As the weather gets warmer and summer starts to kick in, so does a surge of fruit flies looking for a home and fresh fruit to feed off of. Although they can turn up any time of the year, they are most frequent during the summer and fall months.
Pesky fruit flies typically infest homes with ripe, rotting or decayed fruit products or fermented items such as beer, liquor and wine. You might also find them lurking around trash cans or your garbage disposals.
…Ew! It’s time to get rid of them once and for all and protect your home, food and overall sanity from them. Below are a few different measures you can take to trap fruit flies as well as scare them away from your home.
Apple Cider Vinegar and Plastic Wrap
This method is proven to be the most effective.
Fruit flies cannot stay away from the sharp sweet odor of apple cider vinegar. Additionally, apple cider vinegar has a carbon dioxide that comes from organic materials such as an overly ripe fruit. The scent leads the flies to it because they think it is a fruit. This DIY trap brings them right into the liquid where they are unable to escape. Here’s how to make it:
- Pour apple cider vinegar into a mason jar
- Cover and secure the opening with plastic wrap
- Poke small holes where the fruit flies can enter
If you find the apple cider vinegar alone is not helping, add three drops of dish soap to the mixture. The soap cuts the surface tension of the vinegar so the flies will sink and drown.
Old wine or beer
This one is a personal favorite, and I have found it successful after accidentally leaving a glass of wine in the sink for far too long.
Flies love the smell of wine, specifically red wine. Try leaving out a bottle of red wine. The skinny and narrow neck of the wine will make it difficult for the flies to escape and keep them trapped.
Boiling Water for Garbage Disposals
If fruit flies are coming out of your garbage disposal, this is the perfect trick. Pour boiling hot water into the drain. You can also place a plastic sandwich bag over the disposal. Adult fruit flies will try to leave the drain so you will find them trapped in the bag.
Prevent the little suckers
- Use Opposite scents: Keep scents in your house that are the complete opposite of what fruit flies like. Fruit flies do not like natural scents such as peppermint, lavender, eucalyptus and lemongrass. Keeping candles or diffusers with this scent around the house can help.
- Keep the kitchen clean: Fruit flies are generally attracted to rotting food. Keep dirty dishes with food scraps on them out of the kitchen and clean out the trash regularly.
- Cover fruit bowls: This is key. As their namesake states, fruit flies love fruit. Try keeping fruit open. If absolutely necessary, cover fruit bowls with towels or plastic wrap.
Hopefully these tips and tricks will help keep fruit flies out of your home and face. Rather than running around the house clapping your hands trying to catch these suckers, set up traps and take preventative measures that will surely scare them away.
