HELP I saw a fruit fly in my cellar!

[Hoonakwa]

Ok I saw a fruit fly in my wine making area in the cellar. Any tips on what to do?

 

[Boatboy24]

First, take a deep breath. Everything will be OK.

If you're really panicked about it, you can build a trap with a used water or soda bottle. Cut off the top third of the bottle and insert it back into the bottle upside down. In the bottle, keep a little wine with a drop or two of dish detergent. They'll find their way in, but can't seem to find a way out. Another simple solution is to just keep a fan going over your wines - fruit flies aren't particularly strong flyers.

 

[ceeaton]

I get them in my airlocks all the time and just clean them out when I find one. They are attracted to the fermenting juice that is your wine.

If that doesn't work, call out the National Guard Swat team, they'll handle it from there. You might not have a house left afterwards, though, LOL.

 

[Ajmassa]

A couple here and there ain’t no thing. You can handle that!
Nothing will seem as bad to me ever since the great fruit fly war of 2018. Store bought Vinegar traps, homemade water bottle traps, baited fly tape, constant fans, chemical bombs, plastic ‘Dexter’ room etc. that was a battle ill never forget and makes anything less seem like a cakewalk. Eventually was entire house. Wife still brings it up often. But I survived. So take it from me— You’ll be fine!

The great fly war in pictures:

 

[Rocky]

Ok I saw a fruit fly in my wine making area in the cellar. Any tips on what to do?

Don't worry about it. They really don't drink that much. And they don't have a negative effect on the wine except, if you are Catholic, then you can't drink it on Fridays.

 

[Hoonakwa]

A couple here and there ain’t no thing. You can handle that!
Nothing will seem as bad to me ever since the great fruit fly war of 2018. Store bought Vinegar traps, homemade water bottle traps, baited fly tape, constant fans, chemical bombs, plastic ‘Dexter’ room etc. that was a battle ill never forget and makes anything less seem like a cakewalk. Eventually was entire house. Wife still brings it up often. But I survived. So take it from me— You’ll be fine!

The great fly war in pictures:
View attachment 61785View attachment 61786View attachment 61787View attachment 61790View attachment 61789View attachment 61791View attachment 61788View attachment 61793View attachment 61792View attachment 61794

OK now I am scared!

 

[Sage]

Did you check if it was male or female? Watch carefully for a mating pair.... Bad news!!

 

[DizzyIzzy]

OK now I am scared!

I'm scared too!! Your wife must have loved the invasion!

 

[Ajmassa]

OK now I am scared!

No! Lol. My point was to NOT be scared! That was a very VERY extreme situation in an already bad fruit fly season from the poor decision to crush grapes inside the basement. The perfect storm.

It did not happen gradually over time from
neglecting the presence of a few flies.
But the wine was not jeopardized and all worked out in the end despite the flies.

 

[pete1325]

How could you NOT panic with them covering everything. My wife would freak and never drink another ounce if they were that bad in my wine room.....More for me I guess. All kidding aside, that seem like an infestation. I've had them fly around for a few weeks during wine making season but never that bad.

 

[Sailor323]

This is what I use https://smile.amazon.com/AMREP-0739...595081685&sprefix=country+vet+,aps,301&sr=8-4

 

[hounddawg]

1/3 of of his body weight if a male is his manhood, so be careful

 

[Ajmassa]

How could you NOT panic with them covering everything. My wife would freak and never drink another ounce if they were that bad in my wine room.....More for me I guess. All kidding aside, that seem like an infestation. I've had them fly around for a few weeks during wine making season but never that bad.

Well considering the lengths I went i think it’s safe to say I did panic lol. I did pretty good keeping the wine covered tho and don’t think any got in but can’t be certain of that. And when ya press the wines again exposed to thirsty flies. Can only do so much.

But I guess my panic was more about ridding the house of the disgusting flies than specifically the wine being jeopardized. When occasionally making just a few gallons it’s easy to have full control & ya tend to keep everything under the microscope, so the concern when noticing a fruit fly hovering around the wine is understandable.

I’d bet the house that the big commercial joints all get at least a few incidental bugs. But with the natural acids, the high abv%, all the co2 produced, and the so2 we add, the wine can be pretty damn resilient. And the natural process of fermentation, racking & so2 is usually enough to clean up the wine and fight off any nasties.

also keep in mind that wasn’t a normal scenerio. I crushed 300lbs of grapes in the basement On a Sunday. Worked late and could only do a half assed cleanup until home from work the next afternoon. But by then it was too late. Even leaving the hydrometer tube exposed for 30 seconds there’d be dozen in it already.

***But again— the main point I was making —- if I was able to get through that w/o any issue then ya shouldn’t lose any sleep seeing a couple flies around the room. That’s all.

 

[hounddawg]

Well considering the lengths I went i think it’s safe to say I did panic lol. I did pretty good keeping the wine covered tho and don’t think any got in but can’t be certain of that. And when ya press the wines again exposed to thirsty flies. Can only do so much.

But I guess my panic was more about ridding the house of the disgusting flies than specifically the wine being jeopardized. When occasionally making just a few gallons it’s easy to have full control & ya tend to keep everything under the microscope, so the concern when noticing a fruit fly hovering around the wine is understandable.

I’d bet the house that the big commercial joints all get at least a few incidental bugs. But with the natural acids, the high abv%, all the co2 produced, and the so2 we add, the wine can be pretty damn resilient. And the natural process of fermentation, racking & so2 is usually enough to clean up the wine and fight off any nasties.

also keep in mind that wasn’t a normal scenerio. I crushed 300lbs of grapes in the basement On a Sunday. Worked late and could only do a half assed cleanup until home from work the next afternoon. But by then it was too late. Even leaving the hydrometer tube exposed for 30 seconds there’d be dozen in it already.

***But again— the main point I was making —- if I was able to get through that w/o any issue then ya shouldn’t lose any sleep seeing a couple flies around the room. That’s all.

i don't like hearing about commercial processes , an example, the FDA says peanut butter is good as long as no more the 3 rat hairs are found per batch, that don't count droppings, i have spent years after leaving the road, trying to forget what is concerned clean for us pinons, but now being a jersey boy, i bet you know why you order kosher not deli when you have your lunch meat or franks,,,
i grow all i can, raise my meats, my eggs, and much more, knowledge can be a very disturbing thing to say the least, whew, lol.. bahwaaa
Dawg

 

[hounddawg]

dose anyone use Diatomaceous earth food grade, my floor is covered in it, peppermint extract to keep the ants away,
Dawg

 

[ceeaton]

Diatomaceous earth is great for soft bodied bugs and slugs in the garden, use it all the time. I have a bag of it left over from a filter I used to use when I bred tropical fish.

 

[RichardC]

Hoonakwa, I feel your pain!! One fly sends me in a panic because I keep reading that one fly can spoil a 1000 gallon batch! I even spray the bloody things with MBS solution, when racking or mixing. Hahahaha.

 

[Val-the-Brew-Gal]

I've tried dishes of sanitizer or wine to drown them but that is more of a long term solution and doesn't help with the ones flying around the wine room when you're ready to work. The best thing I've found for the that is a vacuum. I keep it running and as flies try to land anywhere near my fermenters or carboys, I simply suck them up.

 

[hounddawg]

Ok I saw a fruit fly in my wine making area in the cellar. Any tips on what to do?

a small thermal nuclear explosion should do the trick, that or flystrips , i tend to go for the flystrips,

 

[cmason1957]

I tend to go with just a fan blowing near my fermenters.