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Vanity: Fruit Flies and TracFone, Advice requested

Posted on 07/26/2023 8:48:44 PM PDT by Jamestown1630

Sorry for the vanity; (and also sorry for the length of this). But I’ve gotten good advice from people here about household problems in the past; and now I have a couple more.

1. For the first time that I can remember, I have had an infestation of fruit flies. We think it may have come from a bag of potatoes, which is something we’ve never bought before – we usually just buy the few single potatoes that we are going to use immediately. We got rid of that bag, and every fresh thing – onions, tomatoes, whatever - that was sitting out. But it didn’t solve the problem.

We spent many dollars on various solutions over the past 10 days or so (we can’t use exterminators for this, as we have cats and birds, and I have a lot of allergies.)

We tried the bowls and glasses of apple cider vinegar with drops of dish detergent squirted in, and also with red wine. These were somewhat helpful, but the kitchen still had scores of them flying around.

Then, I saw a video suggesting ‘Raid Fly Strips’. We bought them, and baited them with beer (Guiness Extra Stout!), according to another YouTuber. (I am not associated with ‘Raid’, and am not promoting them; it’s just the only thing that has worked in our particular situation.)

After 1-1/2 hours, this thing had gotten scores of these little jerks stuck to it. And for the rest of the night, I only saw two of them flying around. We’ll see what happens tomorrow.(I need to give a hat tip to YouTuber 'Ethnic Mama' who suggested this product. She doesn't seem to be around much these days, but I will be eternally grateful):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IXHHLqUd22c

But if there are any exterminators here, I have a question:

Many years ago, we lived in an apartment that suddenly got infected with those little tan roaches. We had never seen them there before, and assumed that someone had moved in and brought them, or had bombed and dispersed them.

The management company sent this wonderful young man around, who just had a tiny pen-like thing; and all he did was squirt a little spot of something into corners of drawers, cabinets, etc. We didn’t have to clear out all of our cabinets or lock our cats up, it was completely non-invasive to the household.

Within a week or so, all those roaches were gone! We never had that problem again. But does anyone know what that stuff was??? I'd really like to know, in case we ever encounter those roaches again.

2. TracFone issue

Is there anyone here who uses TracFone?

We’ve used it for many years. We don’t use cellphones much at all; They’ve been very useful sometimes, and worth the small price; but I normally use mine just to listen to the radio :-)

We got a message tonight indicating that TracFone had somehow collaborated with Verizon to provide information sharing (?) and if we wanted to opt-out of having our ‘information’ shared, we needed to opt out by texting something or going to a website.

This is the second time this year that a service provider that we use has signed us up for something that we didn’t want or ask for, and required that WE opt out. Shouldn’t they be asking us if we want what they’re offering in the first place? The only recent thing I’ve found about this was on Reddit:

https://www.reddit.com/r/TracFone/comments/15akaha/just_received_a_message_that_tracfone_is_now/

Thanks, and apologies again for the length of this.


TOPICS: Chit/Chat; Miscellaneous; Science
KEYWORDS: fruitflies; pests; phones; tracfone; vanity
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To: Drago

Thanks very much for the information.


21 posted on 07/26/2023 9:26:27 PM PDT by Jamestown1630 ("A Republic, if you can keep it.")
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To: Jamestown1630
For some reason this summer I have more fruit flies in my apartment than I have had in the past. I usually keep the potatoes I buy in my crisper, so I can't blame them. It doesn't matter the time of the year (I live in NY York State), whenever I have bought bananas, I have ended up with a couple fruit flies, but not like what I have recently experienced. I've found them dead on my stove top, probably having fried themselves on the bulb in the stove hood. I've also found them dead in my bathroom sink lately. I went on Amazon to see what traps for fruit flies they have. They have zappers, stickies, and other things. I didn't want to spend a whole lot of money, and I wasn't sure I wanted to get the sticky kind, and have to deal with a bunch of dead bugs stuck to it. I can still remember the long sticky tapes people used to hang to catch flies and moths in their homes. Yuck.

When I first moved in here, and every-so-often, I'd see a silver-fish crawling up my bedroom walls. I'd periodically buy some silver-fish traps on Amazon, and since the last time, I haven't seen any. I have a lot of books, and those darn things like carboard and paper, plus some food items, mostly carbohydrates like cereals, and flour, which I store in plastic bags or sealed plastic containers in my pantry. Never found any in there though. I don't leave any foodstuffs out, other than bananas.

22 posted on 07/26/2023 9:26:51 PM PDT by mass55th (“Courage is being scared to death, but saddling up anyway.” ― John Wayne)
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To: Drago; Jamestown1630

Oh, and BTW...if looking for another cellular provider, my elderly Mom has had good service from “Consumer Cellular”:

https://www.consumercellular.com


23 posted on 07/26/2023 9:27:46 PM PDT by Drago
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To: Jamestown1630
>>German or otherwise

Yes you did, in that apartment years ago.

Remember that nice sofa/recliner someone set by the dumpster that you picked up?

24 posted on 07/26/2023 9:28:01 PM PDT by Deaf Smith (When a Texan takes his chances, chances will be taken that's for sure.)
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To: Jamestown1630

I’ve used Zevo fly traps and the cups of diluted vinegar with perforated plastic wrap on the top with lots of success when we had an infestation after Hurricane Ian. While both worked well separately, when I put a cup trap of vinegar near the Zevo light, both saw an significant increase in effectiveness, usually at night.

But remember if you feed them you breed them, so get rid of anything they can feed on.


25 posted on 07/26/2023 9:30:05 PM PDT by chickenlips (Neuter your politicians)
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To: mass55th

We had some silverfish in the Spring when we first moved here, but after a year or two they disappeard.

