AWhilst the battle against fruit flies in our kitchen was far from over, my wife was in tears. Not only because the balance of power in this struggle was unfairly distributed. The two of us faced a small army of fruit flies, which, when we thought we had finally got the upper hand, miraculously multiplied and fought back. Like an overpowering enemy who just couldn’t be killed.
In desperation, we had used multiple weapons: an orange studded with cloves, a bowl of balsamic vinegar, juice, and dish soap, and two of those yellow sticky tapes dangling from the ceiling. These sticky fly traps are really nasty and should be handled with care. Because not only flies get stuck on it. One day my wife got her hair caught in that thing. A little tip: In such a situation it is better not to start laughing. Because the hair could no longer be detached from the sticky layer. The only thing left was to grab the kitchen scissors.
vinegar and dish soap
The fruit flies may have been happy about this ground gain. But all the more bitterly we went into battle. The orange with cloves, a tip from the internet, turned out to be a flop. The effect was even counterproductive: the sweet smell attracted the flies in the first place. Once I observed several fruit flies leisurely strolling over the bowl.
The vinegar and dishwashing liquid recipe proved to be the only effective remedy. Our enemies threw themselves into the tincture in droves and drowned. However, the fluid needs to be changed regularly. And, of course, eliminate as many sources as possible where the fruit flies feel particularly comfortable: fruit peels, organic waste, etc. If that doesn’t work either, there is only one thing left to do: wait for winter.