Get Rid of Fruit Flies
FRUIT FLIES are unavoidable– Every single summer, I end up with at least one infestation in my kitchen.
It starts out innocently enough — I’ll notice a fruit fly or two buzzing around a bunch of bananas on the kitchen counter. They’re annoying, but harmless. In a few days, though, the fruit flies have multiplied. Give them a week or two, and you end up with an entire fruit fly village in your home, buzzing in your face, dive bombing your end-of-the-day glass of Chardonnay, and generally making life unbearable.
Fortunately, an online friend told me years ago how to get rid of fruit flies, easily, cheaply, safely, and EFFECTIVELY. Here’s the recipe:
First, take a wide mouth jar and fill it 1/2 — 3/4 of the way full with apple cider vinegar. (No other vinegar will work, btw. It has to be apple cider vinegar.)
Add a few drops of dish soap, then fill the rest of the jar with water until the bubbles reach the rim of the jar.
Finally, in the words of my lovely friend…. WATCH THE CARNAGE.
If you leave that jar alone for a few hours, the fruit flies will come. TRUST ME. THEY WILL COME. Check it:
Sorry, my little winged friends. No one ever said life was fair.
Drawn by the scent of the vinegar, the fruit flies get caught in the bubbles and die. When the bubbles disappear, dump some of it out and fill it with a little more water. Keep changing out your jar periodically until they’re all gone — It’ll generally take between 24 and 48 hours to get rid of all of them.
You’ll probably be amazed by how many fruit flies you had in the house. It’s disgusting and yet strangely satisfying to count how many fill your jar at the end of the day. And it’s a HUGE relief to eat and drink in peace again, without worrying that a fruit fly is going to ruin your meal.
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I have been infested with fruit flies for over 3 weeks now. Ordered fancy traps, tried the funnel thing with vinegar, even chased them down with a fly swatter! Even this tip didn’t work. Any other ideas? I AM DESPERATE.
I have problems with them as well. Do the above with apple cider vinegar & original sunlight dish soap, it is the only soap that works. I simply mix the two and then top the container with saran wrap and poke a few holes in the top, that way they get stuck. Also pour bleach down all of your drains, that is where they lay eggs and bleach is the only thing that kills them. Hope this helps!
Try apple juice in a cup. We had a ton of them and my kids left a cup of juice on the counter and I have as filled wi h them.:.. But it does taken24 hours
Also try dumping some bleach down your sink drains. I had the same problem, no fruit even around. Something must have been caught in pipes. Poured some bleach down it, waited about 30-45 and then ran some water down it and they were gone.
Sounds like you had drain flies rather than fruit flies.
Yes you have drain flies
I have this issue now and what I do is take a 1/2 cup of Baking Soda pour it down your drain and take 1 cup of white distilled vinegar and pour it on the baking soda it will start to fizzle and you will see tiny specks come up let this sit in your drain for 1 hour and then take a boiling pot of water and pour it down your drain
Yes…this is what I do…I get a bowl and I pour red wine in the bottom…and drop a half of banana or couple slices of apples. Then I cover the bowl TIGHTLY with saran wrap …and very carefully with the tip of a knife poke TINY holes in the top. Maybe 5 or so. Then put the bowl where no one will bother it or scare the flies..and wait a few hours…then I quickly throw my dish towl over it..pick up the bowl..and quickly walk out back and away from my house and take off the towl and wrap and watch them all fly away. I do it over and over till they are gone. Has worked a couple years for me so far.
take your hair dryer and get an extension chord- a long one. Then turn it on, flip it backwards, and use the back fan end to suck them in to their death. Effective, yet fun.
I have had some success w/organic, raw red wine vinegar & soap… they seem to know the difference between the cheap stuff and the expensive stuff.
I have had even better success with dousing left over fruit in Truvia sweetener. Leaving it in a yogurt cup with holes cut n the lid… I read that the Truvia acts a poisen to them, killing them in just 3-5 days. (They can live up to 30days)
It worked… no more fruit flies for over a month now.
I have had some success w/organic, raw red wine vinegar & soap… they seem to know the difference between the cheap stuff and the expensive stuff.
I have had even better success with dousing left over fruit in Truvia sweetener. Leaving it in a yogurt cup with holes cut n the lid… I read that the Truvia acts a poisen to them, killing them in just 3-5 days. (They can live up to 30days)
It worked… no more fruit flies for over a month now.
Buy an electric fly swatter. They look like a tennis racket. With the push of a button some electricity will run through the wires. Just wave the swatter over the area with the flies and watch them burn 😉
fruit flies are a part of life – but they don’t have to be a nuisance. this method works great, but you only need about 1/4 cup total liquid. i use a custard dish, 1/8 cup cider vinegar, 2 drops of dawn and 1/8 cup water. no need for bubbles, just stir it with your finger. i always have one tucked away out of sight on my counter. i change the liquid every other day and it works. you’ll still see them, but that’s the price you pay for storing fruits/veg on your counter.
oh! try vacuuming them up with the hose – it works great and it’s fun!
Take balsamico, the dark one, that works even better!
I put AC Vinegar and Dish Soap in a small container right beside my on the counter fruit when I put it out … keeps the little buggers under control … Don’t wait til they become a problem.
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