fruit flies on oranges

Sick of Fruit Flies in Your Kitchen? Here’s How to Get Rid of Them

Fruit flies are amazing and by that, I mean amazingly annoying! These tiny creatures can detect the smell of ripe fruits and vegetables from miles away.

 

fruit flies on oranges

If there’s a bowl of fruit on your kitchen counter, there’s probably a fruit fly or two looking for a way into your home to get to it. They’re so small that they can get in through window screens or crevices around windows or doors. Unlike houseflies, which may spread disease, fruit flies are harmless.

Crazy multipliers

Once inside, fruit flies reproduce like crazy. They lay their eggs near the surface of your ripe fruit and can lay up to 500 eggs at a time! About 30 hours later, tiny larvae emerge and feed on the fruit, eventually turning into pupae. A week later, they are ready to take to the air.

All it takes is one pregnant fruit fly to get in and before you know it, you’re dealing with a full-fledged fruit fly infestation. I know. I’ve been battling this problem, too!

Use it or toss it

If you’re tired of fruit flies taking over, start by tossing out anything fresh that is overripe. Next, clean the muck from your sink drains and eliminate wet sponges, mops, and the like. Then try one of these effective remedies to banish fruit flies from your home.

Those disgusting little flies are no match for these super easy traps and potent potions!

Make a Fruit Fly Trap

You can make an effective homemade fruit fly trap in several ways.

ACV and soap

The photo above is one of my fruit fly traps, so I know this works. To make this simple trap, assemble these supplies:

fruit fly trap

You’ll need:

✅ a small glass bowl

✅ unfiltered ACV (apple cider vinegar, no substitute, please)

✅ dishwashing liquid soap

✅ plastic wrap

Pour some unfiltered apple cider vinegar into the bowl. Add one drop of liquid dishwashing detergent. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap, pulling the wrap back just a tiny bit at one edge to allow for entry. (By the way, I removed the plastic wrap before I took the photo to provide for visual clarity.)

Don’t skip any of these steps. The ACV by itself has significant “surface tension.” That means the fly can actually walk on the surface, take a sip, and then use it for a runway to take off. The soap breaks that tension and the plastic wrap helps make sure that sucker gets hopelessly trapped.

That’s it. Just set the bowl out on the counter and go about your business.

Red wine

Fruit flies love the sweetness of red wine. Try leaving out an uncorked bottle with a small amount of wine left. Add a drop of liquid dishwashing soap to break the surface tension, then set it on the counter. The skinny neck will trap the flies.

Paper cone

Place a small amount of unfiltered apple cider vinegar, a chunk of very ripe fruit, or fruit juice in a jar. Roll a piece of paper into a cone and stick it in the jar with the narrow opening downward. Fruit flies will be drawn in but they can’t get out.

apple cider vinegar and a paper funnel inserted into a cup are used as an at home fruit fly trap

FlyPunch!

I’ve had reports from multiple readers who say that Aunt Fannie’s FlyPunch! works better for them to attract and eliminate fruit flies than any other remedy they’ve tried. This non-toxic formula that contains sodium lauryl sulfate and malic acid is fast, powerful, and easy to use. And it is reported to last up to 30 days.

How to Prevent Future Infestations

Eliminate breeding grounds

The way to prevent fruit flies is to not attract them in the first place. Keeping your kitchen and dining area clean and free of potential fruit fly breeding grounds will go a long way in stopping an infestation before it begins.

  • Instead of leaving ripe or damaged fruit out on the counter where fruit flies have easy access, refrigerate or throw it away.
  • Make sure you regularly remove garbage from the house and make sure you have a  tightly fitting lid on your trash can.
  • Clean up any spilled fruit juice, beer, and wine quickly before fruit flies catch a whiff of their favorite food, and don’t leave half-empty drinks out.
  • If you have any slow-moving drains in your house, there may be enough organic matter hanging out inside your pipes to support a breeding population of fruit flies. You can tape some plastic wrap over suspect drains for a few days to check for fruit flies. If you see adults on the underside of the plastic, you’ve got some breeding in your drain.
  • To fix any drainage issues, pour boiling hot water directly into the drain (boiling water could crack porcelain, so be very careful when using on that type of sink to pour the boiling water straight into the drain) to help loosen accumulated deposits. If accessible, you can also use a firm brush to scrub the inside of the pipe and free debris.

First published: 11-11-13; Updated 4-12-23


Everyday Cheapskate participates in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn from qualifying purchases, at no cost to you.

