Somehow I have been plagued with a hoard of fruit flies, hundreds of them. Not sure where they came from or what attracted them, there's no food left out or anything, and other than the occasional slobbish phase I keep a clean house. Maybe a grape rolled up under the stove at some point? Even still you'd have a hard time convincing me that that supports a colony of this magnitude.


Anyway, I have been consumed with ridding myself of them. My first attempts at sneaking up and surprising groups of them with the apocalyptic vortex at end of my vacuum hose proved only mildly successful. I got a little smarter and cut a piece of cantaloupe to attract them, waited until they grouped on it, then hit them with the vacuum. This was a slightly better method, but still largely inadequate.

Then came the genius. A friend informed me that fruit flies can not fly directly vertical. Another friend clued me in to the fact that they're attracted to light beer. Using this information I devised a trap: I sacrificed an ounce or so of PBR to the bottom of a tall, untapered glass. I made a funnel out of paper with the small opening just large enough for a fruit fly to crawl through. I lowered the funnel into the glass so that the tip was just above the surface of the beer, and sealed the top to the rim of the glass with tape.

BINGO. Within a half-hour about 100 of those little shits were trapped inside, some had drowned and some were crawling around on the outside of the funnel. I waited a little longer, then used a knife to pry open the seal at the top of the funnel...where awaited the angel of death, aka the Eureka.


Will update with final result and analysis


$1

12/17/2008 11:12:03 PM

I will post in your thread.

12/17/2008 11:12:48 PM

spectacularrrrrrrrr!!

12/17/2008 11:15:17 PM

Finally putting that NCSU education to good use!

12/17/2008 11:16:10 PM

summary:

I have a shitload of fruit flies in my house. First I tried getting them with a vacuum.

Then I said "Come on guys, we're in our 20's."

So I used light beer.

12/17/2008 11:16:28 PM

plz post pics

12/17/2008 11:17:23 PM

Or you could have just googled it and clicked on the first site.

http://www.wikihow.com/Get-Rid-of-Fruit-Flies

Quote :

" Make a funnel trap: Make a cone out of the sheet of paper (like a funnel). Tape the outside of the cone so that it stays in place. Check that the cone fits snugly into a glass or cup. Cut off the tip of the cone so that you now have a funnel. Pour a small amount of cider vinegar into the glass or cup. (Rum mixed with orange juice also works very well - additionally, a half teaspoon of baker's yeast in water can also suffice) Insert the funnel into the glass or cup, but don't let the bottom of the funnel touch the liquid. Tape the funnel in two or three places from the outside so that there is no gap between the glass and the cone. Place your newly created trap on a flat surface. The flies will be attracted by the smell of the fruity vinegar and fly into the cone. The flies will slip down the cone and will either land in the vinegar and drown or will be trapped and not able to get back out. If you leave the trap overnight, the trapped fruit flies will eventually fall into the vinegar and drown. "

12/17/2008 11:18:40 PM

Quote :

"FRUIT FLY CARNAGE!"

12/17/2008 11:18:41 PM

hope you took pics

if not gtfo

12/17/2008 11:19:52 PM

I like 3 best:

Quote :

"Make a plastic zip lock bag trap: Place a few slices of an apple inside a zip lock bag Leave an inch open to allow pests to enter. The little pests will soon be on and surrounding the apple. Zip the bag closed and crush each one with your fingertips. "

12/17/2008 11:21:51 PM

i was plagued by these guys a couple months ago, i just sprayed them with bathroom cleaner and they all died, simple as that.

12/17/2008 11:25:37 PM

S its basically the same thing as those hanging japanese beetle traps?

12/17/2008 11:26:29 PM

Before I leave work they always sit out a small glass of beer and soap. I've seen it work for Lauren before. But the funnel is a nice idea.

12/17/2008 11:37:52 PM

hah never even looked at google

anyway, pics


The problem:





The solution:





The demise:





*the tape around the bottom of the funnel is sticky-side-out and was to hopefully catch any of the trapped flies that stumbled upon the point of entry. I was hoping they'd stick to it instead of accidentally crawling out. They don't stick but an insignificant amount, if any, actually ever crawl out


$1

[Edited on December 18, 2008 at 12:02 AM. Reason : asdf]

12/17/2008 11:48:42 PM

haha, that's awesome

12/18/2008 12:06:49 AM

Quote :

"I sacrificed an ounce or so of PBR"

12/18/2008 12:08:20 AM

nice but I was expecting more flys

[Edited on December 18, 2008 at 12:09 AM. Reason : a]

12/18/2008 12:09:00 AM

nah bro, thats 100% green renewable technology. that PBR is still good

I'm Big Business and i approved this message.

