Fruit Fly BarPro - 4 Month Protection Against Flies, Cockroaches, Mosquitos & Other Pests - Portable for Indoor & Outdoor Use

Ok, so I never leave reviews on products. And I was ready to return it on day two because I hadn't really seen a difference. All of a sudden on day 3 I come home and there's almost no fruit flies, maybe a third of what was there the day before. I was in shock. I went to sleep, woke up the next morning and not a single fruit fly was in my house. I don't know how this thing works but I promise you it works!

"You could mention easy to use, value for money or longevity" -- Amazon's suggestion for this product reviewPer the back of the product package: "If this product is used within homes, use only in closets, wardrobes and cupboards."More generally, it can be used in "garbage rooms, lavatories, floor drains (to sewer), entries and vestibules, offices, locker rooms, machine rooms, boiler rooms, utility equipment, garages, mop closets and product storage (after canning and bottling).""This product may be used in non-food/feed areas... DO NOT use in areas where people will be for an extended period of time."Seems like it's probably not a good idea to use this product in the home. What if I go for broke and put it next to a window that I like to keep open at least sometimes? "Place... away from windows.... [as] drafts, weather and other conditions may affect performance."The above quotes are from the back of the package. As for the novella we are given to read on this product's Amazon page, buried near the end is this handy little warning: this product should not be used in areas where people spend more than 15 hours per day. You mean, areas like my freaking HOME?? That's a deceptively important warning that I totally failed to notice before buying this product.The active ingredient in this product is an insecticide called dichlorvos. According to Wikipedia, dichlorvos is a neurotoxin that also damages insect DNA. That seems to be how it kills insects, but it has been shown to affect higher-order animals, as well, including humans. "Acute and prolonged exposure may lead to death, genotoxic, neurological, reproductive, carcinogenic, immunological, hepatic, renal, respiratory, metabolic, dermal and other systemic effects. Its toxicity is due to the ability of the compound to inhibit acetyl cholinesterase at cholinergic junction of the nervous system." ("Dichlorvos toxicity: A public health perspective", Henshaw Uchechi Okoroiwu and Iwara Arikpo Iwara).Prevalent in urban waterways, each tenfold increase in organophosphate metabolites (like dichlorvos) is associated with a 50-70% increase in the odds of ADHD in children. (Wikipedia)The DHHS says it may reasonably be anticipated to be a carcinogen. The EPA has revised the acceptable use parameters for dichlorvos down multiple times, and the EU has banned it outright.The Washington State Department of Health issued a warning about the chemical called "Pest Strips with Dichlorvos." They wrote, "Organophosphate pest strips (strips that contain dichlorvos) are legal, but we are concerned they are making people sick, especially if they are not used according to their directions. We are working... to improve warnings... and make the restrictions about occupied areas more clear on the product label. The strips should not be used in general living or sleeping areas."The label also says the pest strips can be used in vacation homes, cabins, and mobile homes - but only if “unoccupied for more than four months immediately following placement of pest strip."" (end quote)I have two young children in my home. Thank goodness that I am assiduous about reading the instructions that manufacturers provide on their products, or I would have exposed my family to a carcinogenic neurotoxin that was never supposed to be in home in the first place. And I'm not the only one. Reading the Q&A's, it's evident that many people who have bought this product are completely oblivious to its risks, meaning they did NOT read the manufacturer's instructions. For example, somebody (apparently trying to piece together how a product with so many restrictions could possibly be meant for home use) asked if it would be effective throughout the home if placed in a closet. One after another, other customers responded, "Why would you do that? I put it here and there and everywhere in my home! It's great!"I can't blame them. We've gotten used to a corporate world that looks out for our safety -- if only at the behest of the federal government. Like others, I bought this product assuming it was safe for my home simply because it's on Amazon. I assumed, without even thinking about it, that if a commercial/industrial-use product with only a handful of safe residential applications were to be sold on Amazon, this would be made very clear in the product title alone, not to mention the subsequent text and images. Other sellers are careful not to mislead and disappoint buyers about much less serious things.We should all know better than to totally cede all responsibility for our own health and welfare to regulators and businesses. I hope somebody reads this and buys something else.

