New Apartment Pest Control Issue

[Greatguardian]

Okay, so I just moved into my new apartment in Pittsburgh about 2 weeks ago. It's a small 2 bed/1bath place, nothing fancy and certainly not new. Everything seemed in working order at first, but I started to notice these tiny, fly-like insects around the place.

At first I just figured they got in when the leasing office left all the windows open to ventilate the place, as only like 2 windows in the whole apartment have screens. But over the past couple of weeks, the infestation has just gotten worse and worse. There are now a dozen in plain view any time I walk into the kitchen. When I noticed they tended to hang around my garbage bin, I started disposing of my smaller trash in plastic bags, tying them off, and then throwing those into the garbage bag. Now they've started sitting in any dishes I put in the sink.

I'm normally terrified of any and all things insect, so I absolutely hate having to handle pest control and have typically just borrowed cans of Raid from friends or family to unload onto bugs when/if I see them. But these things are absolutely tiny, so I have no idea how to really get rid of them. Thankfully they are harmless, so I'm okay being around them if I have to be, I just lose my appetite; a bothersome situation to say the least when they're congregating in my kitchen.

Has anyone else had experience with these types of insects? Any tips to get rid of them aside from general cleanliness that don't cost a lot of money (broke college student)? The place was a mess for a week or so which no doubt contributed to the problem, but it's gotten a lot better and I was hoping their numbers would have thinned a bit by now. I'm not entirely sure what the insects are but they're less than a quarter the size of a normal fly, absolutely tiny. They fly around, and generally seem oblivious/harmless. Can't hear them buzz, nothing like that. They tend to end up facedown in my water if I take a glass and leave it out for more than 30 minutes.

Thanks

[Galaika]

I had these appear in my old place when I didn't see some fruit turning bad on a bit that was hidden from view. I just had to clean EVERYTHING very well, empty out the garbage bin and not leave any garbage around for them to stay on. Sprayed them when I saw them, kept everything tidy with no garbage in my bin and no food out in the open and they went in a few weeks.

I have no idea what they were though.

[Salodin]

Are they kinda like tiny chubby flies? With round/oval wings?

[Jodwahh]

Get a flamethrower!

[Zellgadiss]

Fruit flies maybe? They're coming in on your food and hatch when it's in the garbage/sits out.

[Greatguardian]

Are they kinda like tiny chubby flies? With round/oval wings?

The best I can say is, sort of? Maybe? They're so ridiculously tiny that I can't really get a good look at them. They're not proper flies, those things seem huge by comparison. But they have the same general features as far as I can tell. The wings are oval-ish though, or seem that way. I'm going to have to do all my dishes and put those away. I had just gone into the kitchen an hour ago to try and wash them but with the sheer number of them sitting in my cups and shit I just couldn't stay in there too long, and only got a few dishes done. I do not have a dishwasher so everything I wash has to be done by hand.

[Cyn]

http://www.wikihow.com/Get-Rid-of-Fruit-Flies

Pretty good advice in this link. I've had them before (because I was growing mushrooms in my apartment at the time rofl) and they're a bit of a pain to get rid of, but if you just keep your trash covered or taken out and keep your kitchen thoroughly sanitized for awhile they'll eventually move out.

If you set out a saucer of red wine a lot of them will probably drown in it, might help.

[Gentaro]

Like those? Then something IS rotting somewhere or something WAS rotting and they somehow survive in your daily trash. I'd vacuum them away (put the cleaner outside afterwards) and take out the trash once a day.


If its something else:

Get a flamethrower!

[Greatguardian]

Yes, those are the ones in the picture above, though they lack the particular reddish hue that's in that pic. Thanks for the advice and the link! It looks like I'll just have to scrub down and wait 10 days for them to die out.

Thankfully, as a broke college student, I don't really have much of anything in the way of daily trash. I make frozen waffles or frozen pierogies and wash the plates in the sink <_<. It looks like my sink itself will require a massive scrub-down though, to get rid of any food residue on it

Just to be safe, these things aren't going to start infesting my cereal right? I have cheap off-brand cereal (Fruity pebbles, marshmallow pebbles, raisin bran, and banana nut granola cereal), so the little cardboard flaps at the top really suck and never really keep the boxes properly closed. Other than that I should be able to sanitize the place fairly well throughout the day. I was just sorta worried when they seemed to increase in number after I emptied the entire apartment of trash versus decrease.

[Francisco]

Do your dishes right away too. Don't leave any water sitting around in bowls or cups in the sink.

[Cyn]

I was just sorta worried when they seemed to increase in number after I emptied the entire apartment of trash versus decrease.

It's because they were probably living in the trash. When you disturbed it to toss it out, they probably flew out and now have no new place to live/breed. You'll likely see them flying around more frequently until they're gone.

[Gentaro]

vacuum them away! believe me,that helps alot xD

[BerenTebogo]

Blast it with piss.

[Osede]

boric acid, insect paper should be a good way to get rid of them. You may try to get several insect killer items from amazon...

I have tried heg ball before, but it doesn't help much

[Mytiwar]

You say you have no money and can't buy products to get rid of em etc...

Can't your landlord take care of it? I would be rather surprised if the man likes having insects crawling all over the place in his building...

[BerenTebogo]

In all seriousness though, I see them from time to time, I just blast them with whatever is handy. Any aerosol or kitchen spray will kill them en-masse. Hairspray is like casting that counter petrify spell on them from classic RPGs, with the counter ticking down, since the hold on the hairspray gradually basically petrifies them. I hate insects with a fiery burning passion so I enjoy this.

Other than that I'll just whip out the 409 if I see them and blast the fuck out of them with the bleach or whatever is in it.

Shit happens. They're gonna get in any apartment from time to time unless you're insanely meticulous (I'm not).

[Cyn]

Sath did you sit and burn ants with a magnifying glass as a child?

[BerenTebogo]

No, but I hate ants. I wouldn't want to be near them long enough to burn them.

[Avanarius]

I had them once in my house, and it turned out because I didn't often use both sides of my double sink, there was food stuck in the drain and that's where they were coming from. Long story short, I Noah's ark'd those bitches.

[Cyn]

I had them once in my house, and it turned out because I didn't often use both sides of my double sink, there was food stuck in the drain and that's where they were coming from. Long story short, I Noah's ark'd those bitches.

I learned a long time ago that the little cover thingy that plugs the side with the garbage disposal is pretty awesome and totally worth using.