How to get rid of fruit flies wikihow

Ugh, fruit flies — those little flying bugs that seem to make your whole kitchen feel filthy, even when it's not. The small flies that appear near your room-temp fruits and other kitchen items multiply quickly, laying hundreds of eggs, which become adults (and nuisances) in only days. Gross!

The good news? There are easy ways to get rid of fruit flies — and several are totally organic and achieved by using stuff you already have in the house. Get rid of fruit flies cheaply and quickly with these easy tips.

Organize your kitchen.

This tip stands to reason, of course, but the first step you can take in your fight against fruit flies is to banish any over-ripe fruit from the kitchen. Throw out anything that you don't plan to eat, and refrigerate anything else (or at least cover your fruit bowl, suggests WikiHow). Furthermore, make sure breeding grounds like recycling and garbage bins are free of traces of remnant food or spilled drink, Real Simple advises.

Make a cone trap.

A commonly known — and easy and cheap — trick for eliminating fruit flies is to create a cone-shaped trap. It takes only a minute! Just wrap a piece of paper into a cone shape. Then, cut the tip so the bottom is open, and place the trap into a jar or glass so the open tip remains above the liquid inside. That liquid should consist of apple cider vinegar, a splash of water and just a few drops of dish soap as bait. For a tutorial on this method, head on over to the Urban Farming Guys.

Make a plastic wrap trap.

Apartment Therapy came up with an alternative to the cone trap, which works using the same principle. Pour some form of liquid like apple cider vinegar or fruit juice into a glass as a bait to attract the flies, with a tiny bit of dishwashing liquid to keep them trapped. Then, cover the top of the glass with a piece of plastic wrap that contains a few toothpick-size holes. Use a rubber band to secure it if need be.

Alesandra Dubin is a Los Angeles-based writer and the founder of home and travel blog Homebody in Motion. Follow her on Facebook, Google+ and Twitter.

A version of this story originally appeared on iVillage in 2013.

1. 1

   Use rotten fruit. Your fruit fly problem probably didn’t start until you realized you left out some fruit that eventually rotted. Use the method that gathered the flies in the first place to capture them again, but, this time, lead them to a more morbid end. Place a piece of rotting fruit in a bowl, and stretch clear plastic over the top. Cut several small holes into the plastic using a toothpick, and leave it near the site of the flies. They will be attracted to the scent, but unable to get out.

2. 2

   Sacrifice some wine. Humans aren’t the only ones attracted to wine. Fruit flies flock to this alcohol as well.[1] Thankfully the perfect fly-catcher is ready-made anytime you crack open a bottle. Empty the bottle so that there is an inch or less of wine at the bottom. Leave this out near where the flies are gathering; they will fly in, but the funnel-effect of the bottleneck will keep them trapped.

3. 3

   Try apple cider vinegar. Apple cider vinegar is a great household product to have around, as it works in many ways around your home. Included in its abilities is the capacity to kill fruit flies after an outbreak.[2] Pour some of the vinegar into a cup, and add a plastic or paper funnel to the top. The funnel will block off most of the entrance, allowing a space large enough for the flies to enter but too small for the less-than-intelligent flies to exit. For an extra measure, add a bit of dish soap to the vinegar to create a fly poison.[3]

4. 4

   Make a dish soap trap. When added to a sweet solution, dish soap cannot be detected by fruit flies. The chemicals present in the soap will act as a poison and kill the unwary flies. Fill a jar with a mixture of vinegar (any kind) with sugar - it doesn’t matter in what proportion. Add in a squirt of dish soap and mix the solution well. The flies should be attracted to the sweet and sour scent but will die when they consume the soapy poison.

5. 5

   Make a beer trap.[4] Turns out fruit flies have a thing for lots of alcohol, not just wine. Grab a mason jar and fill it halfway with any kind of beer. Use a hammer and nail to puncture the metal lid several times, creating 3-5 holes. Screw the cap back on and leave the trap where the flies congregate. The beer can be dumped out every few days and replaced to catch more flies.[5]

6. 6

   Use a bottle of soda. If you already drink soda, then you’re in luck. Grab a bottle of soda (any kind, although colas tend to work well) and hammer a hole through the plastic lid. Empty the soda so that there is only an inch or less remaining in the bottom of the bottle. Replace the lid, and watch the flies swarm!

7. 7

   Try using yeast. This one may sound strange, but a concoction of yeast may do the trick in capturing and killing fruit flies. Fill a glass halfway with warm water and 1 teaspoon of sugar, and pour in some active dry yeast. Mix the solution (prepare for it to bubble!) and then cover the entire glass with plastic wrap. Poke holes in the top to let the flies in, but make sure they are small enough so that the flies can’t get back out.[6]

8. 8

   Hang up some fly strips. Undoubtedly the least attractive of the trapping methods, fly strips work wonders on capturing fruit flies. These ultra-sticky strips will attract flies and trap them the instant they set foot on the tape. Try hanging your strips in a less obtrusive setting than perhaps directly over your kitchen sink for the most appealing set-up.

1. 1

   Remove appealing breeding grounds. Fruit flies are, pretty obviously, attracted to fruit. However, they will flock to any generally dirty area and most rotten foods. Try to throw out bad foods immediately, and keep your trashcan area and drains clean and old-food-free. This will lower the temptation of turning your house into a breeding ground.

