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Insects!!!!

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phreebyrd

NewBee
Registered Member
Sep 17, 2009
56
0
0
College Station, TX
i have 8 1 gallon projects going on and little red headed gnats are targeting one of my apple wines. there is about 5 of them. what do i do to get rid of them? why just that one? is this common? what did i do to get them? all i have is 1 bochet, 1 cherry wine, 2 orange apple wine mixes, 3 cinnamon apple wines, and 1 tea mead! the 1 of three apple wines they are targeting is just the same as the other except one is ground and the other was boiled sticks. the one that is the target is the boiled cinnamon. the recipes is this... 1 gallon of HEB central market organic apple juice (a few cups removed to have an even gallon), lalvin 1118, 2 cups sugar( roughly ) and boiled cinnamon sticks (about 1 and a half cups boiled and then boiled then cooled then boiled again with sticks), yeast nutrients, and thats about it. it is in the second fermentation. all together it has been fermenting 14 days. i should probably be imbarassed that i have insects but i really wanna know why, how to get rid of them and prevent them.
 

EverGreenman

Forest Dweller with a Wine Cellar
GotMead Patron
Nov 4, 2008
158
0
16
Pacific Northwest
sounds like fruit flies. (bane of SATAN! not quite as bad as mosquitoes but damn close)

as long as you've got waterlocks on your jugs, you'll be safe. if you notice more showing up, which is pretty much inevitable if you have a few, some suggestions are fly paper near your bubbles, a tube vacuum cleaner to suck em up, a jar with rotting fruit and cellophane with small holes poked in it over the top placed near by, carnivorous plants (talk to TimV) aaand what else, oh, maybe a couple big spiders?

We've tried al of these with varying degrees of success. Needless to stay we have a fruit fly problem. but they stay out of our brews thanks to those waterlocks. that's what they're there for.
 

Medsen Fey

Fuselier since 2007
Premium Patron
Fruit flies are a pain, but not dangerous. If they do get into a batch, they won't cause sudden spoilage, but they can carry acetic acid bacteria and other potential spoilage organisms. If such bacteria are introduced into your batches, you just need to keep the oxygen exposure after fermentation to a minimum. Keep things topped up, and think about using sulfites.

To keep the fruit flies beaten back I make a mixture of water and dishsoap and then pour in a little balsamic vinegar. That draws them into the soapy water where they are trapped and die.

Endeavor to persevere!
Medsen
 

STLBrewer

NewBee
Registered Member
Feb 13, 2009
173
0
0
St. Louis, MO
If you don't have the Balsamic Vinegar, just soapy water (I used Dawn, if it matters) seems to work pretty well too. Even though I bet the Vinegar would aid in drawing them in...
 

akueck

Certified Mead Mentor
Certified Mead Mentor
Jun 26, 2006
4,958
11
0
Ithaca, NY
We don't seem to have much in the way of fruit flies, but our solution to house flies is...cats. They love catching flies, and then eat them. Works for those giant cricket things too, though "torture" precedes eating for those guys.

A friend of mine uses a little cup of old wine. The fruit flies drown in it, what a way to go!
 

phreebyrd

NewBee
Registered Member
Sep 17, 2009
56
0
0
College Station, TX
thanks guys i really was freaking out. i keep snakes and anytime theres extra life (bugs, mites) its pretty important but it sound likes like a common problem and a reason to get a really cool plant!!!!
 

Gardenmead

NewBee
Registered Member
Jun 8, 2009
126
1
0
Santa Rosa, California
At first I was joking, but on second thought it is not that far-fetched. If we are talking about bees and bee larvae that is.

I have made whole comb meads where some bees and larvae inevitable made it in.
 

Joshnir

NewBee
Registered Member
Oct 5, 2009
31
0
0
La Plata, MD
I had the same problem with a ceyser I was doing, I just put a little bit of vodka in the airlock and also threw a blanket over the whole jug in the closet.
 

Gardenmead

NewBee
Registered Member
Jun 8, 2009
126
1
0
Santa Rosa, California
For fruit fly exclusion I have been trying different ways of putting a little piece of paper towel under or over the cap on the 3-piece airlock. Because The fruit flies can fit through the little holes on the cap.

It works pretty well but I am not sure how much it slows the passage of CO2 out of the airlock. It probably is inconsequential because the airlocks seem to bubble away as usual.

As far as smoking scorpion tales goes, that sounds like something from a story in "Arabian Nights".
 

Angelic Alchemist

NewBee
Registered Member
Sep 14, 2009
650
1
0
Houston, TX
www.Angelic-Alchemy.com
For fruit fly exclusion I have been trying different ways of putting a little piece of paper towel under or over the cap on the 3-piece airlock. Because The fruit flies can fit through the little holes on the cap.

It works pretty well but I am not sure how much it slows the passage of CO2 out of the airlock. It probably is inconsequential because the airlocks seem to bubble away as usual.

As far as smoking scorpion tales goes, that sounds like something from a story in "Arabian Nights".

Meh. Exotic is as exotic does.

I've had some success repelling insects with essential oils of citronella, lemongrass and Himalayan cedar. They also dislike smoke, so burning a stick of incense in the area usually coaxes them away.
 

Oskaar

Got Mead Partner
Administrator
Dec 26, 2004
7,874
8
0
34
The OC
Just as long as they aren't carpenter ants....

Come to find the next day, your moat has half a dozen ships circling it and they've built a draw bridge...

As long as there's no large, brooding wooden horse. Otherwise, I hit the road with my recipe book! :eek:
 

ibwahooka

NewBee
Registered Member
Sep 7, 2008
158
0
0
Augusta, GA
At first I was joking, but on second thought it is not that far-fetched. If we are talking about bees and bee larvae that is.

I have made whole comb meads where some bees and larvae inevitable made it in.

Put a bee in the bottom of your bottle. Kind of like tequila/mescal.
 
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