Home brew and fruit flies (forum)

Wayne starts with ...
I lost most of my Myer lemons this year to fruit fly so tried something different.

I first got rid of all the stung fruit, hung a trap to see how many male flies were around = lots.

I had just finnished making a home brew and had read about a product called "Mauri's Pinnacle Protein Insect Lure" so I thought I would give it a try.

"The yeast autolysate produced in Queensland is a light brown liquid, containing 420 g per litre of protein.

Time: 11th February 2010 7:27am

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About the Author Wayne
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John Mc says...
Hey Wayne,
I don't get it. Do you use the left overs in the pot after you have done the distilling process, that fowl smelling water?
Or do you use the wort before fermentation or after fermentation before distilling?

Regards,
John Mc


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Time: 12th February 2010 4:36pm

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About the Author John Mc1
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Julie says...
A bit off-topic, but how do you brew Scotch Wayne? Beer and wine I understand, but Scotch?

Time: 12th February 2010 6:16pm

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Wayne says...
Yep, that fowl smelling left over stuff John after it has been distilled.

It's easy to do Julie
Ferment 20L of water with 8kg of white sugar and a packet of 48hr yeast from the keg shop. I let it ferment for 4 weeks then boil it off in a still and I get about 4.5L of 90%, Water it down to 38% then add the scotch syrup and make a 1125L bottle for about $8

Time: 12th February 2010 8:02pm

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About the Author Wayne
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John Mc says...
I put the fermentation barrel in my hot house, it makes an excellent Co2 generator for the time it's fermenting.
You can also burn the distilled spirit in an old hurricane lamp to also generate Co2. Ethyl alcohol burns as Co2 and water vapour, so I collect and use all the before's and afters, no waste here.
I'm on the lookout for a Co2 meter if you know of any in Australia. There's some great hand held one's in America.

Time: 12th February 2010 10:51pm

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Original Post was last edited: 12th February 2010 10:52pm

About the Author John Mc1
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Charles cant spell says...
That's a big bottle o scotch wayne :)

Time: 13th February 2010 10:18am

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About the Author Charlesstillcantspell1
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Violet_Cactus says...
Hi John Mc, Are these Co2 meters in Oz any use to you?

http://shop.bigpond.com/Product.asp?Action=Detail&CID=20&SID=502&ID=113225&utm_source=getprice&utm_medium=cpc

http://shop.bigpond.com/Product.asp?Action=Detail&CID=20&SID=502&ID=116124&utm_source=getprice&utm_medium=cpc

Time: 13th February 2010 10:30am

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About the Author VioletCactus1
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Wayne says...
I tell you Charles that if you do it right it's as good as any top brand to drink. That's $8 for a 40oz bottle compared to something like $50 at the bottle shop.

Out of interest I put a fresh bait out yesterday and it has caught a lot of juvenile fruit fly, some so small that you wouldn't notice them out in the open.

Time: 13th February 2010 10:44am

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About the Author Wayne
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Wayne says...
That is very interesting information John and Violet, one of the meters would be handy just to check our appliances.

Thanks for that

Time: 13th February 2010 10:49am

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John Mc says...
Hi Violet,
No, that meter you have linked to only shows you the Kwh that your house uses and converts that power usage to a known amount of Co2 the power stations generate per Kwh.

I found the one I want it's linked to here
http://www.co2meter.com/products/co2-temperature-humidity-meter
This looks like an excellent meter. It shows you the actual amount of Co2 in the air inside my hot house. Apparently I can go up to 1500PPM safely. Compared to 300-400ppm in the normal air we breath, 1500ppm will push the plants along nicely I believe.

Time: 13th February 2010 3:52pm

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About the Author John Mc1
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kert says...
Wayne, I use yeast autolysate also but have trouble sourcing the product in Sydney. Where in Qld . do you buy yours?
Also the attraction of the bait can be improved by adding ammonia (available in supermarkets as a "Cloudy Ammonia")The resultant mix should have a pH of about 8.2 You can find a reference for this in several research papers.

Time: 18th February 2010 3:34pm

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Wayne says...
Sorry about the delay Kert, I don't think we can get it here in QLD anymore either.

I'm using the remnants from my home brewing.

Thanks for that Cloudy Ammonia reference, our garden giru up here specifies urine, but I reckon the Cloudy Ammonia sounds more user friendly

Time: 22nd February 2010 8:00pm

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About the Author Wayne
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