These little bars / strips have proven to be quite effective when correctly used, and seemaccurate in their advertised longevity. I’ve gotten to see a bit better as the weather cools and remaining flies in the area, of which there are many due to restaurants’ dumpsters, etc. has sent them in search of warmer hangouts. It almost seems a tradition to fight them off late summer / early fall.At first, without really any flies to worry about, I just placed it kind of randomly. Note, there’s one top review that acts like you can place it no where - you can see the instructions yourself in that pic. “Not the kitchen” doesn’t mean “just closets”, as it lists stuff like offices and bathrooms as okay areas. If you have a fruit fly problem centered around the kitchen, cleaning and drain treatments are probably your answers, along with some traditional traps. I keep a couple of the decorative looking traps in the kitchen area to very good effect.This time I’ve had a strange issue where they seemed to keep coming from a single bathroom. I did what I could to treat the drains, and ultimately I don’t know what the cause was, or if they were actually drain flies, though they didn’t look it. Anyway, placing this had pretty quick results.The key is that unlike most “strips” its primary action is not simply stickiness. It does seem sticky as a couple flies have gotten stuck on it over the months, but it’s basically an area-effect killer. I don’t have much issues with house flies though occasionally one will get in, they of course are very much drawn to the bathroom. I was surprised to find one, then another dead right near this. Upon closer inspection, some fruit flies also lay dead in the general area. That’s pretty effective, I don’t know if it was just flying by or landing on it that did it, but it clearly worked fast.Realizing how it works, or at least that it wasn’t based on stickiness, I put it over a liquid lure, and the 2 pretty much immediately took care of business. I haven’t been bothered since.The price is high, but these do actually last, unlike the apple-shaped traps, which work but IME evaporate within 3 weeks or so, and don’t come with enough liquid to refill (and if I did half as much they’d evaporate even quicker). The liquid lure has been more effective for that style, whether put in a decorative glass trap or just some plastic cups. It already has something in it that reduces surface tension, eliminating the need to add soap, which, if chosen wrong, can be a deterrent. The lure liquid also doesn’t require the funnels or plastic wrap tops, either in directions or in practice, flies just go for it and get sucked in. Not all will go for the traps though, and this seems to handle the more “cautious” intruders.Living in the city, fruit flies are a yearly issue - even if I manage most of the summer without seeing more than 1 occasionally, unless you live as a shut in, more than 1, or one carrying eggs, will always get inside the house, and that’s been the case repeatedly. I imagine it’s the proximity to a main street - sharing a back alley with the restaurants etc. at that - that keep them around the area.Like many, I’ve used the old apple cider vinegar trick instead of the pre made lures, which does work if there are no desirable food sources but does require the soap addition, as well as a funnel or other physical one-way trap, but struggles if you aren’t extremely vigilant about taking all food waste out daily, watching what goes in the disposal, etc. For many that is easier said than done, and I hope most don’t have to discover a freshly laid batch - the stuff of nightmares (Though admittedly satisfying to coat in bug spray and throw out, knowing you’ve snuffed out a potential outbreak, given how 2 quickly becomes 20 which can become.. a lot, which nobody wants).In places like restaurants or just houses with kids etc., avoiding any food waste can be difficult, especially as at least here, fruit flies seem adapted to survive off anything from their namesake fruit to dairy products, random drain gunk, and god knows what else. To be sure, a thorough cleaning is necessary to start getting rid of them if they appear, but is not likely to completely get rid of them with multiple people/bigger house or anything like that, as well as restaurants, bars, etc., where they can hurt business, cost money (especially in bars that aren’t gross that would have to throw out any liquor they get into, as its an attractant), and all the rest, even in a well run placeThe specialized traps and lures do their part, as I said, but this is actually cheaper for the amount of time you get out of it. I don’t know if they’d work alone, but a couple can help get rid of any very quickly, as well as any other flying intruder I’ve seen. I still think there should be an extra 1 or 2 for the price, but it’s still a good product.

I had a real bad problem with fruit flies in my kitchen this fall. I had 3 jars with the inverted cones and apple cider vinegar in them and 2 fly tapes. That only seemed to control their numbers. The barpro was hung above the sink and nothing really happened until three or four days later. There was a big improvement and at around the week mark they were gone. It’s been a month and still nothing.

Didn’t work very well