After 5.5 weeks I'm getting fruit flies in my airlock..

6 gallon batch of apfelwein near completion, is attracting fruit flies and they are committing suicide in the Star San in the 3 piece air lock.....

Should I clean 'em out or just leave 'em in there for another week or two....

Do you have a cap on the top of the airlock?

+1 on the how the hell did they get to the liquid in the airlock?

c.n.budz said:

Do you have a cap on the top of the airlock?

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yes!!! and the little buggers are still getting in there.....

I went ahead and changed out the Star San...

but I thought the cap was suppose to keep those buggers out in the first place!!!

Clean it out, replace the star san with cheap vodka. Don't worry, the apfelwein will be fine.

Drowned fruit flies in the airlock aren't bad, drowned fruitflies in the apfelwein are.

Clean 'em out if it makes you feel better, but I'd address the source of the fruitfly infestation before you start making vinegar instead of beer and apfelwein. Acetobacter is a nasty bug.

flyangler18 said:

Drowned fruit flies in the airlock aren't bad, drowned fruitflies in the apfelwein are.

Clean 'em out if it makes you feel better, but I'd address the source of the fruitfly infestation before you start making vinegar instead of beer and apfelwein. Acetobacter is a nasty bug.

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They must have come it with a bunch of Banana's .... Arggggggggg....

brewing a batch of Belgian Wit as we speak......

If they can't get in from the top of the lock (through the plastic), then there is really only one answer: the fruit flies are coming from INSIDE THE HOUSE, er, CARBOY!!!

It's funny, I am not afraid of spiders or rodents (not that they are running free in my home) but I live in total fear of the threat of fruit flies. I've stopped buying fresh pineapples because I don't want to introduce them to my yummy beer.

If I ever see a tiny flying thing in my house I go on a cleaning spree. Get rid of trashbag. Lysol the trashcan thoroughly and disinfect the air and surfaces in my kitchen. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of the pain in the ass of getting rid of an active infection inside my beer brewing equipment.

I had fruitflys in the fall. I had apparently put some bottles away that I hadn't rinsed (stupid) and that became a breeding ground for them. I ended up having 2-3 glasses around the house with a vinigar/water/drop of soap mix that would drown them. Eventually after I found and cleaned up my bottles the fruit flies all died. I also bleached all my drains.

Hot water and bleach down the drains as well - they tend to take up residence in the trap, especially if you have a garbage disposal.

Make FF traps to capture any wayward flies. Fill a small jar with an inch or so of apple cider vinegar and put on the lid that has a few small holes. Observe the carnage.

I learned this trick from a friend who maintained a large collection of poison dart frogs and had to deal with occasional escapees of flies intended as dinner for the Dendrobatids.

flyangler18 said:

Hot water and bleach down the drains as well - they tend to take up residence in the trap, especially if you have a garbage disposal.

Make FF traps to capture any wayward flies. Fill a small jar with an inch or so of apple cider vinegar and put on the lid that has a few small holes. Observe the carnage.

I learned this trick from a friend who maintained a large collection of poison dart frogs and had to deal with occasional escapees of flies intended as dinner for the Dendrobatids.

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will do....

okay, I changed out my Star San in the air-lock, went out and when I came back 3 more of the bastages were in there. I've put out some vinegar traps and changed the three piece air-lock to a one piece bubbler filled with some rum. No vodak here, either single malt scotch or the rum.... easy choice....

also found that spraying them with the star san from the squirt bottle immobilizes them

They don't appear to be attracted to the two other fermentors, just the apfelwein so far... their isn't any activity in the Trippel, but the Wit just took off a couple of hours ago...

hope I don't end up making vinegar....




here's three of them in the air-lock

Awesome pic! I can almost see a drunk little grin on that one *******'s little face.

woollybugger2 said:

okay, I changed out my Star San in the air-lock, went out and when I came back 3 more of the bastages were in there. I've put out some vinegar traps and changed the three piece air-lock to a one piece bubbler filled with some rum. No vodak here, either single malt scotch or the rum....

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Personally I'd stick with Starsan in the air lock; I'd be worried that the sugar in rum would attract more fruit flies.