Tuesday, November 02, 2010

Vinegar does the trick…

There are many varieties of flies that belong to the Drosophilidae family, some causing economic devastation to agriculture, some being the go-to organism for genetic researchers, and some just being a minor nuisance in the kitchen.

They are fairly far down on the list of Insects I Do Not Tolerate. I probably wouldn’t do much about them except I find it annoying to have them hovering around my mouth when I am trying to eat salad, or fruit, or my Sunday morning omelet dressed with salsa on the side. 

The other night I think I may have swallowed one that got too close to the vegetables I was eating, coated as they were with a bit of Italian dressing.

Always on the look out for organic and non-lethal-to-human means of ridding the house of unwanted insect pests, as summer drew to a close, I had considered trying to persuade a hummingbird not to leave and instead to spend the winter in my house eating the fruit flies.

But then my brilliant friend Judy told me to leave out a small bowl of vinegar with a few drops of dish-washing liquid in it.

That will do the trick, she says. Promise.

They will come to the vinegar and will drown.

She was right. It is working.

On occasion, one can attract more flies with vinegar than with honey.

5 comments:

The Weaver of Grass said...

How interesting.
We coax wasps into a mixture of jam and water in a jar and they drown - I suppose it is the same idea. Little flies are often just as much of a nuisance as the big ones.

Oklahoma Granny said...

I'm going to have to give that a try. Thanks for sharing the tip.

Maggie May said...

Wow. That is good to know.
In August & September fruit flies are a complete nuisance.
Vinegar is good for cleaning too. Very useful and its good with chips!
Maggie X

Nuts in May

Donna. W said...

I hope I remember this tip when I need it.

Have Myelin? said...

I'm so glad you told me this. There's one pesty fly residing in the house (it's cold outside) and he escapes all my swats! LOL.