We have them at the house and at work. They are truly a pest and most bothersome not to mention nasty. Actually they are fruit flies.
They seem more prevalent this time of year for some reason and I assume it is because of all the fresh fruit available at the market and that one has brought home i.e., bananas, peaches, grapes, onions, etc. I think they get in potted plants also.
I managed to get three of them last night in the kitchen by popping them with a wet dish rag. Most folks use a dish cloth but its a dish rag to me. They were on the kitchen window and it was near dusk with the window providing the only light coming inside the house.
One can use insecticides but I do not care to spray that stuff in my kitchen. ##M:[more]#
The fruit fly is common around food that can rot, spoil, or ferment. They breed in drains, garbage disposals, empty bottles, trash cans, sour mops and even yeast products.
Youve seen the cartoons of drunks with the little flies flying around? That is the fruit fly going for the yeast in the alcohol fumes
yuck.
Go to the grocery store and check out the numerous fruit flies around the onions, potatoes and other products. One can lay about 500 eggs and go from egg to adult in a week. They are most plentiful as they breed like a virus. These creatures lay eggs that hatch into what is known as little maggots.
When your produce is ripened, it should be eaten, discarded or refrigerated. Now you know why you want to wash your fruit before you eat it.
You can make a trap for the little creatures by making a paper funnel and place it over a jar with bait consisting of cider vinegar or a slice of banana in the bottom.
Or tape a clear plastic bag over the sink hole over night. If any are breeding in the drain, the adults will emerge and be caught in the bag.
Enough already.
As usual, Four Dog was resting on his belly watching out the sliding glass door as I sat in my rocker and read. The first growl is usually not something that causes me to look but he did it again. Shortly, he did it again so I couldnt stand it, I had to look. I looked hard too and could not find out what was causing him to take notice.
Finally I looked down close to the door and by the mower. There was a plastic bag of bird seed and inside the bag was a dove. Not one dove but two. I was going to wait until the Mrs. came home and let her see, but thought maybe Id better let them out. Sure enough they fluttered their wings wildly but could not escape the bag as I picked it up slowly.
Not wanting them to break a wing or anything, I tore the bag and reached in grabbing one of the dove.
As I got the second dove out of the bag I put it down and let Four Dog take a sniff. He had no interest so I gently tossed the dove into flight.