The frustrations of fruit flies and the havoc they wreak on your fresh produce is something everyone has experienced at some point in their lives. How to get rid of fruit flies is something that has been talked about for ages, and this simple article will provide you everything you need to combat and kill fruit flies easily in your home.
Types of Fruit Flies
Fruit flies are pesky insects that tend to swarm around your fresh produce, or near any fruit or vegetables sitting out in the open. They are attracted to moisture and fermenting organic material in such a way that they can often be found swarming near small wet areas that are rich in decaying and fermenting organic matter – even open beverage cans like beer or glasses of wine, as the fermenting material is attractive to these tiny pests.
There are many types of fruit flies around the world, and the list below highlights many of the types you may experience depending on where you live:
- Olive Fruit Flies
- Mexican Fruit Flies
- Citrus Fruit Flies
- Western Cherry Fruit Flies
- Mediterranean Fruit Flies
- Caribbean Fruit Flies
There are regional differences to the species, but in most basic terms, fruit flies are attracted to the same types of materials, and as such can be trapped and killed easily, no matter where you are in the world.
Scientific Designations
Fruit flies are given the designation Drosophila melanogaster, and is by all accounts, a very small fly. What makes them particularly troublesome, is they will congregate and breed in any area that has sufficient decaying and fermenting organic material. As noted previously, beer, wine or alcohol bottles, cans or glasses provide ample attraction to these pests. According to Orkin, fruit flies can breed at an incredible rate, which makes killing fruit flies something you want to begin the moment you find any in your home.
Are Fruit Flies Harmful
While fruit flies aren’t inherently harmful, and do not bite or sting, they do have the potential to carry bacteria and other contaminants that can be transferred to the foods and spaces they land and touch. As with most insects, ensuring that the material source that draws their attraction is properly cleaned and stored will reduce potential infections or other harmful effects.
How to Get Rid of Fruit Flies – DIY Fruit Fly Traps
One of the best ‘tried and true’ techniques for trapping and killing fruit flies is using a homemade version of a simple fly catcher. The technique is fast, simple and easy, and can likely be created with items you already have around your home; however, before explaining how to get rid of fruit flies using this technique, there are a few other simple things you can do that will help you to reduce the likelihood of having fruit flies in the first case.
- Keep your fruits and vegetables in your refrigerator
- Wash all your produce well to kill any existing fruit fly eggs that may already be on them
- Cleanliness is key – make sure to clean up any juice or alcohol spills in your home immediately
- Be sure to discard of produce that is over ripe, or already fermenting
- Make sure you take out your trash regularly, to avoid accumulation of rotting material
The Fruit Fly Trap
There are many variations and solutions to this incredibly effective old-school technique of how to get rid of fruit flies. That said, personal experience, and the reviews and testing of others for the various fruit fly traps has demonstrated that the method and technique below seems to be the most effective:
What you will Need:
1. Dish soap
2. Hot Water
3. Apple Cider Vinegar
4. A glass, or jar or other sturdy container
Instructions:
- Put one tablespoon of dish soap into the bottom of the glass/container
- For this step, simply fill the container to about 1/3 full with apple cider vinegar
- Boil your kettle to get steaming hot water, and pour it into the container. It is important that you get a good bunch of foam and bubbles forming here, so possibly doing this with the kettle high above the container when you are pouring, or possibly using your kitchen faucet to provide hot water at pressure (it is important that water is piping hot). Be sure to leave some room in the container, and do not fill it all the way up, as the bubbles will fade with time, and you will need to ‘top up’ the container a few times to reconstitute the bubbles from time-to-time.
Once you have your container filled, with a good layer of foam and bubbles, place it in an area near where your fruit flies are congregating, and you will find that over the coming hours, more and more will be caught within the trap.
When you have completed the process, and you feel you have caught enough – empty the container and flush it down the toilet. You can repeat the process many times until you have managed to get rid of the fruit flies completely.
Again – it is imperative that you keep the basics in place as mentioned above: always clean your produce and refrigerate, empty your trash regularly and wash up any spills or other potential problem areas.
Commercial Fruit Fly Traps
If the natural homemade fruit fly traps aren’t of interest to you, there are multiple commercial solutions available that you can use. That said, it is definitely recommended to consider the natural methods, as they are often much less expensive, and provide natural solutions, and most likely don’t require waiting for a delivery, or making a trip to the local stores.
1. Katchy Indoor Insect Trap
2. TERRO T2502 Fruit Fly Trap
3. Green Gobbler Fruit Fly Goodbye Gel Drain Treatment
Summary
There are many different ideas of how to get rid of fruit flies, and we have outlined the most effective and easy way to kill fruit flies in your home. The DIY method is quick and easy, and will definitely provide some solace from the pesky insects.
For some other great articles on patios, or gardening and growing activities, check out some of our other articles on Lifestyle, Gardening and Growing, and learn more about some great solutions and inspirations. Also be sure to check out our article on Managing Mosquito and Tick Bites for You and Your Pets, and all the various inspirations that we’ve highlighted at TAG Level.
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