death to fruit flies

i've found a fun way of getting rid of fruit flies - and we have had lots of practice...

the window screens in our place aren't all that great - the frames are not level and so there are gaps to either side of the screen. this means that we're constantly battling flies and other critters that wander in. well, with the indoor compost and the cats wrecking havoc fruit flies have been promulgating to no end. it doesn't help that we've set a number of traps up that have, i believe, proved tempting to other fruit flies that are idly flying by our windows and decide to set up shop. so, yes, we've been catching hundreds of the suckers in little dishes of vinegar (apple cider) with saran wrap on top (with holes to let them in) and wine bottles with traces of wine left in them.

i even tried to bake the suckers one time - i left a pie place in the over with a bit of wine in it overnight and when i woke up shut the oven door and turned the heat way up. well, i probably toasted a bunch but was not cruel enough to turn on the oven light and watch them burn.

however, i am cruel enough for my latest killing method - the hand-vac. this thing is great. you aim it where they are and fire away! most are sucked in instantly but a few try to outrun it and that's where the fun begins. as with the gravity of small planets there is a point of no return and many flies seem to hang in mid-air as they slide over the precipice, picking up speed as they enter the machine.

it would be way cool to add sound effects to the process - alas fruit flies are too small to make much of a thud or 'smuck' noise as they die...