12/18/2008 12:09:33 AM

$1

12/18/2008 12:10:01 AM

Fruit flies are THE WORST... I was plagued a couple months back... most unpleasant!

Congratulations on your successful attempt at getting rid of them.

12/18/2008 12:12:01 AM

that's a nice vacuum cleaner.

12/18/2008 12:13:13 AM

Quote :

"nice but I was expecting more flys"

I snapped those pics right after I sucked the first batch out of the trap, the thunderous rumble from the vacuum always scatters them around the house. But have no fear for I have built it...and they will come.


$1

12/18/2008 12:13:29 AM

A fly was very close to being called a land, because that's what it does half the time.

$1

[Edited on December 18, 2008 at 12:15 AM. Reason : .]

12/18/2008 12:14:46 AM

this is working beautifully


$1

12/18/2008 3:37:02 AM

cute

now how will you actually rid yourself of the problem?

unless you like devising schemes like this

12/18/2008 7:56:30 AM

The cup trick works even better when you put it in the microwave and fry those suckers. It takes about 2 seconds and they start dropping.

12/18/2008 8:15:16 AM

when I had that problem, I put a fresh banana in the oven and left the door open over night. when i came back in the morning, that fucker was covered in fruit flies....so i closed the oven door and went Adolf on those bastards. No more fruit flies.

12/18/2008 8:15:32 AM

my favorite part was how you laid on the floor specifically to get a dramatic shot of your vacuum

[Edited on December 18, 2008 at 8:28 AM. Reason : also its gonna be gross when you have to clean out the canister]

12/18/2008 8:27:43 AM

POM?


dude.

12/18/2008 8:28:44 AM

Quote :

"Quote : "I sacrificed an ounce or so of PBR" "

x2

[Edited on December 18, 2008 at 8:51 AM. Reason : ]

12/18/2008 8:50:40 AM

Quote :

"i was plagued by these guys a couple months ago, i just sprayed them with bathroom cleaner and they all died, simple as that."

i had a similar situation and used a similar solution. the trouble was eggs were laid when i was killing the actual flies so new ones would appear later on. however i eventually read online that fruit flies mate daily and that it takes them 30 minutes to do so. i just hung out in the kitchen until i saw them prepare their mating ritual (the guy sits out with wings vibrating which creates a noise that attracts the females) and i sprayed every female that came near or clapped them in my hands. once the ones that were flying to the ones vibrating were all gone i then went for the males.

12/18/2008 9:32:10 AM

$1

12/18/2008 12:55:00 PM

This thread should not have been NEAR as entertaining as it actually was.

12/18/2008 1:00:18 PM

Quote :

"I sacrificed an ounce or so of PBR"

I'm sorry for your loss *3

12/18/2008 1:55:19 PM

12/18/2008 1:58:07 PM

Just remember, you will NEVER get that PBR back again! It's heart breaking

12/18/2008 2:01:19 PM

the obvious solution is a flamethrower

12/18/2008 2:53:33 PM

A flame thrower would be amazing, but like the bug killer solution it's too easy. I do indeed enjoy inventing little traps. I'm watching my buddy's kitten for a few days and she's having a blast catching the little fuckers. There are only a few left flying around anyway, eventually they too shall die. Then I just have to wait for the eggs to hatch


$1

12/18/2008 3:49:28 PM

12/18/2008 3:55:38 PM

^ speakin' of fly...



$1

12/18/2008 4:30:04 PM

haaaay boo

I'm still waiting to braid yo hair

12/18/2008 4:31:06 PM

they like grape juice, with a little bit of banana in the bottom too! or if you have bread yeast, fix some of that up into peanut butter consistency and put it in the bottom of the trap.

i used to work in scientific research. animal of choice: fruit flies cause they make lots of babies real quick. and to kill them, you can put them to sleep with CO2, and then dump them into jars of ethanol. then they die happy.

I'VE KILLED MILLIONS I TELL YOU!!!

[Edited on December 18, 2008 at 5:45 PM. Reason : m]

12/18/2008 5:44:14 PM

yeah I did my time with fruit fly genetics in high school...i'd have been fine if i never saw another after that

though it is kinda funny that i keep noticing the differences in their phenotype and trying to do little punnet squares in my head

right before i smite them



$1

12/18/2008 5:52:33 PM

Epic win.

12/18/2008 7:09:54 PM

$1

12/18/2008 7:31:27 PM

$1

12/19/2008 12:17:39 AM

nice to finally see pics.

$2

12/19/2008 12:21:37 AM

there were a bunch of fruit flies at pbs last night, and cup a joe, maybe its the weather

12/19/2008 10:38:05 AM

Nearly a month after making this thread, they have not returned. I am victorious.


$1

1/8/2009 6:31:03 AM

ytmnd

1/8/2009 6:55:38 AM