293391 Sun Jul 06 14:59:04 -0700 2003 9 27 General Chowhounding Topics 0 1605207 Just came home to a bowl of swarming fruit flies buzzing around my still unripened fruit. Does anyone have a natural remedy to get rid of or repel these things? I want to leave my fruit out to ripen, but these flies are grossing me out! Sun Jul 06 14:59:04 -0700 2003 0 torta basilica 1 1605210 TB, I feel your pain. Alas I didn't think to post my question here and I must confess that I've thrown out more fruit in the last few days than I care to think about. I mean fruit flies on lemons? Ugh! Granted they were lemons that had been "zested". But still. Lemons?! Me hopes the sages of Chowland have some good answers. Sun Jul 06 16:08:12 -0700 2003 1605207 0 Dipsy 1 1605215 I have seen mesh tent-like covers for fruit bowls that at least keep the pests at a distance. The people that make Pantry Pest for repelling food moths make sticky yellow strips intended to catch white flies. These are a little less repulsive than fly paper and might work. I usually find that when the fruit flies gather there is at least one piece of quite ripe fruit in the bowl. Eliminating this has usually done the trick for me. Pat G. Sun Jul 06 16:37:01 -0700 2003 1605207 0 Pat Goldberg 1 1605216 this works Link: http://www.chowhound.com/boards/notfood/messages/12902.html Sun Jul 06 17:06:34 -0700 2003 1605207 0 drosophila 2 1605220 Use the trap with funnel, but use vinegar instead. That is the way labs do it. Sun Jul 06 18:08:45 -0700 2003 1605216 0 celeryroot 1 1605217 One of the bartenders at work did couple of things that seemed to help (the nasty little buggers love wine & liqueurs). She leaves a fan on with the reasoning that if they can't land, they can't lay eggs. She also mixes up a concoction of port, sugar, and maybe some other fruity wine, puts about half an inch of that in a glass, covers the glass with plastic wrap, and pokes a quarter inch or so hole. The fruit flies can't get back out after they've had their treat. She puts this in an area away from the fans. I don't know if you would necessarily have to do both parts. Death to fruit flies. Sun Jul 06 17:07:13 -0700 2003 1605207 0 babette feasts 1 1605241 A pest control retail outlet sold me a glue stick in a cardboard box to hang by the fruit. Worked beautifully. Well maybe not beautifully since you SEE the pests stuck on there, but it did work. Manufacturers web site below--Catchmasters.com. Link: http://www.catchmaster.com/refly.htm Mon Jul 07 07:46:18 -0700 2003 1605207 0 Coyote 1 1605244 Once you have eliminated the flies, in the future ripen your fruit in paper bags; not as pretty, but more functional.... Mon Jul 07 08:48:29 -0700 2003 1605207 0 Karl S. 1 1605258 I just happened to be reading on another site that says white wine works beautifully. Link: http://fuckcorporategroceries.net/archives/000213.html#000213 Mon Jul 07 11:50:33 -0700 2003 1605207 0 Artie 1 1605268 Thanks everyone - tried the wine bottle method with old chard & have many floaters - at least it was an enjoyable death! Mon Jul 07 13:18:13 -0700 2003 1605207 0 torta basilica