Comments on: Does Freezing Kill Fruit Flies?

By: Bentley

Bentley — Fri, 07 Aug 2015 14:49:57 +0000

Yet another post I haven’t kept up with.
Freezing absolutely works. Pretty sure there is an update in this series confirming this.
It is rare for me to feed scraps that HAVEN’T been frozen anymore.
Apart from the fruit fly issue, it also helps start the break down process.

By: Quitlan

Quitlan — Sun, 02 Aug 2015 01:56:32 +0000

Does freezing work? Were the results of the experiment ever published? I used to have a lot of fruit flies around. Now I keep beehive shaped containers with cider vinegar in them, to entice the little buggars, with a little water and just the slightest bit of soap in it–to break surface tension. Any container, like a soda pop bottle with staws poked through as an inlet for fruit flies also works well. I’ve also found in areas where there are many little flies a few minutes with a vacuum cleaner can be very fast and effective.

By: Jane

Jane — Mon, 14 Oct 2013 15:02:06 +0000

I keep a container under the sink that is thick with fruit fly larvae and eggs. Today I took it to the chest freezer. Hopefully by tomorrow I will be rid of the fruit flys under the sink but I am breeding another batch in the worm room. The eggs are thick on the worm tower lids. I have recently moved to N/W Indiana from Michigan. I had a fruit fly problem there but controlled them with fly paper. I have never noticed the larvae before. The problem seemed to lessen as the weather got cooler in Michigan. Hopefully that will happen down here too.

By: Christina

Christina — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 21:59:44 +0000

http://www.ornl.gov/info/ornlreview/rev26-34/text/tecmain.html

Here they seem to say that fruit fly eggs are extremely sensitive to freezing and that until 1990 scientists weren’t even able to figure out how to freeze them without killing them.

By: Kator

Kator — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 05:27:22 +0000

Hey Bentley: Curious to know how this experiment turned out. If you’re satisfied that it’s totally effective, then I intend to continue to freeze all fruit/veggie material before processing. If not, then I’ll only freeze surplus material. Thanks 🙂

By: harlene geier

harlene geier — Sat, 11 Sep 2010 21:28:52 +0000

hey guys,

I also freeze my fruit scraps, (bananas & apples from co-workers) for a few days before I feed them to my babies, uh I mean worms. I still have a few fruit flys?, I think they’re nats ( they’re SO small) around my bin every once in a while. The way I get rid of them is to take my bin outside & put it on my porch for a few hours when I notice their numbers building up, or during feeding time.
I have thought of another way to kill the little buggers, I fill a glass half way with water & add a few drops of dish liquid to it & set it next to my bins, they usually end up drowning.

Happy worming,

Harley.

By: Kator

Kator — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 23:52:38 +0000

Oops .. ?? = 🙂

By: Kator

Kator — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 23:51:07 +0000

ooops ??= 🙂

By: Kator

Kator — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 23:50:01 +0000

I have a ton .. well .. so far a half dozen .. bagged milk cartons stuffed with fruit/veggies in my basement upright freezer (wife has only restricted my space to one shelf so lots of room left for more). I like Bentley’s thinking about freezing. I read that slow freezing really breaks down cell enzymes through formation of ice crystals, while quick freezing retains greater integrity of cell enzymes. However, my primary interest is to kill the fruit fly and I’m also eagerly looking forward to the results of this experiment. ??

By: Susan Bolman

Susan Bolman — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 02:32:26 +0000

In Hawaii, you can be sure there are fruit flies in some of your peels. When I freeze, I don’t have problems. When I don’t freeze I do have problems. I also have to have about 6 inches of dry bedding (machine shredded newspaper all crinkled up) to keep them out so they don’t breed in the bin. That combo has been successful in my studio apartment for years.

The local expert says fruit flies deposit eggs on the surface of things and won’t go digging down through bedding to get to the food. That’s my experience! Freezing may not kill 100% of the eggs, but it kills enough. I also freeze until the food is frozen completely through. Not because I’m trying to do that but because I don’t get around to feeding the boys-and-girls that often. I still occasionally get fungus gnats, but I don’t have the same level of loathing for them as I do for fruit flies.