Fruit flies!!!

[Awaken]

Any tips for getting rid of a fruit fly infestation?  We had them in the past, and I put out some homemade fruit fly catchers (long necked bottles with juice or apple cider vinegar in them, they get attracted to the liquid, fall in and drown), and they went away.  Now a few years later, we got them in the fall, I did the homemade traps, it did no good whatsoever.  I got store bought traps thinking they were somehow stronger or different, and guess what, they are little decorative containers with apple cider vinegar in them!  They were swarming absolutely everywhere, I was constantly swatting them, and I felt like my kitchen was an episode of "kitchen nightmares".

We assumed with winter coming the cold would kill them off and we'd be ok.  Well, it never did get cold this winter :(  We had a couple 30 degree days but nothing sustained.  It's gotten warm again and they are back :(  I put out a bunch of containers of ACV and they're being caught, and perhaps the population is being kept at bay, but they aren't being reduced or eliminated by any means.  They're now in pretty much every room in the house.  I'm so tired of seeing these guys buzz past my face all day.

I put all food away as soon as possible, wash all dishes as soon as I can, don't leave empty beer bottles or recycling in the kitchen, put away the kitchen rags and sponges.  But with multple kids and always needing to rush out somewhere there is always a time I can't do the dishes immediately, or there is always some source of moisture.

What else can I do?  everything I've read online suggests the homemade traps.  Where else could they be breeding, that I"m missing?  Would an exterminator do anything different that would be worth paying to have someone come in? 

[LISSA~K]

What works for me is to leave out a bowl of apple cider vinegar with just a few drops of dish soap added to the top. I'm not sure if you just did the ACV plain, but the dish soap breaks the surface tension. Also pouring boiling water down all household drains at least once a day until they are under control. Good luck!

[Awaken]

Thank you!  I forgot about the dish soap and boiling water.  I put some drops in and I see them all floating to the bottom of the ACV but I'm not sure yet if more are being caught!  We shall see.

I will do the drains with boiling water and see if that helps- that is one of the only areas I haven't treated yet, so maybe that will do the trick! 

[ashleyhaugh]

My grandpa is a plumber, and he told my sister to pour bleach down the drains, and then seal them overnight with plastic wrap or something else air tight, and it helps a lot, because they cant get back out of the drains

[lunarlady]

If you have houseplants that can be a problem area because they will breed in the damp soil. If it is warm enough, put the plants outside for a couple weeks while you fight the infestation. Also, a small piece of banana in a bottle with holes poked in the lid works great as a trap. Good luck!