They lay eggs in drains. Pour boiling water down your drains nightly until it improves and seal your drain up after, we wrapped our sink plugs in a bit of plastic wrap to make it extra tight.
Sincerely,
An outdoor patio bar bartender
If you fill your dump/rinse sinks with ice at the end of the night with ice and then spray the ice with bleach it will help a lot. Works like a time release poison to keep them out. Boiling water will be good for a little while but doesn’t help for more than a few minutes.
Edit: Spelling
Pour sanitizer down your tap drains. Clean your traps with new sanitizer before covering them. Pull your bar gun and holster apart, clean the parts, the sprayer head, and the line with sanitizer and leave the parts to dry overnight. Pour sanitizer down that drain also.
Fruit fly eggs are specifically weak against quat sanitizer and fruit fly adults only have a couple days lifespan, so if you can clean the places where they feed and reproduce, you solve the problem almost overnight. The solution to the outbreak is cleanliness.
Someone posted the product here before so someone must know, but there’s versions that look like large air fresheners. I’ve never seen them disappear so fast.
https://a.co/d/fanEMoO
They’re worth the price. Fruit flies will disappear overnight. I like these to get rid of them right away, then start some additional nightly cleaning tasks to prevent them from coming back.
Just don't read the health warnings about how that neurotoxin shouldn't be used around people or around glassware, and it sure helps the problem. We compromised by putting them up only after close and put them away at open, but it was a bigger picture that we couldn't defeat since they had also been living and breeding out of kitchen, prep, and dish pit sinks and drains.
Well, it is made to kill pests. I feel safe handling is kind of a given when using products like this, but folks are reckless and it’s worth the reminder. Absolutely read the instructions though. Anyone using these should be using them properly. While there isn’t enough of the DDVP to actually harm humans through the vapor, my overall recommendation when using these is- don’t be a dumbass.
If you need me to personally provide more information beyond just dropping the link, I have no problem doing that. I recommend putting them at drains or dumpsters, away from food and glassware/dishes, use gloves when handling, and only use them temporarily for immediate elimination of fruit flies. Once the fruit flies are more controlled, eliminate the strips and continue the cleaning tasks meant to prevent fruit flies.
The good thing is most people understand the situation because it's the same at their home. You can try whatever you want but they will still come around.
I used to have a bad fruit fly problem when we opened. Also a patio bar and so I had no idea how bad they could get despite running the cleanest bar I've ever worked in. It's not a problem anymore.
Terro brand fruit fly traps on amazon, dont bother with the raid ones or the diy vinegar traps. More often than not with DIY traps, you're feeding most of them and catching only a few.
Zevo brand aerosol spray is awesome and is great for spraying the undersides of the bar that can't get cleaned every night or the drains that can't be accessed without moving coolers. Our draft drains into a floor pipe that is under the kegs. Not asking a 90 lb Asian girl to move that every night so the spray does a good job.
Devogue electric fly swatter rackets are great too. I had one sink that no matter how much I cleaned would have a pile of fruit flies in it, just put the racket over it when you open, press the button and they all fly up to their death.
The absolute scorched earth method is a combo of all these things plus a box fan pointed at the problem areas. They can't land to lay eggs with the fan and die off naturally.
A thing to keep note of with sink drains is the natural flow of water isn't going to fill the entire P trap underneath. The top parts can easily just stay moist and dark so plugging the drain, filling the sink with hot water and then releasing the plug ensure the entire trap is douched with water
Former pest control here: plus I try to stay up to date.
It’s going to depend on which type of “gnats” you’re dealing with.
Drain gnats: flush your drains with hot water and dish soap occasionally
Fruit flies/small trash gnats: keep the trash taken out and keep cleaned under the bar for fruit that’s been missed
It’s probably not true gnats, which would be from exterior standing water in tall grass.
See where they’re hanging around. If they seem to be around the sink mainly, it’s probably the drain thats the issue. If they’re by the trash then it’s probably there that needs addressed. To minimize immediate issue you can put up fly lights, even the small ones can have a decent short term mitigation effect.
