Mudlady, I don't WANT to help the fruit flies, I want to get rid of them.

I've alway been told that I shouldn't refrigerate tomatoes, and so they are on my counter too. About the worst thing I've found that really attracts them is bananas. Good thing I hate bananas.

I always have fresh seasonal fruit on the counter, right now it's peaches and plums, and the apples and pears have just started. The only solution I've found is to eat the stuff, which is not a good solution for storage!

Annie

Cover the fruit with a glass bowl.

Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana. (thanks to Groucho Marx)

Joe

I keep bananas and other fruit in vegetable bags,
that they come in from the market.

Stopped the problem.

They seem to go for Sunflower seeds too, so I keep the bag shut tight too.
So now I'm getting Sugar Ants !!!
Lou

Fruit needs air circulation for maximum shelf life, so I think the trick is to cover it with something with very small holes, too small for fruit flies to enter. You might try a fine mesh strainer inverted over your fruit bowl, or sticking the fruit inside the leg of a pair of cheap panty hose or knee-highs, with knots tied between each piece (that way, they don't touch, and you can cut them out one at a time)

For catching the fruit flies, yeast works really well. I take a dixie cup, add a pinch of yeast, a pinch of sugar, and some water. I cover the cup in plastic wrap, and poke holes with a fork. The flies fly in and drown. You'd think they'd find the holes and fly out, but they really don't. It's amazing how many you catch. If you really want to get rid of them, you have to get rid of all water sources, including damp linens and sponges (you could try tying them up inside a bag, or hanging them outside to dry).

-your fellow fruit fly hater

From My Big Fat Greek Wedding - WINDEX

It really works. Just spray the buggers and they die.

The yeast traps work well too

LOL, Jessica, now I'm going to be thinking all day of a pair of pantyhose, hanging in my kitchen, full of fruit.

"Well, hello, Pastor Brummel. Would you care for a nice fresh peach? Hold on, while I fish one out of my pantyhose."

ROFL. Sorry, it's probably the caffeine.....

Annie

It's likely of course that the larvae and/or eggs are already IN your fruit when you get it...the adults have to come from somewhere! (Refrigerating arrests their development enough that one might think one's fruit is insect free. It ain't!)

The fruit really needs to be put away or covered until you can get rid of them. One year we had MILLIONS of them. I actually vacuumed up as many as I could catch with the vacuum wand that way (the kids thought this was hilarious), then we tried every homemade trap I could find and none really did it. But I found out that they lay eggs in the water in the P trap of the drain, so this is what worked:

1) cover or put away all fruits and veggies

2) get rid of as many live adults as you can

3) before you go to bed pour a 1/2 cup of bleach into the kitchen sink drain

Best wishes!

Drain flies (AKA moth flies) are actually a different critter--they are sort of heart shaped and scaly like moths and mosquitoes. They aren't interested in fruit or yeast.

Not that they are delightful houseguests! But they'll stay out of your food.

We have the same problem but this year has been one of the worst. I believe we have more "frequent flyers" this year simply because I have been cutting fresh herbs to make bouquets and leaving them in the kitchen. They are like big time bug magnets. I don't know what to do other than just putting up with the little buggers. I don't want to cover my herb bouquets with a glass bowl. LOL

Annie:
That's almost as bad as your Panty Hose on the roof.
Lou

Drain flies (AKA moth flies) are actually a different critter

All I can say is the bleach in the drain thing worked for me more than once, and I think I got the tip from our extension office. After breeding the awful things and studying them way too up-close (and personal) for biology :-), I know what we had were fruit flies...and they definitely loved the fruit. Could it be a regional difference in the flies? Are there more than one kind of 'fruit fly?'

Here is something I have tried and worked:

1. They sell these eletronic fly zappers which look like a tennis racket on eBay. They are inexpensive, about $10.00.
I was surprised that they work very well to kill flies and mosquitos.

2. I would leave out a small dish with a couple of small rotten tomatoes. This will attract the flies soon.

3. Wave the zapper a few times over the rotten tomatoes and the flies will be vapoprized.

4. Do it every half an hour or so for a couple of days. As long as your windows and doors are not open all the time, there will be no more fruit flies in your house.

No chemicals. really works.

dcarch

dcarch hits the point..the doors and windows are open this time of year..they come right through the screens..This morning I realized when I got to the kitchen that I forgot to put out lastnights dinner and dessert peelings/scraps...I had a small swarm...I managed to "smash" 2 but the others are illusive..at the moment....I'll get them..oh and I've noticed when I have berries in the fridge..I will often have a little buggar fly out when I open the door..so they don't mind the fridge either...

This is what we use at the farm. It doesn't get rid of them..just keeps them off the fruit samples.

Here is a link that might be useful: Mesh fruit covers

Haha. I went the strainer route, but If you cut off the panty part and just used the leg. . .

I guess being able to hang fruit inside underwear is one of the advantages of living alone :-D

I pour malt vinegar into a glass, add a tiny drop of dish soap, cover with plastic wrap, and poke some holes through the plastic with a toothpick.

I had a bunch of flies last week when I was canning and I got rid of them all with the vinegar trap.