Except for the Raid I mentioned, I havend found other sticky things to work very well.


26 posted on 07/26/2023 9:30:23 PM PDT by Jamestown1630 ("A Republic, if you can keep it.")
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To: mass55th; Jamestown1630

“A desiccant is a hygroscopic substance that is used to induce or sustain a state of dryness”

desiccant vs silver-fish


27 posted on 07/26/2023 9:30:34 PM PDT by linMcHlp
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To: Jamestown1630

NP...good luck! Also, I get “fruit fly like” flying bugs from my indoor potted plants in the Spring/Summer...I think they lay eggs/overwinter in the potting soil...I am not motivated enough to re-pot all my indoor plants! ;-)


28 posted on 07/26/2023 9:31:30 PM PDT by Drago
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To: Deaf Smith

No, I don’t remember anything like you are suggesting.

As I said, we haven’t seen a roach in 25 years. The only bug problem we’ve had in years are fruit flies, this year.

G’Nite!


29 posted on 07/26/2023 9:32:29 PM PDT by Jamestown1630 ("A Republic, if you can keep it.")
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To: Drago

I think those are fungus flies...


30 posted on 07/26/2023 9:33:09 PM PDT by Jamestown1630 ("A Republic, if you can keep it.")
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To: linMcHlp

Is that like Diatomaceous Earth? I don’t want to use that around pets.


31 posted on 07/26/2023 9:36:54 PM PDT by Jamestown1630 ("A Republic, if you can keep it.")
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To: Jamestown1630

“Many years ago, we lived in an apartment that suddenly got infested with those little tan roaches”


32 posted on 07/26/2023 9:37:31 PM PDT by Deaf Smith (When a Texan takes his chances, chances will be taken that's for sure.)
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To: Jamestown1630
"Except for the Raid I mentioned, I havend found other sticky things to work very well."

Of course the sticky traps being sold on Amazon show these photos of the traps inundated with hundreds of fruit flies. They want us to buy their product. One plastic trap looks like a small pineapple. It opens, you put a trap inside, put on the cover, then squeeze liquid from a plastic tube through a hole in the top. I may have to go back and look again if these things don't bite the dust soon. I'm getting tired of swatting at them when they fly in front of my screen on my laptop.

33 posted on 07/26/2023 9:40:39 PM PDT by mass55th (“Courage is being scared to death, but saddling up anyway.” ― John Wayne)
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To: Jamestown1630
For your first problem; I was having serious problems with gnats/fruit flies when I first moved into this apartment (almost 2 years ago now). I believed they were coming in through the bathroom vent, but still not sure.

I ended up buying 2 ($30) indoor bug zappers. One for the bathroom, and the other I have in my kitchen window.
For about the first couple of weeks, there wasn't an hour that they didn't get a few of the pests... and after the first month, it is rare to hear either of them zap (ZoT!!!) any. Probably no more than 2 or 3 a day.

Don't know if you want to go that far, but it worked for me, and I did a little "Yeah!" every time I heard them get ZoTTeD! 😄😁


As for the phone, I have never used a tracfone.
34 posted on 07/26/2023 9:43:40 PM PDT by Bikkuri (I am proud to be a PureBlood.)
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To: Jamestown1630

Food grade diatomacious earth is completely safe for pets and people. Some people actually eat the stuff.


35 posted on 07/26/2023 9:49:49 PM PDT by Flaming Conservative ((Pray without ceasing))
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To: mass55th

Yes, I’ve seen people complain about the apple-shaped ones being pretty useless, too. I think they use something that smells like vinegar. But, again, the Raid ones are working well for us. You just need to find the bait that your breed of bugs likes. For us it was dark beer :-)


36 posted on 07/26/2023 9:51:44 PM PDT by Jamestown1630 ("A Republic, if you can keep it.")
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To: Jamestown1630
"For us it was dark beer :-)"

Thanks for the info on Raid. It's got to be bananas, because that's the only time I find fruit flies in my apartment. I hadn't bought bananas for a long time, and then I bought them twice within the last two weeks, and the buggers showed up again.

37 posted on 07/26/2023 10:34:16 PM PDT by mass55th (“Courage is being scared to death, but saddling up anyway.” ― John Wayne)
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To: Jamestown1630

I put a fly zapper in the kitchen and leave it on 24/7. It works great.


38 posted on 07/26/2023 10:38:35 PM PDT by DannyTN
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To: Jamestown1630

Time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like a banana.


39 posted on 07/26/2023 11:00:53 PM PDT by Hootowl
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To: Jamestown1630

The apple ones work great (essentially they are a jar with a funnel for the lid) if you don’t put so much liquid in them that it rises above the bottom of the funnel...and they work best when you don’t bother with putting their stuff in them but just fruit juice, or water with either some raspberry vinegar in it or else a tiny sliver of apple or peach in it.
Most of the time people fill them up too far and the gnats cannot even get in them to be trapped. Or, the liquid dries up because they fail to refill it every couple days.
A jar and funnel is better and cheaper than the cute little apple, doesn’t dry up as fast, and is easier to clean, which you have to do regularly because otherwise the drowned gnats get gross and can even stink. And, because gnats that are trapped or on the outside surface waiting to get in will still have sex and lay eggs on the trap, and if you don’t clean the trap or jar they hatch and the little larvae can crawl right out and pupate under a vase or other hidden location.

I have a big huntsman spider that lives in the banana bowl so don’t see gnats or anything else much at all when it is around.


40 posted on 07/26/2023 11:21:25 PM PDT by piasa (Attitude adjustments offered here free of charge)
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