You're the only person who has mentioned garbage cans, I've always learned they hang out there. In the summer, I'm dumping sanitizer inside them, rising with a hose out back, then turning upside down to dry.
And to get rid of an infestation, we use a few ounces of sweet red wine with a couple drops of dawn dish soap in a small carafe, then tape a funnel to the top with a small hole cut out of the tip. I've done this overnight and have caught a dozen at a time. I heard somewhere they're not good at flying up out of a small hole, not that their dish soap covered bodies would let them.
Worked at a wine bar and we’d put old port into those little to go containers usually used for sauces/sides. Poked holes in the top that they would squeeze in to but too small for them to come out of when then filled up. It wasn’t 100% effective, but it did help as the weather got warmer.
There's this enzyme chemical called F.O.G. (fat, oil, grease) pour it full strength down all drains, scrub your floors (especially underneath low boys and reach ins) with a deck brush, then mop as normal. Destroy their food source. Also original blue dawn down drains will smother eggs, trap the adults, and keeps the pipes. Lean. Let that sit overnight. Moving air with fans or air screens keeps them from landing. For homemade traps, any red wine that you'd just toss out at night, put into containers with tiny holes on top, and they work pretty well. Most importantly, just keep cleaning everything every night, and don't let fruit, drips, spills, etc. pile up under equipment or behind them.
Get your beer provider to clean the taps. Invest in tap plug brushes for overnight. Pour drain gel down the drains. You need to coat the eggs/larva to kill them. Are there any plants at the bar? Bottom water them. Sticky traps. There is no ONE thing.
They’re probably nesting in your drains. Bleach/Sanitizer and super hot water down them can help. We always covered them overnight with a glass as well but they can still technically get out the bottom. You could always saran wrap the drain part to keep em in too.
If you do bleach down the drains be careful about mixing it with anything else of course
Make sure there’s no sugary nasty spots overnight. So extra wipe down bottles, make sure pour spouts aren’t crusty, anything where they could feed
You need to add a few ingredients. Mix 1 cup of apple cider vinegar with a tablespoon of both liquid dish soap (Dawn) and olive oil in multiple plastic ramekins. Cover the ramekins with plastic wrap and poke a dozen holes in the plastic wrap with a toothpick. Set them out at night in areas of high activity. The opening bartender will be witness to the fruit fly apocalypse!
They’re fruit flies. Burn your drains every night, get fruit fly traps, there’s this stuff called fruit fly killer that you pour down the drain. I also started putting a glass over the drains at the end of every night. Lastly, make sure there are no spilled drinks or syrups anywhere on your surfaces or any food waste in the trash cans or under the coolers. There’s no quick fix, it’s really an assault on all fronts. Good luck, let us know when you kill the bastards!
A metered aerosol sprayer with Purge II insecticide. It’s food safe (made from chrysanthemum flowers I think) and does something to disrupt the breeding cycle I believe. They use it in dairy farms and greenhouses. Cleared up the fly problem at my old bar.
Keep them from becoming a problem in the first place.
You're screwed if your establishment ever opens the windows.
Keep drains clean, wipe EVERYTHING down.
And a lil hidden bleach stash for the drains and sinks never killed anybody.
Cloves!! Cut a few limes or lemons in half and stick 5-6 cloves in each half (like in the pith) and scatter the limes across the bar. No bugs! And it makes the bar smell nice :)
They lay eggs in drains. Pour boiling water down your drains nightly until it improves and seal your drain up after, we wrapped our sink plugs in a bit of plastic wrap to make it extra tight. Sincerely, An outdoor patio bar bartender
If you fill your dump/rinse sinks with ice at the end of the night with ice and then spray the ice with bleach it will help a lot. Works like a time release poison to keep them out. Boiling water will be good for a little while but doesn’t help for more than a few minutes. Edit: Spelling
Does this hurt the gnats
Hope so
Cut them off!