 

 

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

More from Everyday Cheapskate

Amazon Big Spring Sale Teaser with Question Marks
important documents every family should keep stack desk home office bright
DIY muffin liner homemade tulip baking lavender cutting board shadows
quick dinner recipe italian cheesy meatball bake casserole dish
chalkboard with hot deals march 2024 piece of chalk best deals
newspaper headline daily news man reading with coffee mug
Unrecognizable woman cleaning with vinegar
BKF cleaning a Stainless surface


Please keep your comments positive, encouraging, helpful, brief,
and on-topic in keeping with EC Commenting Guidelines



Caught yourself reading all the way 'til the end? Why not share with a friend.

17 replies
Newer Comments »
  1. Ellen says:

    I had what I thought were fruit flies but turned out to be smaller – fungus gnats – that breed in houseplants. The same traps work for them, but in order to keep the larvae from attacking the roots of your plants you need to treat the soil. Hydrogen peroxide is one treatment, and there are others on Amazon that appear to work a little better.

    Reply
  2. Pat C says:

    I find that if I place all fresh fruit directly in the fridge for a couple of days when I bring them in the house, I don’t have a problem with fruit flies. I don’t know whether the cold kills them or just makes them go dormant. I also keep a container in the fridge or freezer for things like fruit peels, bruised bits, etc rather than putting them in the organics container on my counter.

    Reply
  3. Cally Ross says:

    I poke holes in the plastic wrap so flies can get in but not out. this keeps the edges sealed to help prevent spilling.

    Reply
    • Phyllis says:

      Yes! I do that, too. I think I put too much Dawn in my latest batch, though. The flies haven’t been all that attracted to it, but I keep dripping some kiwi juice on the top to lure them. I should just make another batch. Worked great last year!

      Reply
  4. Lyrrem says:

    Dear Mary,
    Fruit flies hate the smell of cork… place a few clean corks* from empty wine or champagne bottles in the fruit bowl – keeps the flies away… it’s an old Portuguese trick! (*must be real cork not the new, plastic corks).

    Reply
  5. Wendy says:

    Beer works, too! I have used beer instead of apple cider vinegar in a bowl/jar and beer instead of wine leftover in a bottle. Best part is that I do not need to buy anything else–I use what I have which is the cheapest of all!

    Reply
  6. Laura says:

    Just an FYI: Regular white vinegar seems to work too! Found this out accidentally when I was cleaning my coffee pot. I always rinse it and the basket out, then fill them both with soapy water and a generous splash of white vinegar, and let it sit for hours. If there are fruit flies around they will find their way into the pot. Clean coffee pot and no fruit flies!

    Reply
  7. Karen Ranieri says:

    Please!! don’t throw out the overripe fruit! Pam or parchment a baking sheet, slice the fruit, an line it up, with some space between the pieces, and freeze it. Once frozen solid, put in a tupperware or a ziplock in the freezer and it won’t stick together. Add to a morning smoothie of yogurt, ice, wheat germ and milk. Layer attractively on a square of puff pastry and glaze with apricot jam and bake 13 mins at 425 for a fast and fantastic dessert (a la mode if you must!). If you have a BUNCH, blend with some fruit juice or fresh herbs for a chilled pre-dinner shot of soup. Or bubble in a small saucepan with just enough water to barely cover, plus a spoonful of jam or powdered jello mix until fruit is liquified, strain out seeds if it’s berries. Puree if you want smoother consistency. If not, cool and pour over ice cream or anything else. (Add sugar if too tart or additional flavorings).

    But don’t toss it!! Love ya, Mary.

    Reply
  8. Bonnie Alcorn says:

    I had one or two flies buzzing around my head that I could not get with a flyswatter. I bought a product called Catchmaster, that is a transparent glue trap for flies that goes on a window. I still haven’t caught the 2 flies…they seem to have disappeared. But I have several dozen fruit flies (so far) stuck to it that I didn’t even know I had.

    Reply
    • rita freeman says:

      Just so no will be unaware! Do not use this type of strip outside, patio, etc. I have seen many small songbirds and hummingbirds trapped on these. Volunteer at local wild life center for several years and have seen this numerous times. It is very stressful to try and remove for the bird and helper and they often do not survive.

      Reply
  9. Shannon says:

    I worked in a lab that experimented with drosophila (fruit flies). They easily escaped the lab and entered the office area. Our traps were yeast inside small jars with a cone inserted. They were attracted to the yeast but couldn’t navigate the cone opening as an exit point.

    Reply
Newer Comments »

Leave a Reply

Want to join the discussion?
Feel free to contribute!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *