Ode to the Fruit Flies

...or maybe it's more like a eulogy, seeing as how they are finally all dead!

Regardless, I would like to recognize the little critters for the influence they have recently had on my hubby.

It started about a week ago.

There he was, a lone fruit fly, hoovering among the fruit on the counter.

Then, only hours later, he was joined by several of his annoying friends!

The next day it got even worse, and they were all over the kitchen: flying out of the dishwasher, swarming above the trashcan, appearing out of nowhere everytime we turned on the sink.

Luke and I looking like crazies clapping our hands in the air trying to destroy our little problem...but they just kept multiplying.

"Where did these fruit flies come from??" we asked ourselves.

Maybe it's because we leave our dishwasher open sometimes.

Or maybe it's because Augustine just started eating and his high chair is hiding food (or he is throwing it on the floor).

Or maybe they are being attracted by the fruit on the counter.

Or maybe we need to do a better job cleaning up after ourselves and NEVER, ever leave dirty dishes in the sink or crumbs on the counter.

It must be one of those things, we thought. Personally, I blamed a combination of the bag of nectarines on the counter (which has since made its home in the bottom drawer of our refrigerator) and Augustine's sticky-ness. But--and this is important--Luke was convinced it was due to the state of our kitchen. Don't get me wrong, there is the occasional cereal bowl or ice cream dish left in the sink and sandwich crumbs seem to love our counter tops, but we really aren't that dirty.

For the next 48 hours, we executed Operation Fruit Fly Destruction. After researching online, we put out four different containers--one with a few pieces of banana, one with a nectarine core, one with a little yogurt, and one with apple cider vinegar and sudsy water (the recommendation online, which actually ended up being the least successful). We then covered the containers with cling wrap, held in place by rubber bands, and poked little holes in the top. Fruit flies are smart enough to climb in the holes for sweet treats, but not smart enough to figure out how to get out!

Over the course of the next two days, we trapped lots of fruit flies, and our problem was solved.

But the best part of the saga was near the end of the second day when my husband made the statement:

"Lesson learned: If we leave food (read: dirty dishes, crumbs) out, we get fruit flies."

It was his own little epiphany, and it has worked wonders in our kitchen!

He has such a distaste for the little buggers that our kitchen has been immaculate for the past week.

There is never a dirty dish to be seen. He is quick to put away food, clean up after the baby eats, rinse and put dishes in the dishwasher, and make sure the garbage disposal and sink are clean.

It is AWESOME!

And the best part is, I didn't have to say a word.

Truth be told, I still think it was bag the of fruit...

But what he doesn't know won't hurt him:)