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Getting Rid Of Fruit Flies

It's easy to learn with homemade traps using household ingredients. You can use ripened fruit, beer, or apple cider vinegar to lure, trap, and kill them. Place a few DIY fruit fly traps below around the house near sinks, food cabinets, and trash cans. If the fruit fly infestation is severe, consider commercial products like sprays and traps or go all-natural and let a carnivorous plant handle the pest control. The key to preventing a fruit fly infestation is to eliminate any potential breeding grounds.

"Fruit fly eggs may already be present on fruit or vegetables that are brought home from the grocery store," explains Fredericks. "Also, remove kitchen trash daily and keep garbage and recycling bins clean," he says. Eliminating those things that attract fruit flies is the best way to avoid problems. Ripe fruit or damaged fruit should be eaten, refrigerated or thrown away. Fruit flies can reproduce anywhere there is wet fermenting organic matter present. Check drawers and other areas where fruit, potatoes or onions are stored to make sure that none are starting to rot or leak juice.

Empty the kitchen garbage can every evening and make sure it is clean and dry before adding new garbage. Any spilled fruit juice, beer, wine or liquids that may ferment should be completely cleaned up. Check under your refrigerator and other movable appliances and furniture for hidden spills and messes. Thoroughly clean recyclable cans and bottles before storing them and avoid storing them in the living space whenever possible. Fruit flies may also develop in garbage disposals and drains. Drains and traps should be cleaned as well as possible and sterilized with boiling water.

Even though it seems that they just pop up out of nowhere, the truth is fruit flies are attracted to fermenting fruits and vegetables and thrive on high-fructose substances. Female fruit flies lay their eggs on the surface of or inside overripe, rotting, or decaying fruit. Each female fruit fly can lay up to 500 eggs at a time!

For that reason, it's important to take action as soon as you see the very first fruit fly. After hatching, the larva feast on their surroundings for a few days before evolving into fully formed adults. Overall, their life cycle is fairly quick—fruit flies are capable of mating just two days after they become adults—which means your cleanup clock starts immediately. Fruit flies can reproduce anywhere there is fermenting organic matter that stays consistently wet or moist.

Like other flies, the fruit flies develop from larvae, and fruit fly larvae must have moist, fermenting organic matter in order to survive. The most likely of such sites in the home is a slow-moving or seldom-used sink, bathtub, shower, or floor drain in which a layer of slime has built up above the water line. In restaurants and bars, other moist accumulations of fermenting organic matter are possible and should be considered. These include wet areas under dripping pipes and refrigeration equipment, garbage containers, and discarded bottles and cans.

Regardless of where the flies originate, they will be seen at windows and at sinks, as they are attracted to light and to moisture. Cleaning up spilled beer residue nightly in commercial bars and kitchens is of prime importance as beer will attract and provide a food source for fruit flies. Keep drains clean– Both kitchen and bathroom drains can provide ideal locations for fruit flies to lay their eggs. There are two DIY methods of drain cleaning that come recommended for fruit fly prevention. One is to flush drains with boiling water and use a metal pipe brush available at many hardware supplies and then flush once again with more boiling water.

This helps remove any particles that might be clinging to the pipe walls and providing a ready food source. The second method is to pour a mixture of, half a cup of salt, half a cup of baking soda and a cup of apple cider vinegar into the drain and let it sit overnight. For starters, how do you know if what's swarming your kitchen is a bunch of fruit flies or some other type of flying insect?

Unlike gnats or drain flies, fruit flies are light yellow in color and they're often found near overripe fruit or sticky fermented liquids, like juice or wine. They don't bite and their lifespan is relatively short, but once once they make their way into your home, they can lay up to 500 eggs at a time! Don't panic—first remember that they're pesky, but they're not the worst (we'll take fruit flies over cockroaches or spiders any day!). Plus, there are natural remedies, simple traps and store-bought sprays and treatments that can help. Find out what causes these critters and how to get rid of fruit flies for good right here.

When you bring in tomatoes, squash or other goodies from the garden, an infestation can easily start indoors. They're also quickly enamored with those overripe bananas, potatoes, onion or any other unrefrigerated produce left on your counter or in your pantry. They're also drawn to anything with alcohol or vinegar. Old beer and wine act as ready-made fruit fly traps. The flies are attracted to the smell of stale beer and vinegary wine, and the skinny bottlenecks will trap them on their way down to happy hour.

You can also add a little dish soap to your brew to be sure you catch the critters. Another option is to pour some beer or wine into a mason jar, seal it, and poke holes into the top in order to create a trap. When you're tossing out your household's questionable produce, you might want to reserve a small amount of it to make a fruit fly trap. Take a piece of overripe or rotting fruit and place it in a jar or bowl.

Then, pour a tablespoon or so of vinegar over it . Finally, place a piece of plastic wrap over the vessel, secure it with a rubber band and poke a few small holes in it. This will ensure that the fruit flies don't escape after they approach the fruit. The other kitchen fruit fly solution is to trap them. There are several traps that you can construct on your own from readily available materials.

The majority of these involve placing some form of bait in a bowl or glass. The bait can be a piece of fruit, apple cider vinegar, yeast, and sugar dissolved in water, even old beer or red wine. You then cover the bowl or glass with plastic wrap and poke small, think toothpick size, holes in the plastic. The fruit flies can find the holes to enter by following the trail of the gases that the bait gives off. They become trapped and you can dispose of them as you see fit.

Note that it is important to use clear containers and wrap when possible. Fruit flies don't like dark places so these traps aren't as effective if the interior of the trap is dim. If they're finding an appropriate breeding site in your home, you're not going to be able to kill them fast enough to break the cycle of infestation. Fruit flies are attracted to the smell of apple cider vinegar, white vinegar, wine or beer.

