>Do these tsi-tsi flies hurt anything?  Can they hurt anything or the
>ferrets?  Is there any way to get rid of them besides the fly strips?
>Yes, I realize that these are oridinary fruit flies, but I'm Wolfy and I
>have to have a Wolfy way of naming them.
 
Hi Wolfy,
 
When I was in college (eons ago!), my genetics class inadvertently
produced a swarm of fruit flies that invaded the school cafeteria.  To
say my class was not so popular there would be a major understatement!  I
had to survive on vending machine fare for some time.  :)
 
They won't hurt ferrets or people, but they sure are annoying when
they're buzzing around your face.  (Actually, they're sort of cute, as
flies go, when you look at them under magnification.) The ONLY way to get
rid of them permanently is to figure out where they are feeding &
reproducing and eliminate that.  It has to be something sweet/starchy
that remains moist.  They eat fruits and vegetables (hence the name fruit
flies) and lay their eggs on the food source, so the babies will have
something to eat when they hatch.  One fly can produce hundreds of
offspring in just a few weeks.  I get them in my kitchen every now and
then when I forget to empty the compost pail.  Once I empty it, a few
flies will still be buzzing around the house for a week or so, then
they're gone.  Their life span is 20 to 30 days.
 
Good luck!
 
Nancy and critters
[Posted in FML issue 3918]