How to Get Rid of Fruit Flies: 10 Ways That Actually Work

Table of Content

• How do you get rid of flies inside the house?
• What Causes Fruit Flies and What Is the Fastest Way to Get Rid of Them?
• How To Get Rid Of Fruit Flies Without Vinegar
• Professional traps
• Home Remedies For Cracked Heels And Dry Feet
• Set up a fruit fly trap

A fruit fly infestation won't just go away on its own—it'll likely only get worse. Even if the adult fruit flies die, you'll continue to get new fruit flies every day unless you cut off the source. Fruit flies are probably some of the most annoying unwanted household pests.

Cover the opening with a piece of plastic wrap, and puncture a few holes in the top of it. The fruit flies will be lured in by the scent of the banana, and not be able to find the top holes to fly out of the trap. Fruit flies are attracted to the smell of the cider vinegar, and will attempt to land on its surface. However, they're in for a big surprise—since the dish soap breaks the surface tension of the vinegar, the fruit flies fall in and drown. Wash your dishes after each meal to remove any food that may attract fruit flies. Use hot soapy water to wash your dishes and rinse them well.

How do you get rid of flies inside the house?

Just like normal flies, fruit flies can cross contaminate your food. One way to prevent infestation is to just wash your fruits before storing them in your fridge. Look first for fruit fly sources in areas where vegetables or fruits are stored outside refrigeration.

Then, make a solution by mixing one cup of vinegar and one cup of baking soda. Cover the drain with a drain plug for about 10 minutes. This should unclog the kitchen sink drain, making it a less attractive place for fruit flies to reside. You should pour boiling water into the sink drain for getting rid of the fruit flies.

What Causes Fruit Flies and What Is the Fastest Way to Get Rid of Them?

After hatching, the larva feast on their surroundings for a few days before evolving into fully formed adults. Fruit flies are attracted to ripened fruits and rotten vegetables, as well as fermented beverages. The best way to get rid of fruit flies is to use apple cider vinegar traps or to make sure all surfaces are clean. You should also take out the trash regularly and wash your dishes after each meal. If you have any overripe fruits or rotten vegetables, get rid of them immediately. Unfortunately, overripe fruits are often the source of fruit fly infestations.

There are a lot of disposable fruit fly traps in the market. What you have to do is to simply open the lid of the trap and put it nearby the area where there are a lot of them. Expect to see quite a number of dead fruit flies the day after.

How To Get Rid Of Fruit Flies Without Vinegar

Although they look like gnats, fruit flies are a different species that are attracted to different things. Gnats are usually gray or black, while fruit flies are either tan, red, orange or brown, sometimes with red eyes. Combine equal parts of the two in a small bowl and add a pinch of sugar to the mix. There are biodegradable waste bags that you can use instead of ordinary plastic bags.

The fruit fly is not capable of causing damage to a home. It is just a great nuisance, especially when there are a lot of them. As one expert with Terminix Commercial tells ApartmentTherapy.com, you can't really eliminate the threat of fruit flies permanently. There are too many ways for the tiny buggers to get in. They're kind of, sort of endemic -- to use a term all of us can easily understand these days.

Professional traps

DIY fruit fly traps are all over the internet, and they're all inexpensive and easy to make. Traps range from a bowl full of vinegar to contraptions made from plastic soda bottles reminiscent of grade-school science projects. The idea is to set out some traps on the kitchen counter, wherever fruit flies hang out. The flies are attracted to the liquid in the trap, then they get trapped or they drown. You can also buy sticky fly traps designed for fruit flies.

Left unchecked, flies can produce two or more generations per month. Experts swear by apple cider vinegar traps as the best way to get rid of fruit flies. Experts say that fruit juices or alcoholic beverages attract newly adult fruit flies who are looking for a mate. Once they find your spill, they will lay their eggs in it, and the cycle begins anew.

You can also put newspapers at the bottom of the dustbin to help absorb moisture. If you know how to identify a fruit fly vs. a gnat, you can take the appropriate steps toward evicting them from your home. If you spot a swarm of gnats in your home, there are simple ways of eliminating them.

Like vinegar, fruit flies love the smell of wine. Try leaving out an open bottle with a little leftover liquid — the skinny neck will keep the flies trapped. The Old Farmer's Almanac also recommends using stale beer to attract fruit flies to a DIY trap.