How to get rid of Fruit Flies and prevent them from Coming Back

Author:
Akhil Dev
Updated date:
Jul 1, 2014

Fruit flies can be quite a problem, especially if you live in warm areas. It will be annoying to cover all your fruit with cloth, paper, plastic or a lid, but this is often the only thing you can do to get rid of fruit flies. The good news is that the reality is much easier than you might expect, so here are some things you can do to get rid of these annoying flies once and for all:

How to Get Rid of them?

The biggest and most obvious way to get rid of fruit flies is to keep the kitchen clean.

If you keep your kitchen nice and clean, the flies will have nothing to be attracted to. They love the smell of fruit and vegetables.Use disinfectant to clean the counters every night, and immediately clean up any spills. Take the time to empty the food out of the siphon in your kitchen, and make sure the garbage can lid is clean.

It's a good idea to put the fruit in a bowl and cover with a lid, as the flies will have no way of getting to the fruit.
Empty the Recycle Bin often. Keep clean from all foods wastes.
Make sure rags are cleaned daily
Make sure sinks and garbage disposals are clean from pieces of food.
Pour 1 cup of bleaching solution in your kitchen sink.
Put all the fruit and vegetables in refrigerator.
Throw away ripe fruits or vegetables as flies are particularly attracted to these.

Fruit flies like anything sweet, and not just fruit. Spilled liquids containing sugar in any part of the house are a breeding ground for fruit flies.
Adhesive strips have been known to be effective fly trap.
Citronella candles emit a smell that these flies absolutely despise (this works for mosquitoes and flies as well).
Clean the sponge for washing dishes, preferably with soap and water. Rinse well and dry. Do not leave it wet on the sink.
Raisins, prunes and dates attract fruit flies.
Clean the outside of any open containers of juice, ketchup, vinegar, or cider. Close it. If possible, keep them in the refrigerator.

Fly Traps

Apart from the above methods these are the 2 best methods that have worked for me.

My 2 favorite ways to get rid of fruit flies:

Method 1

Locate the source of what the flies are attracted to and get rid of it as soon as possible.

Find a small bowl (like a cereal bowl).
Fill the bowl with about 2 inches with Apple Cider Vinegar.

Add 3 drops of dish soap.

Set the bowl in the area where the flies are more.

The fruit flies are strongly attracted to the cider, but the dish soap kills them almost instantly.The vinegar and soap will drown them, killing flies effectively.

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Depending on how many fruit flies is that you want to kill, use multiple bowls. After 24-48 hours of waiting, you will be free of fruit flies.

how-to-get-rid-of-fruit-flies-and-prevent-them-from-coming-back

Method 2

Take a 2 liter bottle and cut at the top right where the curve stops. In practice, we are creating a funnel.

Take the duck tape and ribbon high that it cuts off at point 1 firmly to the bottle upside down eliminating all the holes except for the opening hole bottle.

Fill the bottle halfway with something sweet (beer, soft drinks, etc.) and add 1 teaspoon of dish soap.

The flies fly in, but they are not smart enough to fly out.

Again, depending on how many flies you are dealing with you may need to create more of these bottles.

Leave the lights on near the traps. Fruit flies are attracted by lights.

Coke Trap.

Coke is full of sugar, which is just what fruit flies are looking for. Pour a little Coca-Cola in a soda bottle and close the top safely. Use a nail to make a hole in the top of the bottle, and leave it outside where flies can smell it. They will be attracted, and fly into the bottle to drink. They will be trapped inside the bottle, where they drown to death.