If you’re ready to get rid of the fruit flies in your home, there are a few things you need to know. First, it’s really important that you confirm these pests are in fact fruit flies. Different removal methods work for different bugs; if you’re treating for fruit flies but you actually have drain flies, your path to a bug-free home is going to be longer and much more annoying. Another important step—before you start the removal process—is pinpointing the source of entry. If you know where the fruit flies are coming from, you can more effectively eradicate the source.
What are fruit flies?
A fruit fly is a small fly that feeds on fruit. Adult fruit flies actually lay their eggs embedded in decaying organic matter or on the surface of overripe fruits. For these reasons, overripe or decomposing food is the number one culprit of causing fruit flies in the home. Fruit flies live off of the juices of fruit, which give them sustenance, nutrients, and energy. The more time a fruit fly has to feed off the fruit, the more the fly will mature into its adult self, becoming ready to lay its own larvae. Gross, isn’t it?
How do I identify fruit flies?
Properly identifying fruit flies is crucial because you want to make sure you’re using the most effective treatment method. If you think you have drain flies and are pouring bleach down the drains, but the flies aren’t going away, it’s probably because you’re not dealing with drain flies after all. So, here’s how you can identify each individual winged pest. It’s kind of yucky and it may require you to get closer than comfort to the bugs, but it’ll help you out in the long run. Fruit flies are brown and rounder in shape than their other gnat-like counterparts. Drain flies have bigger wingspans and appear to have hairy or fuzzy bodies. Lastly, the gnat is black and has long legs, like a mosquito, but with a smaller body—here’s exactly how to get rid of gnats fast.
Where do fruit flies come from?
Creepily enough, most commonly, we’re the ones inviting fruit flies into our own homes by bringing home produce. Once the produce becomes overripe, or goes bad, fruit flies may start to emerge. This is because, as mentioned above, adult fruit flies most commonly lay their eggs on the surface of overripe fruits. As the larvae eats more and more of the fruit’s juices, it gets nutrients and energy that cause it to mature into an adult fruit fly. Now, fruit flies don’t have a long lifespan at all, but they pose an infestation or swarm issue because of how quickly they lay eggs and mature. An individual fly may only live a month and a half, but as they continue to eat off of nutrient sources, the adult flies continue laying more eggs.
How to get rid of fruit flies in the kitchen
Because fruit flies find their way into the home via produce, fruit flies most often become an issue in the kitchen. Luckily, there are a few different tactics you can try to get rid of fruit flies in the kitchen.
Rotten Fruit Trap
Give them what they love most. Place a piece of rotting fruit into a jar, then cover it with a little bit of vinegar. Roll a piece of paper into a cone, then place it also in the jar, with the narrow end pointing down. This works because the vinegar and rotten fruit chunk will attract the fruit fly to the mixture, but the fly won’t be able to fly up and out of the paper cone.
Plastic Wrap Trap
Remember: Gnats have a tricky time flying back up. For this reason, a bowl covered in plastic wrap can also do the trick. Mash some overripe bananas in a bowl, then cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Poke a few holes into the plastic so that the gnats can fly into it. They’ll likely get stuck in the banana and not be able to fly back up and out of the holes.
Wine Bottle Trap
Using some expired wine that is more on the vinegary side, add a few drops of liquid dish soap to the wine inside the wine bottle. (Make sure it’s less than halfway full; you want as much space as possible for the fruit fly to try to fly back up and die.) The fruit flies should drown as soon as they land on the surface, thanks to the liquid dish soap. But if some of them do survive the mixture, they should have a pretty hard time flying back up and out the wine bottle.
Beer Trap
Beer (and any other beverage that’s highly fermented) should also work just as well as wine to attract and trap fruit flies. Just make sure to add in some drops of liquid dish soap; this is what traps the fruit flies.
Apple Cider Vinegar Trap
Vinegar can be extremely effective in luring fruit flies into a trap. It’s fermented and smells sweet to flies. In a container, mix two tablespoons of apple cider vinegar, one tablespoon of sugar, and a few drops of dish soap. Mix until the sugar dissolves. Place several bowls of this mixture in areas where fruit flies frequent. You’ll want more than one bowl.
Fruit Fly Trap
How to get rid of fruit flies in plants
We hate to break it to you but if you have “fruit flies” flying around your succulents or overwatered plants, they probably aren’t fruit flies at all. Most likely, you’ve got yourself a fungus gnat infestation. Fungus gnats come about when plants are severely overwatered and start getting moldy. Gnats thrive in warm, humid, and moist climates, so overwatered plants are totally their MO.
Will bleach get rid of fruit flies?
Bleach is generally a more efficient removal tactic for drain flies. If you have flies that frequent your sink, tub, or shower drains, they are probably drain flies. You can get rid of these by pouring a half cup of bleach down the drain. You can repeat this method as needed.
Will vinegar get rid of fruit flies?
An apple cider vinegar trap could help you get rid of the fruit flies but remember: Vinegar simply attracts the fruit flies. It’s not the element of the trap that kills them. In order to have a well-functioning vinegar trap, you’ll want to mix the vinegar with a few drops of liquid soap and sugar. The sugar and apple cider vinegar will lure in the fruit flies, while the liquid dish soap will trap and kill them.
How to get rid of fruit flies when vinegar doesn’t work
If an apple cider vinegar trap and any of the other home remedies for fruit flies above don’t work, you may want to resort to a more serious method, like a spray.
What to spray to get rid of fruit flies
You can make your own spray at home to get rid of fruit flies. Mix two cups of water with an essential oil like rosemary, peppermint, or lemongrass. Mix it well, then spray in areas that are fruit fly infested. Ready to try a method that will get rid of the fruit flies once and for all? Fruit Fly Control is an insecticide aerosol that uses the ingredient of pyrethin to kill fruit flies. Some of the most effective fruit fly sprays on the market include Stryker 54, CB 80 Pyrethin Aerosol, or PT 565.
How to get rid of fruit flies when you can’t find the source
It’s important to find the source of your fruit flies so that you can get rid of the source effectively. If you cannot find the source, it’s likely because your fruit flies are coming in by way of your produce. Should that be true, you want to make sure you compost or throw out your produce before it gets overripe or goes bad. Make sure to keep the lid to the garbage closed tightly and to take out the garbage and compost frequently.
How to prevent fruit flies
Fruit flies are gross and once you get rid of them, you’ll never want to deal with them ever again. To make sure an infestation never happens again, take care to prevent fruit flies with these tips. Wash your produce as soon as you bring it home from the grocery store. This rids the eggs or larvae that might already be laid on the surface. Store fruit and vegetables in the refrigerator, rather than on the counter or on the table. Wipe up spills immediately, especially if they are particularly sugary drinks like juice or alcohol. If you have food leftovers, keep them in a sealed container. If you’re composting, make sure to cover the compost bin tightly. Tightly close the lid on the garbage. If you also have an outdoor trash or dumpster that’s kept near the house, make sure that it is also tightly sealed. Open outdoor garbage cans can attract way worse than gnats—ants, roaches, and raccoons could smell the odors and make their way over. Keep your home on the colder side and make sure to dry damp areas. Fruit flies love moist and warm, so the drier the better. Here are 101 inspiringMarie Kondo quotes about organizing, decluttering and more!
