Fruit Flies

mashani · Post by **mashani** » Thu May 22, 2014 11:51 pm

There heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrrrreeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.

Just sayin.

zorak1066 · Post by **zorak1066** » Fri May 23, 2014 12:54 am

yeah.. and its also lovebug season here... and fungus gnat season ... and...
gonna have to get a screen cover for the pot once I get brewing outside .

ive got 2 meads fermenting now and the fruitflies get in.. and go nuts trying to get into the fermenters... until the cold a/c kills them.

ScrewyBrewer · Post by **ScrewyBrewer** » Fri May 23, 2014 6:00 am

Take a small bowl put an inch of Balsamic vinegar in it, cover it with clear plastic wrap and using a toothpick poke 50 holes in it. I got this idea from Fedora Dave and it really works. Leave the bowl near the fruit flies and they'll get trapped inside when they try to get at the vinegar.

One year I tossed four ounces of boiled pellet hops into the brewroom garbage can and when I came back a few days later the inside of the can was thick with thousands of fruit flies. Tying up the bag and throwing it out got rid of most of them but it took weeks of using the vinegar trap to finally kill off the remaining stragglers. Thanks Dave, for a providing a safe effective way to get rif of the pesky little buggers.

Yankeedag · Post by **Yankeedag** » Fri May 23, 2014 6:04 am

I like getting them with the 12 gauge. it's messy, but really fun.

Post by **BlackDuck** » Fri May 23, 2014 7:52 am

ScrewyBrewer wrote:Take a small bowl put an inch of Balsamic vinegar in it, cover it with clear plastic wrap and using a toothpick poke 50 holes in it. I got this idea from Fedora Dave and it really works. Leave the bowl near the fruit flies and they'll get trapped inside when they try to get at the vinegar.

Yup...does work like a charm. I use apple cider vinegar. I've never tried it with the saran wrap with holes in it though. I've always just put a small bowl of it near the fermenter. I'll have to try it with the saran wrap. Seems that would work better.

BigPapaG · Post by **BigPapaG** » Fri May 23, 2014 8:25 am

For whatever reason, they don't seem to go for the vinegar around here...

Instead they are always going after my beer gass...

So, I started using a tablespoon of beer in a shallow bowl with the pastic wrap and holes and it works pretty well...

So long as I keep my beer covered with a folded paper towel that is...

Post by **BlackDuck** » Fri May 23, 2014 8:47 am

BigPapaG wrote:For whatever reason, they don't seem to go for the vinegar around here...

What kind of vinegar are you using....is it just plain white vinegar?

BigPapaG · Post by **BigPapaG** » Fri May 23, 2014 8:58 am

I have tried apple cider vinegar and three types of basamic (4 leaf, 3 leaf and glaze).

They seem to like alcohol better (beer, whisky)... Vodka not so much unless it's the sweet flavored ones that my girls like in summer.

Post by **BlackDuck** » Fri May 23, 2014 9:03 am

That's odd they don't go for the sweet vinegar. You have some weird fruit flies where you live!!!!

BigPapaG · Post by **BigPapaG** » Fri May 23, 2014 9:09 am

BlackDuck wrote:That's odd they don't go for the sweet vinegar. You have some weird fruit flies where you live!!!!

Years of conditioning or genetic evolution...

This has always been a blue collar town, historically about steel, grain mills and beer.

At one point, we were known as the city with a bar on every corner!

To this day, when you watch a liquor bottle pour in many bars in summer, you can see the floating carnage in the bottle!

mashani · Post by **mashani** » Fri May 23, 2014 12:29 pm

BigPapaG wrote:I have tried apple cider vinegar and three types of basamic (4 leaf, 3 leaf and glaze).

They seem to like alcohol better (beer, whisky)... Vodka not so much unless it's the sweet flavored ones that my girls like in summer.

I've got the same ones you have. They ignore the vinegar. Must be something in the eerie water we share.

mtsoxfan · Post by **mtsoxfan** » Fri May 23, 2014 7:38 pm

I've used cider vinegar without plastic wrap with success. Never tried it with either...
I have tried sugar water and plastic wrap to get yellow jackets... as read online...never got one. 2T of dishwashing detergent and 1 gal of water kills them though. I guess the soap blocks their ability to breath...they drop like flies

Post by **BlackDuck** » Fri May 23, 2014 7:43 pm

mtsoxfan wrote:I've used cider vinegar without plastic wrap with success. Never tried it with either...
I have tried sugar water and plastic wrap to get yellow jackets... as read online...never got one. 2T of dishwashing detergent and 1 gal of water kills them though. I guess the soap blocks their ability to breath...they drop like flies

The dish soap actually breaks the surface tension of the water. I add a couple drops to the vinegar mixture for the fruit flies. Without the dish soap, the fruit flies can actually walk on top of the liquid since they are so light. Add the dish soap and down to the bottom they go!

mtsoxfan · Post by **mtsoxfan** » Fri May 23, 2014 7:49 pm

I've never tried it for fruit flies. I've has good success without it, but now that you mention it, I have seen a few doing the backstroke then taking off.... I'll give it a shot....

FedoraDave · Post by **FedoraDave** » Sat May 24, 2014 5:10 am

That's why you put the Saran Wrap over the top of the bowl and poke holes in it. The flies get in through the holes, but they're too stupid to find their way out again.

You also might try keeping the bowl of vinegar in a more brightly lit spot than the fermenter. Flying insects are pretty fond of light sources.

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