. They will tend to lay their eggs, though, only on something that they like. In some species, females will actually retain fertilized eggs until they are perfectly happy.

 

[Ns1]

@Zin

if you don't know what kinda flies you got, would multiple types of traps with different uh susbstances worK/



Motion to change Zin's status to "Fruit Fly Overlord"

 

[Red Squirrel]

This amuses me.
"Here is a substance that is a potent soup of various toxins and poisons that can kill insects in a matter of seconds. Smells nice though, doesn't it?"

Meanwhile we put powerful bittering agents into cans of computer duster.



If we ever get into chemical weaponry again, they should be made to smell like bacon or beer.

lol that is funny.

And why do the make gasoline smell so freaking good! No wonder the natives sniff it all the time, that stuff smells awesome! The best is when you start a motor boat or a ski doo. Ahhh that's the smell of outdoor adventure.... and killing of the environment. lol

 

[radhak]

Fruit flies are easy to acquire, but very difficult to get rid of. As in, takes a lot of iteration.

Couple of years ago the water inlet to my 'fridge leaked without my knowing, and the water collected in miniscule amounts under it. I found out when the fruit flies could not be ignored. Even after we fixed the leak and cleaned up the kitchen, it was weeks before we saw the last of them.

 

[zinfamous]

@Zin

if you don't know what kinda flies you got, would multiple types of traps with different uh susbstances worK/



Motion to change Zin's status to "Fruit Fly Overlord"

THC is an insecticide bro, if that's what you're suggesting

drosophila do have one copy of ADH (alcohol dehydrogenase), and they are one of the primary model organisms for the many things us humans now know about the awesomeness of alcohol.

This is why you will find them near boozy areas. It's probably not so much that they are going after alcohol, just the things that they like--stuff fermented with yeast--happens to produce alcohol, which they can metabolize.

typical fly media for general husbandry is a cornmeal/molasses/yeast concoction, with agar to make it a bit more solid. It smells delicious, really (like bread or beer, basically).....until you add the propionic acid and mold inhibitors (just to deter bacterial and mold growth)

 

[zinfamous]

And why do the make gasoline smell so freaking good! No wonder the natives sniff it all the time, that stuff smells awesome! The best is when you start a motor boat or a ski doo. Ahhh that's the smell of outdoor adventure.... and killing of the environment. lol

:hmm:

 

[NoTine42]

Find the rotting potato.

Nothing will work if you can't find the potato.

my wife and i had a terrible fruit fly problem for months. The solution? I eventually found a bag of liquified goo potatoes in a cupboard

I'm glad to hear I wasn't the only one

 

[lk2500]

So, you're in an apartment? Have you complained to the landlord and had them check adjacent units for a possible source?

And, may I ask, what is the reason your bro hasn't moved out of this apartment if it has a bug problem?

 

[AyashiKaibutsu]

I don't think programming would be an exception here.

Only for us PC Gaming Master Races

 

[AyashiKaibutsu]

I kept some bananas around for too long and got a ton of fruit flies one time The answer was to remove all food from my house for four days... they all died off.

 

[zinfamous]

I'm glad to hear I wasn't the only one

yeah, some of them love the shit out of some rotting potatoes...again, whatever ferments

And, may I ask, what is the reason your bro hasn't moved out of this apartment if it has a bug problem?

this isn't a bug problem. not at all. it's a human problem, if anything. but it's not really a problem. ...it's just harmless flies buzzing around eating shit, and getting drunk. they aren't parasites.