I need to get rid of fruit flys. Please help me.

I don't know how I got them. I hate to go near the kitchen sink because they seem to live there. I know the first step is to keep the kitchen cleaner. I have used Apple Cider Vinegar to make traps, but it isn't get rid of them completely. Any body have some helpful tips?
Thank you
SDE

They may be sewer flies, which are a whole different deal as far as getting rid of them. Google will return lots of results with ideas.

(quoted from post at 08:02:55 11/08/14) I don't know how I got them. I hate to go near the kitchen sink because they seem to live there. I know the first step is to keep the kitchen cleaner. I have used Apple Cider Vinegar to make traps, but it isn't get rid of them completely. Any body have some helpful tips?
Thank you
SDE

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They were a real nuisance here also. I tried the apple cider vinegar with a drop or two of liquid dish soap in a bowl trick. It did get quite a few fruit flies, but I think it ATTRACTED more than it trapped, so I got rid of it. A quick burst of insecticide (fly spray) twice a day is the best thing I have found.

I use the "Country Vet" brand of insecticide. It is rated for use in dairy barns and such. Available at most farm stores.

If I remember reading correctly, they live in the drain and lay eggs there.

I've got both here occasionally,fruit flies and drain flies. Fruit flies will disappear with the source, ie; fruit, beverage bottles, etc. I'll store pears or apples in the basement awhile, they show up every year. Once the fruit is gone, and any returnable beverage bottles are gone, (helps to rinse those as soon as they are empty) they can't reproduce, and that's it.

Drain flies seem to resemble moths with some powdery substance on their wings. They were tough to deal with at first, but have not been in the house in years. I discovered under the lid to the septic tank, there was quite a population of them. Somehow one got through a window screen. I used to keep a fish tank with a few small turtles in my small office, that was over filtrated, meaning I had like 6 carbon bag type filters on the top of the tank walls. A perfect place like a drain, wet, sludge build up and even with a thorough clean to get rid of them, the darned miniature leach like larvae are resilient, just kept returning and maturing into flies. I forget how I got rid of them, dried those filters down, replaced with new ones, and did not use the otherwise good ones after cleaning until they had been dry a long while. Broke the cycle, but actually it seems I finally got rid of the larvae. An actual drain that is in use can be tough to get rid of them, the below link may be of help.
Drain Flies

Where do fruit flies come from? Ah, that's one of life's great mysteries. Set a banana on the table and they magically appear. It's a similar thing with green flies--put chicken parts in a baggy in the garbage can, tightly close the lid, and two days later you have maggots.

Try this.

Pour 1/2 cup of bleach into the drain, cover drain with a large cup to prevent the flys from coming out. If that does not work go to plan B.........Draino.

We have trouble with them in the compost bucket- have a bucket with a top, but when you open it, out they come. We got one of those bug zappers that looks like a tennis racquet (they have them at Harbor Freight)- turn it on and press the button when you open the compost bin, and watch the fireworks!

Put bananas and fruit in a bowl and put a towel over it- they'll congregate on top of the towel, yielding more bug zapper fun.

Why poison them when you can make them explode?

They're sewer flies. Scald them with a pot of boiling water. They especially love seldom used drains. Not a sign of being messy, anyone can get them.

Groucho Marx reportedly said "Time flies like the wind but fruit flies like bananas."
Zach

I did like rustyfarmall, but my directions included a clear sheet of saran wrap over the top of the small dish with the apple cider vinegar and a drop of liquid dishwashing liquid in the vinegar. After you stretch the saran wrap over the dish, take a pointed knife and poke through the plastic in a few places so the flies can get in. The soap reduces the surface tension of the vinegar so the flies cannot sit on top and sip the vinegar, they sink in and drown. This has worked for me. The bottom of the little dish I used is black with dead fruit flies and I do not see any more.

My wife puts a banana or some other fruit in a plastic bread bag. Leave the top open. In the morning close the bag and dispose of.

Larry

Go to the farm store and get some Fly Strips and hang them somewhere close to your problem. Dad used to hang them on a curtain rod between 2 cupboards near the kitchen window.

(quoted from post at 21:13:35 11/08/14) Go to the farm store and get some Fly Strips and hang them somewhere close to your problem. Dad used to hang them on a curtain rod between 2 cupboards near the kitchen window.

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We found white fly strips once and they worked better than the regular ones.

I do the same as Johnlobb, works good.

The other thing you need to do is figure out where they are coming from. I fought them for a month. The more I killed the more seemed to show up.

Finally found that a big onion had fallen behind the breadbox and was slowly rotting. Threw the onion away and the flies were gone in two days.

Rick

I have two traps like those described here. I also spray cleaner on them when I see them having a church service. I will need to remember to buy some insecticide. I just do not remember to buy it when I am at the store.
Thank you
Steve

I have dumped some hot water down the drain. I will attack them again at this source.
Thank you
SDE

Ok you guys. Rusty got the closest for me. Had them really bad in a bathroom (indoor) and in the kitchen where I had made shelves across the windows and have plants growing, plus a couple of 3' diameter ivys in the LR.

Had some AC vinegar and detergent. Got a few little relish dishes and put in the quotient, didn't bother to cover. By the end of the day one had about 60 and the other over 100. This am none were flying in either place.

So, Thanks you guys for bringing to mind the solution to what was getting to be a real "pesky" problem for me.

Mark