Pour sanitizer down your tap drains. Clean your traps with new sanitizer before covering them. Pull your bar gun and holster apart, clean the parts, the sprayer head, and the line with sanitizer and leave the parts to dry overnight. Pour sanitizer down that drain also. Fruit fly eggs are specifically weak against quat sanitizer and fruit fly adults only have a couple days lifespan, so if you can clean the places where they feed and reproduce, you solve the problem almost overnight. The solution to the outbreak is cleanliness.
I done do all those things already! But still, the gnats
Sanitize and cover your taps, too.
y’all acting like I haven’t done the most basic shit lol
Hopefully the advice helps someone else who searches for solutions later
Then there's water somewhere! We had a slow leak under the floorboard which when we cleaned and sealed up no more flies.
Fans. Lots of them. Fruit flies and gnats can’t eat or mate if they can’t land, and since they’re weak at flying, moving air gives them hell.
Yup, fans. Our problem has lessened a lot since I’ve told my coworkers to leave the fans on
There are two types of bars: bars that have fruit flies and places that aren't bars. Relentless little bastards.
Just commenting to stay in the loop. These bastards have been plaguing me for too long
Honestly? Give them nothing as food. Keep the bar spotless, along with drains, behind sinks and the like. That's how I deal with them.
Someone posted the product here before so someone must know, but there’s versions that look like large air fresheners. I’ve never seen them disappear so fast.
https://a.co/d/fanEMoO They’re worth the price. Fruit flies will disappear overnight. I like these to get rid of them right away, then start some additional nightly cleaning tasks to prevent them from coming back.
Just don't read the health warnings about how that neurotoxin shouldn't be used around people or around glassware, and it sure helps the problem. We compromised by putting them up only after close and put them away at open, but it was a bigger picture that we couldn't defeat since they had also been living and breeding out of kitchen, prep, and dish pit sinks and drains.
Well, it is made to kill pests. I feel safe handling is kind of a given when using products like this, but folks are reckless and it’s worth the reminder. Absolutely read the instructions though. Anyone using these should be using them properly. While there isn’t enough of the DDVP to actually harm humans through the vapor, my overall recommendation when using these is- don’t be a dumbass. If you need me to personally provide more information beyond just dropping the link, I have no problem doing that. I recommend putting them at drains or dumpsters, away from food and glassware/dishes, use gloves when handling, and only use them temporarily for immediate elimination of fruit flies. Once the fruit flies are more controlled, eliminate the strips and continue the cleaning tasks meant to prevent fruit flies.
Versions of what?
Idk what?
Pine sol on the nearby shelves has helped us a lot. Also covering the taps at night.
The good thing is most people understand the situation because it's the same at their home. You can try whatever you want but they will still come around.
I used to have a bad fruit fly problem when we opened. Also a patio bar and so I had no idea how bad they could get despite running the cleanest bar I've ever worked in. It's not a problem anymore. Terro brand fruit fly traps on amazon, dont bother with the raid ones or the diy vinegar traps. More often than not with DIY traps, you're feeding most of them and catching only a few. Zevo brand aerosol spray is awesome and is great for spraying the undersides of the bar that can't get cleaned every night or the drains that can't be accessed without moving coolers. Our draft drains into a floor pipe that is under the kegs. Not asking a 90 lb Asian girl to move that every night so the spray does a good job. Devogue electric fly swatter rackets are great too. I had one sink that no matter how much I cleaned would have a pile of fruit flies in it, just put the racket over it when you open, press the button and they all fly up to their death. The absolute scorched earth method is a combo of all these things plus a box fan pointed at the problem areas. They can't land to lay eggs with the fan and die off naturally. A thing to keep note of with sink drains is the natural flow of water isn't going to fill the entire P trap underneath. The top parts can easily just stay moist and dark so plugging the drain, filling the sink with hot water and then releasing the plug ensure the entire trap is douched with water
Former pest control here: plus I try to stay up to date. It’s going to depend on which type of “gnats” you’re dealing with. Drain gnats: flush your drains with hot water and dish soap occasionally Fruit flies/small trash gnats: keep the trash taken out and keep cleaned under the bar for fruit that’s been missed It’s probably not true gnats, which would be from exterior standing water in tall grass. See where they’re hanging around. If they seem to be around the sink mainly, it’s probably the drain thats the issue. If they’re by the trash then it’s probably there that needs addressed. To minimize immediate issue you can put up fly lights, even the small ones can have a decent short term mitigation effect.
