Comment on Broken Toys 50 by TaralWayne
I use something like a Tupperware box, but it was bought from a dollar store, and even though the lid is fairly tight, it apparently has gaps somewhere along the lid because the damned flies still get in! I've tried putting a weight on the lid, but it doesn't seem to be enough to close the gap, wherever it is.
Plate of vinigar? Do you leave it out on the kitchen counter or in the bread box near the bread?
Plate of vinigar? Do you leave it out on the kitchen counter or in the bread box near the bread?
Kitchen counter. (I have a little trap device that has a cover for a cup of vinegar and a lot of funnel-shaped holes to let them in and make it difficult to get out).
Actually, without bread available, they seem to be going away.
They will come back (could be a slovenly neighbor, sometimes they breed in the dirt in a houseplant.) A saucer may do. Again, a tiny amount of soap to lower the surface tension too.
I think you mean vinegar flies or fruit flies. I had that notion, but the article on Wikipedia wasn't much help. It said nothing about getting rid of them. I'm also a bit puzzled because they fed mainly on decomposing vegetable matter, and I don't usually have much of that around the house. What I do produce I usually tie up in a plastic bag before depositing in the trash bin. Of course, insects are far more sensitive to odours than we are, and the 47 molecules that escape the knot may be more than enough to attract a blizzard of fruit flies. It doesn't really matter if they can't get at the stuff and all starve.
I have been confusing these with the real pest, however. Which is a tinier insect that sometimes comes in flour or meal. It doesn't fly, it's dark brown or black, very slim and only about 1 mm. long. They just crawl, but that's good enough for them to get into any sort of bread box I've tried so far. I've taken to keeping my flour in the freezer to keep them out, and have gone back to putting the breadbox back in the fridge. My home-made bread should really be eaten within three days, anyway, so the cool environment doesn't affect the bread all that much unless I've let it sit longer than I should. Still, if the damn beetles, whatever they are, ever disappear, I'll try bringing the bread out again.
I have been confusing these with the real pest, however. Which is a tinier insect that sometimes comes in flour or meal. It doesn't fly, it's dark brown or black, very slim and only about 1 mm. long. They just crawl, but that's good enough for them to get into any sort of bread box I've tried so far. I've taken to keeping my flour in the freezer to keep them out, and have gone back to putting the breadbox back in the fridge. My home-made bread should really be eaten within three days, anyway, so the cool environment doesn't affect the bread all that much unless I've let it sit longer than I should. Still, if the damn beetles, whatever they are, ever disappear, I'll try bringing the bread out again.
For crawling bugs, perhaps diatomaceous earth or boric acid powder.
It's a thought... I might still have some around from the old days when there were enough cockroaches to worry about. So far, though, the number of flies and little crawling flour bugs has fallen ... maybe even to zero. The question now might be, "when is it safe to bring the bread out?
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Probably after an extremely thorough kitchen cleaning with bleach.
Although if they're breeding in a neighbor's apartment, it may be a never-ending battle.
Although if they're breeding in a neighbor's apartment, it may be a never-ending battle.
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Would a small saucer of vinegar do? I presume they get stuck and drown?