We’ve all experienced fruit flies in our homes at one time or another. While fruit flies don‘t bite, they can be annoying, frustrating and cause you to feel like your home is dirty or poorly maintained. These annoying flies are attracted to anything sweet, and they lay hundreds of eggs, which can create a never-ending cycle of fruit flies.
I’ve experienced fruit fly infestations many times, so I have a few tricks up my sleeve. Some effective methods to remove fruit flies include setting up apple cider vinegar traps, maintaining a clean environment and using chemical sprays when necessary.
But if you’d rather skip the work and hire a professional pest control company. I recommend Terminix and Orkin, and you can quickly get a quote below:
How To Rid Your Home of Fruit Flies (6 Easy Tips)
Getting rid of fruit flies is relatively easy. Below I’ll list my six favorite ways to get the job done:
1. Get Rid of Fruit Fly Attractants
Before I even start talking about ways to eliminate fruit flies, we need to address the problem at its core. It’s important to understand that fruit flies in your home don‘t mean it’s dirty. They’re attracted to anything sweet.
So, look around. Do you have any overripe fruit? Are there sugary spills underneath your fridge or on your stove? Be sure to check these areas and use a solution of bleach and water or bleach wipes to eradicate any smell of sweetness that could tempt a fruit fly.
You also need to check items in your home that you wouldn’t expect could attract fruit flies, such as dish towels, mops, and around the garbage can. They can also lay their eggs on these surfaces, meaning you’ll want to clean them regularly.
Be sure to check cabinets you don’t open frequently. I’ve found rotten fruit in the most obscure places. And don’t forget your garbage can. Take a look and see if there are any sticky messes inside it.
2. Make an Apple Cider Vinegar Trap
The apple cider vinegar trap is the most popular DIY pest control trick in the book. Here’s how you’ll set it up:
- Get your ingredients: You need a small bowl or jar, apple cider vinegar, dish soap, plastic wrap, and a toothpick or fork.
- Fill the jar: Fill the container with apple cider vinegar, leaving some space at the top. Fruit flies love the strong aroma. Add a few drops of dish soap to the vinegar. The soap breaks the surface tension of the liquid, causing the fruit flies to sink and drown when they come into contact with it.
- Cover the trap: Cover it with a piece of plastic wrap and secure it with a rubber band.
- Create entry points: Use a toothpick or fork to poke several small holes in the plastic wrap or funnel. The holes should be large enough for fruit flies to enter but not so big that they can easily escape.
- Position it carefully: Set the trap in an area where you’ve noticed fruit fly activity or where they tend to gather. Kitchen countertops and near fruit bowls or garbage bins are common hotspots.
This method is as effective as the top fruit fly traps on the market and doesn’t take long to work.
I like to use a mason jar for my traps because you can simply screw the lid back on to prevent the plastic wrap from coming off. Don’t be afraid to make a few of these and scatter them around the house.
3. Use a Paper Cone and Fruit Trap
This is another DIY fruit fly trap you can make by simply using what you already have at home. For this method, you need a jar, a piece of paper, some ripe fruit, and a touch of vinegar.
All you need to do is place the fruit in the jar and add vinegar. This will prove irresistible to the fruit flies. Then roll up the piece of paper into a cone and place the narrow end into the mouth of the jar. This is the same concept as the apple cider vinegar trap — the flies find their way into the jar but can’t escape.
If you don’t have a jar, a two-liter bottle works just as well. When you’re done with the trap, the overripe fruit makes a great compost addition.
4. Try The Vinegar and Dish Soap Trick
It doesn’t get much simpler than this trick. It’s a great trick because anyone can do it, and most people have all the ingredients they need.
All you need to do is fill a shallow bowl with white vinegar and a few drops of dish soap. The vinegar acts as bait for the flies and the dish soap breaks the surface tension of the vinegar so that as soon as they land on what they think is a tasty treat, they sink and drown.
5. Use Chemical Bug Spray
I try to always address pest issues in the most natural way possible — especially when dealing with food-handling areas in the kitchen. That said, if the problem becomes too severe and you’re worried that it may be time to call in a professional, chemical bug sprays will do the trick. However, it’s important to address the problem proactively so you’re not caught spraying your house with chemicals daily when the flies keep coming back.
6. Try Flypunch
Some homeowners with fruit fly problems have found that this commercial mixture works better than the DIY traps discussed above. Available on Amazon, Aunt Fannie’s Flypunch is a container of chemicals that attract and kill fruit flies — all you have to do is remove the lid and watch the magic happen.
Check out this video for some bonus tips on eliminating fruit flies for good:
Natural Ways To Rid Your Home of Fruit Flies
I’ve talked quite a bit about natural ways of using vinegar and dish soap, but there are a few other solutions that you can use to repel fruit flies rather than trapping and killing them. Here are three methods:
Essential Oils
Strong scents repel fruit flies and most pests in general, so using essential oils can help keep them away. The most common ones are peppermint, lemongrass, and lavender. Dilute a few drops of your chosen essential oil with water and spray it around areas prone to fruit fly activity, such as countertops, windowsills, and near trash cans.
