Last year, we suffered a scourge of wasps. This year, the infestation appears to be flies.
Not the big, fat black flies that herald the presence of Beelzebub, but the smaller, more obnoxious kind. And they brought their underage cousins, the fruit flies, to the party. It's like Satan Lite around here.
I've no idea where they're coming from, if it's just a seasonal thing or what. Having a toddler who likes to hide his snacks probably doesn't help, but the dog is pretty on top of that situation, so I'm sure it's not just us. But you can't exactly ask around about these things, because inquiring as to whether your neighbours are also suffering from these tiny winged demons is tantamount to admitting that you're the worlds worst housekeeper. Which I am. But I have a cleaning service for that.
(I apparently don't feel the same kind of shame about admitting these things to you guys, though. You all seem incapable of judging me. Some days, I thoroughly expect to be judged, and then you're all supportive and "Oh, NO, honey, EVERYBODY has gross kitchen sinks and mice and drinks too much wine. You're fine." I kind of wonder if you're just speaking gently to me like you would someone who was a little simple, or standing on a window ledge or holding a knife to a kittens throat.)
Anyway. We have those really classy sticky strips hanging everywhere, but mostly I'm just waiting it out. Because in a few weeks, the temperature will plummet and nothing but the crazy and the well-insulated will survive.
It's pretty much the only good thing about living here in the winter.
Monday, September 28, 2009
A pox! A pestilence! A lack of Raaaaiiiiid!
this drunken rambling by Keely at 5:44 AM
This post is possibly about: I'm a headcase , i'm a slacker , vermin
30 people talked back :
We have fruit fly infestations from time to time, but I know that those are due entirely to me not throwing out the rotten bananas.
I figure as long as it's not what we call horseflies (the poop-clingers), you're fine.
Usually they die out if I give my kitchen a good scrubbing with bleach. Then they mysteriously reappear like a week later. I've just about given up.
ALSO: on the geeky gaming mommy front: I got Aion Online yesterday and ended up playing for six hours straight- and I haven't done that in years. This game is pretty sweet. AND you get wings.
Ugh. We have the same problem. Where do they come from?! I'm just waiting for a good freeze to kill all of them.
I have those too. I left a plate with a little bit of ketchup on it out beside the sink yesterday and when I came home three hours later there were more little flies than in a rain forrest in here. Having an entirely WHITE kitchen doesn't help.
I have yet to be here in Houston a full year so am not sure if we have a Satan Lite season. I hope to God not because we have already gone through the Village of the Damn Ants season.
We get those sometimes and it drives me freakin' crazy. I use those bug bomb things to get rid of them. We don't have the cold here to kill them so a girls gotta do what a girls gotta do.
yuck! we have fruit flies here too lately. but with 6 kids my poor bananas don'[t even get a chance to go baddd so idk WHERE they come from....
We've had these on and off lately too. When I started, I think I brought them home with bananas because they showed up immediately. I haven't brought bananas home in weeks and I've still seen a few stragglers here and there. THEY SUCK and should die. Immediately. I see no purpose for them.
every once in a while the fruit flies stage a hostile takeover in my kitchen. They leave their little demon spawn on the windows, where it's warm. If you clean the windows good with windex (i know, i so don't do windows either) and get the spray that is specifically for flying insects it usually kills them off pretty well ;)
What is up with those little bastards this year? They keep my fish happy though. I knock them out of the air so they're still alive and kicking when I throw them in the fish tank. Then the fish act like little sharks circling in for the kill.
we have fruit flies here too. adn when the weather starts to get chilly the spiders like to come inside. That sucks but they are usually the small ones so I just flush them. I asked around tho, it happens to my neighbors too so I don't feel too awfully bad about it...
We had an attack at the park on Saturday. That meatball never saw it coming. Neither did the guy that ate the meatball after the fly had done its thing..
Well that was a new one and it came out in 91?
The fruit flies? Red Whine vingar, they dive? they drown they die!
The other black flies? leave them some beer, they dive they drink they get drunk the die!
The reason our comments are gentle and kind is because your audience would also rather use a computer vs a housework type appliance or cleaning instrument. We're not finding out kids hidden food either. We can't say a word...
We are overrun with flies as well. In fact there are 5 of them on my computer monitor as I type this. I hate the damn things....
I have had more flies than usual, too. (Thankfully it's not a full-fledged infestation yet.) I assumed there was something rotting in a hidden crevice somewhere.
we've had a lot of flies as well. but i have not sucummed to that fly paper, but I bet it works better then they way we are dealing with them. which involves me swatting at them and swearing a lot.
awww poor Keely! and we would never treat you like that, we have killer flies in SC too so you have my sympathy, although ours will last a little longer, 'cause it never really gets cold here....
