So I just finished my kegerator last weekend in the garage and now there are fruit flies all over the place! I’ve seen the plugs for the taps, which I plan on getting, but is there anything you recommend for eradicating the population?
Best thing to do is get rid of what is attracting them. If it is the kegerator, clean it very well and clean any spilled beer right away.
Build a few traps like these to catch what is there. I use mason jars and use the ring to hold the plastic wrap on. Make a Vinegar Trap to Get Rid of Fruit Flies
They make Faucet Caps that are fairly effective. And also Cheap. ID get 1 for each tap and put it on right after pouring.
You either need to completely eliminate what’s attracting them (quit drinking) or accept them. I have accepted them as a source of protein in glasses of melomel in the summer. They’re actually quite pretty.
Seriously, i bring out the compost way more in the summer and try to clean up spills of anything sweet right away. Definitely cover taps, food scraps. Liquor, fruit etc. put anything you can in the fridge.
This works quite well. Another step is to have sanitizer ready and when you pull the plug out of the faucet dip it into sanitizer.
+2. Yep, cheap and effective :
EDIT - At the end of the night I spray out the faucet opening and the plug with Starsan too. Helps keep the beer tasting clean.
I used the faucet caps for a while. I started to notice them smelling funky from sitting over night without any air flow so I stopped using them.
I’ve been dealing with fruit flies as well. I set up apple cider vinegar traps, which helps a lot. Also I hunted them down with a spray bottle and sprayed them so they can’t fly, then I kill them. I cleaned everything in my kitchen with clorox bleach wipes and too all fruit off the counter and put into the fridge. Also, if there’s any garbage or a trash can that isn’t fully enclosed sitting around, that attracts them too.
I had an infestation in a basement floor drain once. It took quite a while to get that stopped. Being that your fridge is in the garage you may just need to deal with them but if you can find the source of new flies and kill them off it will help a lot.
Paul
I don’t have a major fruitfly problem, but when they do periodically show up but since I like fresh fruit bht generally hate it when it is refrigerated, they do show up now and again.
I do the following and it works like a charm:
–fill a small jar or a small bown about 1/4 full of vinegar…sprinkle in a little bit of dry yeast, and cover the container with clear plastic wrap with some holes poked into the plastic. They get attracted to this solution, find their way in (through the holes) have their last meal, and can’t manage to get out. This has worked quite effectively for me for more than 35 years.
Now if I can only get rid of the groundhogs that are tunneling around my house. :-
Suggestions are welcome.
I’ve read and tried dozens of solutions to the fruit fly issues over the years-every year my wife laughs at me when I read a thread like this and try something different, something that invariably fails to attract and kill my fruit flies. So in the spirit of consistency I’ll try the vinegar and yeast route this year.
I forgo plastic wrap and put a little dab of soap in the attractant liquid. That kills the surface tension and the drown in the liquid. I find beer or cider that has Sat open for a few days works the best. It probably picks up some airborne bugs and I think they are attracted to active biological activity.
Or wine. But I don’t like red wine because I can’t see what’s been caught. Or stout I suppose.
I haven’t used it on ground hogs but it works great for ground squirrels.
Get a flexible metal dryer vet tube and some large diameter plastic tubing (2" or so). Connect the 2 with tape (silver duct work sealing tape - not duct tape, would probably work but not what I use) and park your vehicle by one of the holes. Insert plastic tube in the hole and connect the metal dryer duct to the exhaust pipe of the car. A large hose clamp comes in handy. Start the car and then start filling other holes the critters might escape through. After about 30 minutes to an hour remove the pipes and fill the last hole. No muss, no fuss. Repeat until you get all of them.
My sister-in-law has been using corn soaked in anti-freeze. She says it has been very effective.
Paul
Fruit flies, ground hogs…I periodically have a scorpion show up at our house. That makes the fruit flies seem minor!
Better knock on wood, you have other, far nastier, things in FL that could wind up in your house.
Yes, I’ve seen my share of rattlesnakes around the neighborhood. Or are you referring to sharks, alligators, or wild bore?
the snakes are the ones that ive read funky stories about. Babies sleeping in garden hoses, crawling up pipes etc. Ill take them fruit flies any day!