Herbs and Spices
Continuing with the aroma-based deterrents, certain household spices can help prevent fruit flies from coming around. Placing bundles of fresh basil, mint, rosemary, or bay leaves near fruit bowls or in the kitchen can help repel fruit flies.
Store Fruit Carefully
As I’ve said, addressing your fruit fly problem proactively is most important. The problem isn’t the fruit flies — it’s that something in your home is attracting them.
Properly storing fruits can minimize fruit fly attraction. Keep ripe fruits in the refrigerator or store them in airtight containers. If you prefer to keep fruits at room temperature, check them regularly for signs of overripeness or decay, and consume or discard them promptly.
If you prefer to avoid strong chemicals, some pest control companies provide natural pest control services. Fill out the form below to learn more.
How To Prevent Fruit Flies From Coming Back
An ounce of prevention is easier (and less frustrating) than a pound of cure. Here are some things you can do to prevent fruit flies from infesting your home in the first place:
- Keep produce clean: Wash your fruits and vegetables as soon as you bring them home to remove any larvae.
- Buy only what you think you’ll eat: Old produce is the biggest attractant for fruit flies. If you have fruits or veggies around that you don’t plan to eat soon, it’s best to go ahead and consume them, saving a trip to the grocery store in the process.
- Keep your recycling clean: One measure you may not think of is rinsing out your recycling. An empty bottle of fruit juice, for example, still has remnants of juice that fruit flies can smell. Cleaning your recycling before you toss it can help prevent flies from making a home in your container.
- Be vigilant with clean up: Clean up all spills as they occur rather than waiting until later. This deters fruit flies from investigating the mess.
- Invest in a sealed trash can: Have a trash can with a lid that you wipe down every day, or simply take out the kitchen trash every day if you have a larger household.
- Check and seal all jars: Make sure that every container of food or beverages is sealed tightly. Fruit flies are so small that even a tiny gap can provide them a place to lay eggs.
How To Identify Fruit Flies
Fruit flies are so small that it may be difficult to identify them. They’re about four millimeters long with a slender body and bright red eyes. You’ll commonly find them hanging around garbage cans, sink drains, garbage disposals, and fruit. They’re easily differentiated from house flies based on size and color — house flies are much bigger at about 1/4 inch long and are gray or black as opposed to the yellow or tan coloration of fruit flies.
Signs You Have a Fruit Fly Infestation
“Infestation” sounds serious. When people think of it, they envision a bubble around their house with workers in hazmat suits doing bug-bombing. But an infestation can simply mean the issue is severe enough to annoy you regularly.
After fruit fly larvae hatch, they pupate before they become adult fruit flies. Fruit fly pupae resemble small droppings such as cockroach droppings. They’re brown in color and located near a food source — not only an annoyance, but a health concern. Fruit flies can carry and transfer salmonella and E. coli from dirty surfaces onto clean ones.
This is the issue with pesky fruit flies. They will reproduce, using your home as breeding grounds, and cause more serious problems if you don’t address them while the population is low. If the problem is serious enough for you to be reading this, it’s serious enough for you to take action.
Fruit Fly and Drain Fly Differences
If you have tiny flies circulating in your kitchen, it could be hard to identify what pest you’re dealing with. While fruit flies and drain flies may seem similar, they are actually two different types of flies.
Fruit flies are smaller and are drawn to ripe, fermenting fruits and vegetables. On the other hand, drain flies like moist, decaying organic matter in drains and other damp areas.
Fruit flies have a more rounded silhouette and red eyes, whereas drain flies have a fuzzy appearance and are often mistaken for moths. The methods to get rid of them are pretty similar, but not all methods work equally well with both.
DIY vs. Professional Fruit Fly Pest Control
I’ve provided a number of DIY methods that are known to work against fruit flies. But what if they don’t? Or what if you’re sick of having bowls of vinegar scattered throughout your house?
This is where professional pest control companies like Terminix come in. This company has professional-grade equipment, chemicals, and experience with fruit flies.
Fill out the form below to get a quote.
So, What’s the Best Way To Get Rid of Fruit Flies?
Now you’re left with a decision. If you haven’t tried any of the methods in this guide, I highly recommend making an apple cider vinegar trap. Just remember the importance of addressing the issue of why you have fruit flies in the first place.
If you’ve tried our suggested DIY methods with no success, it might be time to bring in the professionals.
FAQs About Removing Fruit Flies From Your Home
What is the best way to get rid of fruit flies in your home?
Learning how to get rid of fruit flies takes a little DIY skill. You’ll want to use an apple cider vinegar trap with a little dish soap to trap the flies and prevent them from proliferating.
What causes a lot of fruit flies in the house?
Availability of sugary substances can cause fruit fly infestations. These sources can be fermenting fruit, spilled juices, and other sweet items that end up on your kitchen counter and recycling bins.
How do I get rid of fruit flies in 30 minutes?
The fastest way to get fruit flies out of sight is with a chemical bug spray.
How long does it take to get rid of fruit flies?
It depends on the severity of your fruit fly infestation and the methods of elimination you use. With consistent use of traps and preventive measures, you can typically eliminate a fruit fly problem within a week or two.
