Vinegar flies / fruit flies

For all your questions about diet and food for your finches
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BrettB
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Location: Perth

Fruit flies and vinegar flies are common through out Australia and there are many different species.
Here in Perth/WA the Mediterranean Fruit fly is a major introduced pest.
Attempts to eradicate it failed long before I was born but it remains a “declared pest”.
As a teenager my family owned a Mandarin orchard and I spent far too many hours involved in the control of Mediterranean fruit fly.
The Queensland fruit fly has similar impact on the east coast, although this is a native species.

Mediterranean fruit fly prefer to lay there eggs in ripening fruit that is hanging on the tree. This “struck” fruit will have a small hole in the skin and will usually drop from the tree prematurely. The rotting fruit under the tree, full of Mediterranean fruit fly larva, was infected while it was still hanging on the tree and is now completing the life cycle on the ground.

Vinegar flies are generally much smaller (not much more than 1 mm) and have a preference for rotten fruit. They are the small flies hanging around your fruit bowl, that you forgot to empty a week or so ago, or the compost bin.

Vinegar flies are generally the ones we cultivate in Aviculture, using rotten fruit in a bucket with a lid. Small holes allow the flies entry and exit and keep the birds away from the rotting fruit.
This allows the birds access to a small supply of live food, but also encourages their natural foraging behaviour.

So who cares, fruit flies / vinegar flies … so what.

Well not the aviculturalist, live food is live food.
However, the orchardist next door may have a different view.
So when he lazily leans over the fence one Sunday afternoon and asks “What's in the bucket”, don't say fruit fly as he is likely to have an apoplectic fit.

The politically correct term is vinegar flies and they do no harm to anyone
"We don't see things as they are, we see things as we are ." Anais Nin
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Craig52
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Very good explanation Brett,well done. Yes always use the term "vinegar flies" to stop confusion with the fruit damaging and pest fruit flies.
It wasn't that long ago that all state borders had a fruit fly inspection where you were stopped from crossing the borders and your vehicle was searched for fruit. Most are now an honour system where you bin your fruit and continue on your way.
Vinegar flies are also red in colour with red eyes. Craig
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Tiaris
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Or you could call them drosophila.
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mr skeeter
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Location: Melbourne Vic

gday graham ever thought of righting a book regarding finch keeping with all your knowledge it would be very interesting reading pal. hope everyone has a great xmas and new year with lots of young birds on the perch. cheers mick
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Tiaris
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Possible retirement plan Mick. Few years yet.
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davlee
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Location: Richmond, S.A.

I have tried getting vinegar flies for my finches with no results at all.
I have placed 3 cut up lemons on the base of a 9 litre bucket - mesh over the top. After 3 weeks outside, no vinegar flies.
What am I doing wrong?

Dave
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deegs
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Location: Adelaide SA

Dave,
Don't use any citrus, only apples and vegetable scraps, see how you go then.
Cheers.
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Tiaris
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Tomato, stone fruit, watermelon skin, rockmelon skin & pulp, mango skins, cucumber, banana peels. Any old fruit & beg scraps. I find old ice cream or large honey buckets with lids on top are best. Tape some bird mesh on two opposite side windows and push a stick through from one side to the other as a perch. Lid 0n top and side windows are important as an open top allows bird droppings in & then allows for flies to be bred in fouled media & then become worm infestation hazard.
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Ian Hamilton
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Be aware that the scent also attracts cockroaches.
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Tiaris
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I hang mine from the fibro ceiling in the back of the aviary making it impossible for anything other than drosophila to get to it.
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