The Omniscient Mussel

Fruit Fly Problem?

Miss Mussel arrived home to find her kitchen had been taken hostage by Drosophila melanogaster and friends. Moving the welcome home flowers sweetly provided by Mere Mussel resulted in the formation of an impressive fruit-fly mushroom cloud. Clearly it was time for action.

Although generally the type to peacefully co-exist with nature, when it’s in the kitchen, the goal posts move ever so slightly. As such, a trap was needed and fortunately the Intertubes provided the solution.

If you find yourself in a similar situation, here’s how to get rid of fruit flies:

1. Get a wide mouthed glass, or shallow dish and squirt some dish soap in the bottom
2. Fill the dish with water, taking care to make a head of suds on the top.
3. Add a slug of apple cider vinegar. Balsamic will do in a pinch.
4. Put it on the counter and leave it for a few hours, replenishing as the head disappears.
5. Bask in your own cleverness.

Why it works:
The flies are attracted to the cider, come to check it out and get trapped in the head. If for some reason they don’t die there, the soap reduces the surface tension enough that they drown in the water. Job done.

It works better if you remove the fruit or flowers or whatever else is attracting them in the first place but if that’s not possible, the trap still works fairly well.