Rotten little bizatches. I know from wence they came and am working on
the problem…but dang I did not want, need, nor ask for this …grrrrr.
Little cellophane jars of beer with pencil lead holes sittin around trapping flies…
And I just started an Ale fermenting from brewday yesterday…fingers crossed
I can feel your frustration. I have stink bugs and fruit flies. >:(
Make a bottle trap
Put a piece of fruit inside a bottle. Make a paper cone with a small hole in the bottom. Put a paper cone inside the mouth of the bottle. It should have the pointed end face down. The fruit flies will enter the cone through the large end by the mouth of the bottle and find their way through the hole into the bottle. They will not be able to get out.
Make a bowl trap
- Put a piece of old skinless fruit and some wine, or some balsamic vinegar in a bowl (think like the flies: what do you want for dinner?).
Cover the bowl tightly (no wrinkles) with plastic wrap.Poke many small holes in the plastic with a fork. The fruit flies go in and can’t get out (if the holes are too big they will fly back out). Then you can release them outside.
I had a little problem earlier this year with something that came in with new house-plants. My beer was ok, but I left a fermenter out after draining it and unbeknown to me one got in before I snapped the lid down. When I pried up the lid a week later (procrastinator) the little sucker was in there. No maggots thank god but the fly had grown. It was an obese little fly and probably couldn’t fly at all lol.
It was like some sort of mutant fly.
Sometimes these pests invade. I look for a source and remove any opportunity for them to feed. I also halt my brewing until the situation is resolved. As an ex-bartender I can tell you they can wreak havoc and get absolutely everywhere. Thankfully it’s only happened a couple times at home and no brew was ruined!
Got the source, a trash can that SHMBO uses to glean uneaten particulates from the bird cage…
they got the name Foul for a real reason…now we just work on cleaning up the collateral flies.
+1 for the bottle trap. A mason jar, a couple slices of banana, and a paper cone is all it takes.
Tried a thousand different tricks when we had them last summer but I think the method that killed the most was standing in the kitchen by the window and smashing the bastards when they landed on the window, which they did somewhat constantly. To paraphrase the ancient Hebrews, Saul has killed his thousands, but Neuf has killed his tens of thousands!
Keep fruit refrigerated, seek out anything that may harbor moisture (drains, trash, etc) and good luck.
That’s all good, till Saul gets ticked off, and tries to whack you cause he jealous! ;D (just sayin, it’s what happened in the Bible.)
I thought about putting my bananas in the fridge, then thought no…put it in the microwave…
that ought to keep the lil bastages away from the fruit…after all even a microwave should not be able to get in or out…
ha ha ha…opened the door this am …and bzzzzzzzz 1st thing out…a dang fruit fly…so I peeled and ate the fruit
and froze the peeling n the freezer…dang rigamarole…
BTW, I put the cell phone in the microwave, closed the door, and called the phone from another phone in the house,
The microwaves do NOT get past the door and the phone does NOT ring… 
a good test of your microwave doors seal.
Just don’t turn on the oven and fry yer phone… :
WTF!!! Fruit flies really? If they were endangered…
LOL
;D
.
By the way, I use amonia free window cleaner. Wider spread than a fly swatter and I clean the window in the process.
I’ve had great success removing them with a vacuum cleaner.
I have issues with fruit flies in the summer. Never had a problem with brews - everything kept under airlock with vodka (if they do get in I get sterile drowned flies), and I make sure to have open containers well away from where the flies are.
Fruit flies can not tolerate Co2 so there is no risk of infection while fermentation is taking place. They also can’t swim through vodka or water so there is no way they can get in an airlock. What they can do is lay their larvae under the bucket lid and the larvae can get in under the bucket lid. And if the lid is not sealed very tight, or has an older seal, the flies can get in as well. But I have never lost a beer to fruit flies in an airlock sealed carboy. Can’t say the same thing about buckets.
I always liked the vinegar trap with a bit of soap in a dish. The critters go for the vinegar and they can’t escape the surface tension of the soap and they drown. Since we’re homebrewers we probably should be using malt vinegar.
I also moved my fermentations out into the cooler garage…methinks they like warm climates better
than 60 degrees f ambient
Or worse!
You know the old joke…“Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana.”
I have found them floating in my airlocks…dead but nonetheless carrying beer-infecting baddies.
As some added protection to your brew (or at least a little more peace of mind), slip a women’s ankle-length hose (aka “nylons”) over your air lock; pull it down to the neck of the carboy and rubber band it into place.
A pair of hose in a nice nude shade should look smashing this time of year…
You beat me to it. I’ll post anyway:
You know what they say - time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like Isoamyl Acetate.
Thank you, thank you, I’m here all night, tip your waitresses, try the veal!