And as for infestations my jobs gotta be the worst.. hmm maybe i should post about that and link to you! lol
North Carolina sucks for bugs! You can have houseflies at Christmas time!
Do those stupid fly strips work for you? We bought a ton of them for mosquitoes and all they managed to catch was dust and my furniture. That sticky shit is impossible to get off.
Good luck from a fellow bad housekeeper. I'd hire a maid but that would mean vacating the house during the day and I'm too lazy for that.
everyone in texas has bugs in their house. i'm sure that even the sophisticated eva longoria has sugar ants or some such insect breeding in a rarely used corner of her house. if you are lucky, you find them when they are small. or else you end up finding a texas sized cock roach in the bathroom. and let me tell you what about cock roaches, they are gross! but i don't need to tell you that. you have bugs in your house up yonder.
ok, that's one of the bad things about living in a warmer climate, the pests never go away. they fly slower.
eck...every kitchen I know around here has the dreaded fruit flies. A small dish of apple cider vinegar with a piece of plastic wrap over it (and small holes poked in it...I use a toothpick to make the holes) seems to help somewhat.
Nothing like seeing the buggers trapped and drowning...
That can't be the only good thing about winters there? Surely you have a good ice luge?
Honestly? I have fruit flies and a cleaning service. What were we posting about again?
We were given a wonderful bag full of the most delicious asian pears two weeks ago and within three days, we had a gazillion fruit flies. They were in almost every room of the house..just flip-flopin around and exploring in little swarms of ten at a time. I left out a small bowl of red wine - add in a little bit of a mixture of dish soap and water-cover with saran warp, with small holes in it and wah-lah!! I now only have little swarms of one or two in each room....and it's almost a game now for my son and I to CLAP them to death!
Random Tuesday yet?? I've got some and I'm waiting for your post!! It's a slow night at work. Weird, I know, but I like being random on Tuesdays so I love the thing you've got going with it... still waiting..
And yes, I'm aware it's only 1253AM!! At work... and bored :)
We have an infestation of fruit flies too. The best way to get rid of fruit flies is to mix a half cup of white vinegar, two tablespoons of sugar, and a tablespoon of liquid dish soap-not the dishwasher kind, the kind you use to hand wash dishes-and leave it out by your sink and anywhere else they seem to be congregating. They are attracted to the sugar and vinegar and the dish soap makes them stick to it and drown. When you mix it, mix it very slowly though cuz you don't want the dish soap to bubble. I find it to be highly effective and we use this remedy all the time. We get fruit flies a lot.
And don't feel bad, my kitchen sink is pretty scary. Hell, right now my whole house is scary. And no, I don't think you're simple or wielding a knife. ;-)
I've got the fruit fly infestation too. These are the two things that have always worked: 1: leave a bread bag open with a piece of bread in it all the way at the back. A piece of fruit helps but it's not necessary. They best way is to roll back the edges of the bag a little way. Leave it on the counter all night. If you can leave a small light on near the bag it'll help. The bag will lure all those nasty little flies in and they are quite happy until morning. In the morning be very careful not to disturb the bag until you're ready to snatch it closed. You have to be quick when grabbing it or they'll get out. Just tie up the bag and throw it away.
2: take an old water bottle and fill it about 3/4 of the way with apple cider vinegar and just leave it sit out (I put mine on the stove but had to remember to move it when I used the stove). Keep a lid for it so that you can put it on before you toss it. The fruit flies really love the vinegar they'll go in the bottle and drown in it. It takes longer but you don't have to be so sneaky you just have to wait on them. Plus you can stick it in a out of the way place like a window sill or something and it'll get them away from your food and dishes.
Sister, if you could see my house right now you'd feel like Suzy Effing Homemaker! (It seemed to have more impact when I said it like that.) Seriously. None of that coy, "Oh, I'm sorry my house is so messy!" when it's really pristinely clean except for the open magazine on the coffee table!
We, too, have the fruit fly infestation. Ugh! They drive me crazy. I swear I'm going to have to kill each one by hand! (Although I'm trying that vinegar thing STAT) Besides the classic fly swatter technique, I also use the Windex method. I spray them out of the air and/or drown them where they stand. Since it's a cleaning product, I figure my bug killing is doing double duty...
Apparently we live in the same house. The first year it was lady bugs. The second year it was flying ants that looked like they came from the stone age. Now, it's bees. Thankfully I have a husband with a pesticide license who can spray the crud out of the unsuspecting suckers.
Just found your blog, and all I have to say is thank God I'm not the only one! I have tons of these stupid fruit flies and can't get rid of them. I can empty the trash every few hours. I just want them to all die.
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