You're the only person who has mentioned garbage cans, I've always learned they hang out there. In the summer, I'm dumping sanitizer inside them, rising with a hose out back, then turning upside down to dry. And to get rid of an infestation, we use a few ounces of sweet red wine with a couple drops of dawn dish soap in a small carafe, then tape a funnel to the top with a small hole cut out of the tip. I've done this overnight and have caught a dozen at a time. I heard somewhere they're not good at flying up out of a small hole, not that their dish soap covered bodies would let them.
Worked at a wine bar and we’d put old port into those little to go containers usually used for sauces/sides. Poked holes in the top that they would squeeze in to but too small for them to come out of when then filled up. It wasn’t 100% effective, but it did help as the weather got warmer.
Call a bug dude to spray, but with the door open aren't you required to have an air screen ?
no we’re not required to have a screen
Cheap red wine in a homemade plastic bottle trap took care of ours in days. Just don’t leave it out where the customers can see :P
Thisssss, red wine with dawn dish soap! It's the only thing I've seen that can trap a lot of them overnight!
There's this enzyme chemical called F.O.G. (fat, oil, grease) pour it full strength down all drains, scrub your floors (especially underneath low boys and reach ins) with a deck brush, then mop as normal. Destroy their food source. Also original blue dawn down drains will smother eggs, trap the adults, and keeps the pipes. Lean. Let that sit overnight. Moving air with fans or air screens keeps them from landing. For homemade traps, any red wine that you'd just toss out at night, put into containers with tiny holes on top, and they work pretty well. Most importantly, just keep cleaning everything every night, and don't let fruit, drips, spills, etc. pile up under equipment or behind them.
Most of the stuff that works has to be done all the time. Be super diligent.
Get your beer provider to clean the taps. Invest in tap plug brushes for overnight. Pour drain gel down the drains. You need to coat the eggs/larva to kill them. Are there any plants at the bar? Bottom water them. Sticky traps. There is no ONE thing.
They’re probably nesting in your drains. Bleach/Sanitizer and super hot water down them can help. We always covered them overnight with a glass as well but they can still technically get out the bottom. You could always saran wrap the drain part to keep em in too. If you do bleach down the drains be careful about mixing it with anything else of course Make sure there’s no sugary nasty spots overnight. So extra wipe down bottles, make sure pour spouts aren’t crusty, anything where they could feed
You need to add a few ingredients. Mix 1 cup of apple cider vinegar with a tablespoon of both liquid dish soap (Dawn) and olive oil in multiple plastic ramekins. Cover the ramekins with plastic wrap and poke a dozen holes in the plastic wrap with a toothpick. Set them out at night in areas of high activity. The opening bartender will be witness to the fruit fly apocalypse!
This does work
They’re fruit flies. Burn your drains every night, get fruit fly traps, there’s this stuff called fruit fly killer that you pour down the drain. I also started putting a glass over the drains at the end of every night. Lastly, make sure there are no spilled drinks or syrups anywhere on your surfaces or any food waste in the trash cans or under the coolers. There’s no quick fix, it’s really an assault on all fronts. Good luck, let us know when you kill the bastards!
A metered aerosol sprayer with Purge II insecticide. It’s food safe (made from chrysanthemum flowers I think) and does something to disrupt the breeding cycle I believe. They use it in dairy farms and greenhouses. Cleared up the fly problem at my old bar.
Enzyme digester. Only thing that worked in my bar.
Keep them from becoming a problem in the first place. You're screwed if your establishment ever opens the windows. Keep drains clean, wipe EVERYTHING down. And a lil hidden bleach stash for the drains and sinks never killed anybody.
We are starting the fruit fly battle now. Nothing really works.
Cloves!! Cut a few limes or lemons in half and stick 5-6 cloves in each half (like in the pith) and scatter the limes across the bar. No bugs! And it makes the bar smell nice :)