Setting out traps for fruit flies made from these solutions is a natural remedy for these pests. Fruit flies will fall or fly into these traps but then can't get out. You can buy traps that mimic these smells or make your own.

Below are several different types of DIY fruit fly traps you can try. Make several and set them out around the infested area. If fruit flies do make your kitchen their hangout spot, there are ways to trap them. They like fermented fruit, so mix a bit of dish soap with old beer, wine or apple cider vinegar. Pour water into the mixture until it bubbles, and leave the glass or bowl on the counter where you spot the flies.

They'll come to the glass because of the fruit sugar, but get trapped in the soap bubbles. You can also fit plastic wrap over the top of a beer bottle or glass of vinegar, and poke a few holes in it. Female fruit flies lay their eggs on the surface of rotting fruit.

These eggs hatch into larvae, which molt twice before becoming full grown. When the full grown larvae are ready to pupate, they leave the rotten fruit for drier areas, usually to the sides of the garbage can. Fruit flies are especially attracted to ripened fruits and vegetables in the kitchen. But they also will breed in drains, garbage disposals, empty bottles and cans, trash containers, mops and cleaning rags. All that is needed for development is a moist film of fermenting material. Infestations can originate from over-ripened fruits or vegetables that were previously infested and brought into the home.

The adults can also fly in from outside through inadequately screened windows and doors. For this DIY fruit fly trap, pour a little apple cider vinegar into a glass, or just remove the cap from a bottle. (It doesn't have to be full — nearly empty will also work.) Cover the opening with plastic wrap and secure with a rubber band. Then, poke a few small holes for the fruit flies to enter. They can't resist the scent of vinegar, and they won't be able to exit once they're inside.

If you're looking to get rid of fruit flies, you might be wondering how you got them in the first place. According to the experts at Orkin, fruit flies are attracted to ripe, rotting, or decayed fruit and produce, as well as fermented goods like beer, liquor, and wine. They can also inhabit trash cans and garbage disposals if sufficient food is present.

Female fruit flies lay about 500 eggs at a time, and the eggs hatch in as little as 24 hours. Obviously, that makes these critters almost impossible to control. Those buzzing, pesky, little fruit flies are the last things you want to find in front of your face — especially when you're cooking dinner or sitting down to breakfast. And for such little pests, they sure prove a tough challenge to get rid of once they arrive.

Fortunately, there are simple and effective ways to get rid of fruit flies fast using natural fruit fly traps that you can DIY at home. With some strategic cleaning and a few household supplies, you can stop these irksome insects in their tracks. There are some bad fruit fly trap designs on the internet. As an example, you may learn that you can just put apple cider vinegar into bowls and place them out for fruit flies to feed on. When the flies come to drink, they'll break the surface tension, slide in and drown.

You will kill a few flies this way and you're going to see them floating in your traps and think you're winning the battle. But the flies that don't die will have all the energy they need to breed like crazy in your home. Make sure your trap has a cover or an appropriate amount of dish soap, preferably both. Fruit Flies are best controlled by locating and eliminating the source of the infestation.

Sprays, fog and traps will capture and kill the adult flies, but control of the larvae and elimination of the breeding area will be the only way to stop them. Persistent presence of adult Fruit Flies indicates the larvae are developing nearby. This is always in the area of decaying or rotting organic matter, especially fruits and vegetables - hence the name fruit fly.

Bacterial digesters are available to pour down infested drains. Bleach can sometimes be effective; although it is rarely stays in the drain long enough to address the accumulated slime that attracts fruit flies. While not effective at eliminating an infestation, fruit fly traps may provide temporary relief by trapping some of the adults. Fruit flies are mainly attracted to moist, fermenting fruits and vegetables. However, they are also drawn to things such as drains, garbage disposals, empty bottles and cans, trash bags, cleaning rags and mops.

Essentially, they are drawn to food waste and moist environments. Fruit flies only feed on food surfaces, so the chance of ingesting these pests is close to zero. Discard overripe and rotting produce– A single overripe apple, banana or even onion can become a fruit fly breeding ground in a matter of hours. Check all produce in the home daily and properly dispose of all overripe fruits and vegetables. If you do keep a counter fruit bowl pay special attention to it making sure it is refreshed daily and that its contents are washed before being consumed. How long fruit flies live is greatly dependent on the weather.

They thrive in warm humid climates and tend to die out quicker in colder climates. Their minimum natural lifespan is 25 days but on average they will live for 40 to 50 days. That is why it is so important to eliminate fruit flies when you first see the first signs of their presence. A single pair of mating Drosophila can flare into a full-blown infestation in the blink of an eye. Fortunately, there are plenty of ways to get rid of fruit flies. From DIY methods to store-bought options, eliminating these pests can actually be quick and easy.

Once you've gotten rid of them, keep them away by regularly cleaning your countertops and sink drains, as well as quickly and thoroughly attending to spills. Also, wash your produce as soon as you get home to remove any eggs that may have already been laid. And lastly, either use or throw away any produce that is overly ripe or rotting. Now that you know the best practices moving forward, here's how to get rid of fruit flies in your home ASAP.

You may also want to double-check that your pests in question aren't drain flies, which lurk around drains or garbage disposals, or fungus gnats, which prefer overwatered houseplants. For those critters, you'll want to check out our guide for how to get rid of gnats. Fruit flies usually appear light or dark brown in color with red eyes.

If you're sure you've identified the critters correctly, then try one of these effective remedies to get rid of fruit flies in your kitchen. Many people make their own traps to catch fruit flies in. This will attract the fruit flies, which will crawl down the funnel into the bottle, becoming trapped.