2. 2

   Kill their eggs. If your flies have gotten to the point where they are noticeable, it's likely that they have already laid eggs somewhere in your house. Fruit flies like moist areas, so the culprit locations are typically kitchen and bathroom sink and shower drains. Pour a bacterial digester down your drain to kill off any eggs that may be there. If you don’t have any on hand, bleach can work as a substitute, but being so thin and runny it may not stick well enough to the eggs to kill them.[7]

   • Fruit fly eggs can also be present on fruit that you bring into your home. Scrub fruit under running water to dislodge any eggs.[8]

3. 3

   Grow some fresh basil indoors. Strangely enough, fruit flies don’t like basil. If you want to use your green thumb to keep this herb fresh and on hand, you will also manage to keep fruit flies out. Grow basil in a small pot and keep it in your house where the flies seem to congregate. Kept near a bowl of fruit, the flies will be less likely to appear in the future.

4. 4

   Use cedarwood. Another strange natural remedy, fruit flies are repelled by the scent of cedarwood. Find a way to keep some in your home, either as decoration or for use in a fire, and your fruit fly population should diminish. Keep pieces of it stashed around your kitchen and near breeding grounds to scare the flies away.

5. 5

   Spritz some essential oils. Improve the aroma of your house and ward off flies and other insects by spraying your home regularly with certain essential oils. The scent of lemongrass oil and lavender are repulsive to fruit flies and many other bugs and cause them to avoid congregating in the area. Mix 10 drops of one of the oils with 2 ounces of hot water, and mist all the rooms of your house with it.[9]

1. 1

   Make a sticky swatter. Like most people, your first response to seeing a lot of fruit flies is to want to swat them. Unfortunately for us, their small size makes them incredibly difficult to swat. To fix this problem, make a homemade sticky swatter. Grab a styrofoam plate, and coat it with a thick layer of cooking spray. As you swat the tiny flies, they will get caught in the oil and stick to the plate, eventually dying.

2. 2

   Use a blow dryer. If you want to exact your revenge on those annoying little flies, pull out your hairdryer and get at them! Turn your blow dryer on so that the air is blowing away from the fans. The suction from the other side will suck up the flies, where they will be burned in the inner heater. A bit gruesome, sure. But your flies should disappear pretty quickly.

3. 3

   Burn a little incense. The very small respiratory systems of fruit flies are delicate and require a constant supply of clean air. This means that inhaled irritants, such as smoke, can kill them quickly. Although you can’t set a fire in your house, you can burn incense. The smoke and perfume put off by these sticks will lead your flies into a slow death.

4. 4

   Use a vacuum cleaner. Use a cleaner that has a flexible cylinder (and the better the suction, the more effective the solution will be). It should also have a wide nozzle.

   • Set one of the fruit traps out. When the fruit flies congregate, slowly move in.
   • If the flies have been sitting for a while, they don't fly away quickly as opposed to when they just landed. Suck them up quickly, then dispose of the contents outside.
   • The main thing is: for example, if the bag is full, the suction won't be strong and it will be almost useless to make the effort.

Add New Question

• Question

  What's the best way to prevent a fruit fly infestation?

  

  Kevin Carrillo
  MMPC, Pest Control Specialist

  Kevin Carrillo is a Pest Control Specialist and the Senior Project Manager for MMPC, a pest control service and certified Minority-owned Business Enterprise (MBE) based in the New York City area. MMPC is certified by the industry’s leading codes and practices, including the National Pest Management Association (NPMA), QualityPro, GreenPro, and The New York Pest Management Association (NYPMA). MMPC's work has been featured in CNN, NPR, and ABC News.
  

  Fruit flies proliferate very quickly and tend to be chronically reintroduced. What that means is that, for the most part, the fruit you're bringing into your home likely has fruit fly eggs already on it. If it sits in your home long enough or in your workplace long enough, chances are some of those eggs are going to hatch. To prevent the infestation from continuing, scrub all fruit you bring in with a brush under running water to get rid of any eggs. Alternatively, keep the fruit in airtight containers or in deep refrigeration.

• Question

  What if traps aren't working?

  

  Kevin Carrillo
  MMPC, Pest Control Specialist

  Kevin Carrillo is a Pest Control Specialist and the Senior Project Manager for MMPC, a pest control service and certified Minority-owned Business Enterprise (MBE) based in the New York City area. MMPC is certified by the industry’s leading codes and practices, including the National Pest Management Association (NPMA), QualityPro, GreenPro, and The New York Pest Management Association (NYPMA). MMPC's work has been featured in CNN, NPR, and ABC News.
  

  If you're seeing fruit flies in the hundreds, then you've probably already gotten to a point where you're going to need a pest control professional to help you mitigate the population. Traps are usually most effective against a small number of fruit flies, not a large infestation.

Ask a Question

• Thanks!

Co-authored by:

MMPC, Pest Control Specialist

This article was co-authored by Kevin Carrillo. Kevin Carrillo is a Pest Control Specialist and the Senior Project Manager for MMPC, a pest control service and certified Minority-owned Business Enterprise (MBE) based in the New York City area. MMPC is certified by the industry’s leading codes and practices, including the National Pest Management Association (NPMA), QualityPro, GreenPro, and The New York Pest Management Association (NYPMA). MMPC's work has been featured in CNN, NPR, and ABC News. This article has been viewed 2,097,238 times.

Co-authors: 35

Updated: May 6, 2021

Views: 2,097,238

Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 2,097,238 times.

• 

  "The article was very helpful for my fruit fly situation. I had used some of the remedies already to get rid of a lot of flies, but I still had flies daily. It wasn't until I read about the flies laying eggs that I had learned about more solutions I could use. Thank you for the helpful hints. "..." more