Help!!!

[closetwine]

My watermelon somehow got fruit flies in thru the airlock!?! Is there anything I can do to save it?

 

[jboyer]

Did you have dust caps on the airlocks? I have them on mine, some have small vent holes and some just sit on top. I had a lot of fruit flies until I put up some fly strips which helps a lot. Every once in a while the fruit flies would land on top of the caps but never got in, also had pinch of k-meta in the airlock water.

 

[closetwine]

Yeah, I have caps on them they got thru and into the carboy!!! I can't figure it out?!? and I have no clue what to do now!

 

[Runningwolf]

Did you remember to put water in the air lock (not trying to be funny)?

 

[jboyer]

Whoa those are some crazy fruit flies! I'm not a expert, maybe someone else can chime in. Although I read on here if your wine is sulfited it may be ok. A couple of fruit flies is probably not anything to stress over, just not a whole bunch.

 

[closetwine]

Yeah it had water! I'm not that much of a newbie!!! LOL! Tell me about it, its the craziest thing I've ever seen. The wine is sulfited and doesn't appear or smell like it's suffering. It was about 5 or 6 babies. I found them when I went to backsweeten, they floated to the top and I overflowed the jug a little to get them out.

 

[danielpego]

damn, that is crazy. uh, maybe the eggs were in the grapes when you crushed them? or some crazy coincidental thing like that?

 

[Runningwolf]

They may have snuck in before you put the airlock on and didn't know it.

 

[closetwine]

No grapes... Watermelon. They coulda snuck in while I was splash racking that batch. I didn't do that on the other gallon and it didn't have any in it. So is it probably safe?

 

[Minnesotamaker]

My watermelon somehow got fruit flies in thru the airlock!?! Is there anything I can do to save it?

Are you trying to save the wine or the fruit fly?

Wine = sulfites

Fruit fly = mouth-to-mouth parts, and tiny chest compressions

 

[darrenct83]

I've had them get in to the airlock, but never to the wine. The alcohol content of the wine should keep it sanitary. Just get the flies out however you deem necessary and don't tell others who drink it about the flies

 

[closetwine]

Fruit fly = mouth-to-mouth parts, and tiny chest compressions[/QUOTE]

They Didn't teach me that in CPR!!! LOL!
No, I'm way more concerned about my wine than the flys, they died drunk!

 

[Sirs]

ok I know a way to keep them from getting into the water in your airlocks. what I do is get a cotton ball tear off about 1/3 to 1/2 of it make it where it's loose so air can get thru easy but not to loose so nothnig can get thru it, I've had to clean my change my cotton on my plum 2 times and both times it had 8 or 9 fruit flys on top of it dead of course but nothing in water. Seems to have solved the fly problem in the water.

 

[closetwine]

Thanks for the idea! I've been havin' lots of problems with those stupid flies!

 

[winemaker_3352]

I use vodka in my airlocks - never had a problem with fruit flies getting in there.

 

[robie]

I would never use just plain water in an air lock. As mentioned, vodka or sanitizing solution work well.