Spring has come early to our corner of the world.
The tulips are brilliant.
Clematis vines are six inches long, peony plants are a foot high.
Pansies in bloom.
Wild Violets going crazy.
Even my neighbor's flowering tree is going at it.
But, as always, there is a downside to all of this great warmth and beautiful sights.
The return of the Fruit Fly.
These little flies come along and take over the kitchen. If you do nothing, they multiply fast. I hate having fifty or more buzzing around my head.
These things live for a day or so and must get a lot of stuff done. However, I have a solution that works for me. It involves a little red wine or white wine and red kool-aid as well as some dish-washing liquid. I do not know why they love red wine but the husband has to be careful with open bottles.
The trap.
Now we wait. It takes a while for one, then another, then another to gather on the bowl, take a drink and realize they cannot get up. Perhaps they are too drunk to fly and fall in, perhaps the dish soap make their little legs stuck.
See those black dots? Those are the fallen.
Before you know it the dish will have 20, 30 40 fruit flies in it. The dish will be disgusting and I will clean it out. Then I will set it up all over again.
How do you get rid of fruit flies?
I don’t have that problem here in PA. We have to deal with tics and stink bugs. And just regular flys. And there’s not much you can do with any of them other than to make sure the screen doors are shut. All bugs are a nuisance. Your’ flowers are gorgeous though!
We use fly paper in the summer because the kids are in and out so much.
The birds must have read your post – been watching flock after flock fly over for a couple of days…of course that means mosquitoes here – and these nasty little no-seeums (tiny tiny black biting bugs I am really allergic to). I like your wine-trap idea!
I hate the no-see-ums. They show up at the end of summer in my neck of the woods.
What a great way to get rid of flies! I generally don’t have a terrible problem with them, but this is good to know.
Gorgeous flowers! Spring is early in NY too, but we’re not quite as far along as you. Beautiful. Flowers paint the world pretty.
We have had some 80 degree days which has pushed plants farther than they should be right now.
Death by red wine. What an elegant way to go! I’ll have to remember that. Wonder if it would work for slugs, too. Those are a big pain around here.
Slugs, strangely enough, prefer beer. Put a shallow bowl in the garden and leave it there for a day. The slugs have a kegger and you can get rid of the dead bodies.
I’ll take the tulips, thank you! I hate flies, in any form! Alaska has HUGE flies, not sure why, but it is one of the surprising negatives about that state. But spring is lovely, isn’t it? Worth waiting for! ~ Sheila
I did not know that about Alaska – in regards to the flies. So what flowers do you have in the spring?
those tulips are GORGEOUS!! As always, loving your posts!
Thanks for the tip. Those buggers are annoying. As a Buddhist, I shouldn’t be in the business of killing things, but maybe is they die drinking a good rd wine, it’s not all bad…