Fruit Flies

GabeB

New member
Jan 13, 2020
13
4
Tennessee
Parrots
Red sided Eclectus
Umbrella Cockatoo
Blue Masked Lovebird
Hey everyone! I just want to start off by saying thank you to everyone who has helped me through the journey of raising echo! You guys have helped so much. He's doing great and is healthy.

He is on a chop diet only, no seeds/pellet, which he absolutely loves. The problem is... so do the fruit flies. Been cleaning his whole cage 2-3 times a week and making sure not to put too much food in his dish so there's not a bunch left over. Has anyone else had problems with the fruit flies, and how did you get rid of them? Thanks for any suggestions!

I've tried some fly strips and cleaning with alcohol and water so far.
 

Ekkietiel

New member
Sep 5, 2020
49
17
Charleston, SC
Parrots
Charlie (Ekkie), Boop & Pongo (Cockatiels)
We have issues with fruit flies from time to time. It’s super annoying and makes you feel icky. Aside from going into a frantic rage to kill a fly whenever we see one, we use a tried and true method. Get a small bowl and put some apple cider vinegar in it, with a dab of dish soap. We find more success when we have several bowl spread around in the trouble spots. Some websites will say put a plastic wrap on top of the bowl and poke holes. We don’t bother with that. It’s not full proof but usually catches us some flies.

A few years back we had a bad incident with fly paper (the strips that hang from the ceiling). One of our cockatiels flew into it and got wrapped up. It was very scary. Will never use those anywhere near birds again. On this side of events it feels obvious to not use it, but before it happened I didn’t think much of it.
 

Jen5200

Well-known member
Mar 27, 2017
1,874
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249
Washington State
Parrots
Baby - Sun Conure;
Tango - GCC;
Bindi - Sun Conure;
Stanley - Pineapple GCC;
Screamer “Scree� - Cockatiel;
Tee - Pineapple GCC; Jimmy - Cockatiel
I would echo what Ekkietiel said - I do the same with apple cider vinegar, I do use the plastic on top with holes in it tho (I’m uncoordinated and have bumped bowls in the past making splashes). It does work - usually I use it for a few weeks and it seems to cut the population way down. I also bought one of those bug zapper tennis rackets and get great satisfaction zapping the dickens out of them on occasion :).
 
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GabeB

New member
Jan 13, 2020
13
4
Tennessee
Parrots
Red sided Eclectus
Umbrella Cockatoo
Blue Masked Lovebird
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We have issues with fruit flies from time to time. It’s super annoying and makes you feel icky. Aside from going into a frantic rage to kill a fly whenever we see one, we use a tried and true method. Get a small bowl and put some apple cider vinegar in it, with a dab of dish soap. We find more success when we have several bowl spread around in the trouble spots. Some websites will say put a plastic wrap on top of the bowl and poke holes. We don’t bother with that. It’s not full proof but usually catches us some flies.

A few years back we had a bad incident with fly paper (the strips that hang from the ceiling). One of our cockatiels flew into it and got wrapped up. It was very scary. Will never use those anywhere near birds again. On this side of events it feels obvious to not use it, but before it happened I didn’t think much of it.

Awesome thank you so much! Set up some cups with the apple cider vinegar and dish soap mix and it’s already working great. Luckily even though my birds aren’t clipped they choose not to fly so I haven’t run into a fly paper problem, but I’ll be taking them down anyway.
 

noodles123

Well-known member
Jul 11, 2018
8,145
472
Parrots
Umbrella Cockatoo- 15? years old..I think?
Take a mason jar- fill it with vinegar about 1/4 to 1/2 (ACV). Put a plastic bag over the top and secure it with a hair-tie or rubber band. Punch holes in it with a tooth-pick (large enough for them to get in, but not too large and not too close to the edges). Place it on your counter, fridge etc... They will crawl in and get stuck.
 

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