What's the best (and least toxic) way to get rid of fruit flies?

Probably fungus gnats… yellow sticky traps are supposed to work, although I haven’t had great luck w/them.

They could also be white flies. Paint a small piece of glass or clear plastic yellow. Let dry and coat both sides with vaseline. Stick discretely in the soil of the infected plants. Flies should stick to the sticky surfaces of glass.

If the plants aren’t too huge, put them outside and spray with a fine stream of water. Or, put in sink and use the sprayer device.

At some point, you may have to toss the diseased plants and start with fresh ones.

Put the fruit in the fridge. The fruit flies will die off in several hours. Profit, and clean up the bodies.

Experience.

I fail. I didn’t read the description, and I often chew other jellies out for doing the same thing. /redface

@squirbel: She might need a truly gigantic fridge. Even my medium-sized plants in the living room would fill my 30 cc ft. one

They are fungus gnats. They lay eggs in the soil, and the larvae eat the decaying material, as well as root hairs of the plant. We have had them for almost a year now, and they are miserable things. They’ll get right in your face. I guess they like the smell of the breath?

For starters you can reduce their numbers by not watering as often, letting the soil dry out between uses. Diatomaceous earth works, but it’s messy and unattractive. I have controlled them, but not eliminated them using mosquito dunks. Mosquito dunks are available in most garden centers, and have a bacteria that kills mosquitoes. It also kills fungus gnats. To do this I break a mosquito dunk in half and put it in a gallon jug of water. I keep the water out of the sun to help keep the microbes it releases alive longer.

Knock out Gnats was developed because the fungus gnats began to develop a resistance to the mosquito dunks.. You can buy knock out gnats on the internet, which is supposed to work better than the mosquito dunks.

Your last option is to use shiny white cards that are coated with glue. When the gnats alight on them, they get stuck. Many greenhouses use these because they are simple, effective, and cheap.

I suggest a combination of these. Here are a few links.

Knock out gnats: http://www.gardensalive.com/article.asp?ai=614

Mosquito Dunks http://www.planetnatural.com/site/mosquito-dunks.html

1) Place fruit fly in space between hands.
2) Bring hands together rapidly. (Note: if done correctly, hands will make a clapping sound.)
3) Open hands to see if dead fruit fly now rests on one hand or both hands.
4) If not, return to step 1 and repeat.

@syz I use this fake apple trap. They sell them pretty cheap at my local ACE Hardware.

They work very well!

Fruit flies and fungus gnats are not the same. If you look closely, fungus gnats are black and rather gaunt looking, while fruit flies are lighter in color. Fruit flies rest on fruit when not flyiing, and don’t get in your face. Here are pictures.

Fruit fly: http://www.news.wisc.edu/newsphotos/gompel.html

Fungus gnat: http://www.learn2grow.com/problemsolvers/insectsanimals/insectdamagecontrol/fungusgnats.aspx

I have the answer! I am so excited that I can help you with this one. Put a cup of water with vinegar and a drop of dish soap in it on the counter or table in the room where you are having the problem. All the fruit flies just fly in all on their own and drown. It really works! We had fruit flies in our office once and my co-worker knew of this trick. We left the cup out overnight, and the next morning it was filled with the little buggers.

@Skaggfacemutt has a good suggestion. You can also substitute vinegar with any sweet beverage, like kool aid.

We tried fruit juice – they didn’t pay any attention to it. They go for the vinegar though. There wasn’t a single fruit fly left in the office after we did this. And the vinegar water was so full of dead bodies that it looked like someone shook a bunch of pepper into it.

apple cider vinegar works even quicker ;) but they prefer it in a trap or just the right kinda plate/saucer…otherwise, they can just go down & drink it and not drown in it

@Skaggfacemutt Interesting. It worked on the fruit fly infestation at my house. Maybe we had different varieties of flies or something.

Fungus gnats are attracted to light. That’s why the sticky strips designed to catch them are bright white.

@SpatzieLover We just put it in a plastic cup, about ¾ full. I think we did use apple cider vinegar.

I just read that you can kill them with cinnamon. Give it a try. Here’s a link. http://www.helpfulgardener.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=12955

I have them too, and they will not only annoy you to death, but kill your plants by eating up the little root hairs that take up nutrients for the plant.

@snowberry Huh! Wouldn’t that be cool – I’ll give it a try. Thanks!

Has anyone mentioned using a domesticated and indoor bat? He eats his weight in tiny insects several times a day.

@gailcalled I adore bats, but they are “kill on site” for Animal Control here (rabies is considered epidemic here) and I doubt our clientele would appreciate them.

@syz:How dreadful. Here we cherish them.

I have had a resident bat in my garage over the years but haven’t seen him in a while. I miss him.

“Domesticated bat”, what a thought! Reminds me of another incongruity- “military intelligence”.