It all started with fresh produce

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rebprest
rebprest Posts: 149 Member
in Food and Nutrition
They came with the bananas but they never left! I am just overrun with gnats, and I don't know what to do. I'm keeping my drains clean, keeping fruit in the fridge etc, but still they continue to flourish. I think they're drawn to the fruit/vegetables I have to leave outside of the fridge, I've just given up on bananas. How can I store fresh produce outside the fridge and still keep the flies away?

*I use the apple cider vinegar + plastic wrap trick and it catches a bunch of them, but they just keep coming.

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  • bcr1559
    bcr1559 Posts: 62 Member
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    Pour bleach down all your drains every night. Any produce that you keep sitting out needs to be put in a container of some sort. These are the only things that have ever worked for me. Good luck!
  • Alluminati
    Alluminati Posts: 6,208 Member
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    Are you sure they aren't drain flies? Very similar to fruit flies and they come out when the weather is hot. Cover the drains overnight and see if that makes a diff.

    Eta people will mix them up because they are similar. Fruit flies lay eggs in fruit. Drain flies breed in drains where there is moisture and slime. Especially if you have a leaky faucet.
  • SoLongAndThanksForAllTheFish
    SoLongAndThanksForAllTheFish Posts: 831 Member
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    They came with the bananas but they never left! I am just overrun with gnats, and I don't know what to do. I'm keeping my drains clean, keeping fruit in the fridge etc, but still they continue to flourish. I think they're drawn to the fruit/vegetables I have to leave outside of the fridge, I've just given up on bananas. How can I store fresh produce outside the fridge and still keep the flies away?

    *I use the apple cider vinegar + plastic wrap trick and it catches a bunch of them, but they just keep coming.

    Name them, and start epigenetic experiments relying on one specific genotype and seeing if the environment can influence its expression over several generations of differing available nutrients and environmental conditions.

    I'm a big help, you can thank me later.

    Otherwise, remove all food sources by buying small portions, placing the leftovers in sealed plastic or meshed plastic with holes smaller than the fruit flies are.
  • hobbyhungry
    hobbyhungry Posts: 6
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    Check your house plants too, they like to hide in the pots.
  • RodaRose
    RodaRose Posts: 9,562 Member
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    Put the produce in the fridge or stop buying it for a while and they will go away.
  • rebprest
    rebprest Posts: 149 Member
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    If I put produce like potatoes and acorn squash in containers that are air-tight (gnat proof), won't they go bad quickly? They could be drain flies, they seem to like the bathroom as well, but they are obsessed with fruit.
  • Alluminati
    Alluminati Posts: 6,208 Member
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    If I put produce like potatoes and acorn squash in containers that are air-tight (gnat proof), won't they go bad quickly? They could be drain flies, they seem to like the bathroom as well, but they are obsessed with fruit.
    Potatoes should be kept in a cool dark place like a pantry or cellar. You can keep dry in a paper bag. The squash might be okay in the veg bin of your fridge.
  • Mrssammerlotte
    Mrssammerlotte Posts: 7 Member
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    If I put produce like potatoes and acorn squash in containers that are air-tight (gnat proof), won't they go bad quickly? They could be drain flies, they seem to like the bathroom as well, but they are obsessed with fruit.

    They sell a "green" solution for drain flies and it supposedly works well. It is called drain fly away I think.
  • laurennkarp
    laurennkarp Posts: 10 Member
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    We have drain flies/fruit flies that come and go; bleach down the drain helps. I find that, instead of apple cider vinegar, a fruit-juice + red wine combo filled half way up in a wine bottle does the trick/is a better trap. Hope that helps!
  • evie_wundt
    evie_wundt Posts: 33 Member
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    If they are fruit flies, here's what always works for me. Take a shot glass. Fill it 3/4 full with apple cider vinegar. Add 1 drop of dishwashing liquid to break the surface tension. Put it on a counter top in the kitchen. Count the kill the next day. :smile:

    Also, put the fruits and veggies in the frig for a couple of days. Refill the shot glass as it fills up with dead fruit flies.
  • ekat120
    ekat120 Posts: 407 Member
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    The ACV thing is the only thing that's ever worked for me (we use a plastic container with holes punched in the lid). And putting everything in the fridge. I've never heard of drain flies, but now I'm starting to wonder if that's what we had... :huh:
  • RodaRose
    RodaRose Posts: 9,562 Member
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    IF you do not want to keep the potatoes and acorn squash in the fridge right now, cook them and then put them in the fridge or freezer.

    Here is a way to determine if they are drain flies:
    http://www.howtocleanstuff.net/how-to-clean-a-kitchen-drain/

    Do not pour bleach or hot water down the drain. (See the link above -- that stuff can ruin the pipes.

    I tried this from that same link:
    Pour ice in the garbage disposal while the water is running. Sludge and dead flies will wash up into the sink.
  • kirky667
    kirky667 Posts: 2
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    Get these: http://www.amazon.com/Peak-Fresh-Re-Usable-Produce-Bags/dp/B001CPGYM0

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