Table of Contents
How To Get Rid Of Fruitflies – Follow These Tips To Keep Them Away
If you are troubled by little insect appearing gnat-like buzzing in the kitchen of your home, you can assume that there are good chances they are fruitflies. Other insects like ladybugs, wasps, etc are seasonal you may find them for a specific duration of a year, but these fruitflies have the tendency to trouble you all year long.
Wondering How to get rid of fruitflies? These pesky bugs are most common during the summer season and fall season. The reason behind this is their love for ripened vegetables and fruits that keep them active during this time of year. This is the reason they are termed fruitflies.
when you bring inside squash, tomatoes, and other materials from outside, you can witness an infestation occurring many times inside the house, fruitflies are always enamored or attracted towards overripe potatoes, bananas, and onions. Any material you have left on the counter or your pantry other than keeping them in the refrigerator is another reason why the fruitflies are highly infatuated with your kitchen.
Although the overripe fruits or vegetables are their choice and favorites to buzz and feed on, they can also breed on moist substances that have fermentations going on for example garbage disposals, drains, cleaning rags, and garbage cans. Not only this, they are attracted to the smell of vinegar and alcohol as well.
Washington State University estimated that the adult fruitflies are one-eighth of an inch long and the female fruit flies can lay nearly 500 eggs in their life span that is very short, which means even a few fruit flies can overcrowd the kitchen with their increasing population every day by reproducing.
Presenting you some tips and methods by which you can easily combat the terror of fruit flies that have become unwanted invaders in your house.
10 Ways To Get Rid Of Fruitflies
1. How To Get Rid Of Fruitflies Using Vinegar Traps
Take a bowl or maybe a cup from your kitchen rack and put few drops of vinegar on the bottom of that bowl. Remember not to use the regular white vinegar, instead look for a cider variety of vinegar like apple cider vinegar, balsamic, or red wine. Now cover the upper portion or top of that bowl with a plastic wrap tightly. You can use a thin rubber band that has the elasticity to put around the bowl to ensure that the plastic is firmly attached to it.
After completing the above-mentioned procedure, you can use a needle or other material to poke holes inside the top of the bowl. This trap is useful as the flies will be able to get inside the bowl with the smell of vinegar but getting out will become nearly impossible for them.
If you wish to avoid plastic, you may roll a funnel out a paper piece and then place the funnel in that bowl or jar containing apple cider vinegar. You can few such traps and place all of them where you feel fruit flies are most often attacking or buzzing. Once they have fallen for the trap, you may keep the bowl outside to release them.
2. How To Get Rid Of Fruitflies Using A Banana Trap
You can create the same type of trap using a jar or bowl, but instead of putting inside apple cider vinegar or any other vinegar of your choice replace it with ripened banana pieces. the fruitflies are highly attracted to fruits, especially ripened bananas. It is a good choice to attract them soon and get rid of fruit flies.
If you want to perform this right now, but do not have bananas or vinegar you may choose ay another ripened fruit.
3. How To Get Rid Of Fruitflies Using A Soap trap
Take a small cup or bowl again and create a mixture using water, soap, and apple cider vinegar. The soap to be used should be in a minimum quantity only such that it gives a slightly thick consistency. The benefit of using this trap over the above two is that the vinegar present inside it will attract the fruit flies, once they have been tricked and when they land on the surface created, they will not be able to get out due to the surface tension of the liquid.
You may also use the jar and funnel method to keep them trapped before you set them outside.
4. How To Get Rid Of Fruitflies Using A Plant
Don’t want the headaches of creating and setting traps while waiting for the fruitflies to get trapped? You can try bringing a carnivorous plant. Carnivorous sundew plants are popular for getting rid of unwanted files inside the house. Many gardeners use these as a means to avoid extra work and waste time. These plants have very thick and sticky leaves, when the flies come near the leaves and sit on them, they will immediately close their mouth and the flies will get trapped and die inside.
This is an ongoing solution for getting rid of the fruitflies dilemma for a long time.
5. How To Get Rid Of Fruitflies By Taking Care Of Clothes
Make sure you are maintaining proper hygiene in the house especially in your kitchen. Do not place damp towels used in the kitchen or dish rags lying anywhere out of the places once you have used them.
Try to keep them clean by washing them after every use because they are most likely to become a medium of breeding for the fruitflies. There are high chances that the flies will settle and buzz around them.
6. Do Not Place Ripe Fruits Or Vegetables On Counter Or Outside
When the fruits completely ripe and the process of decay known as fermentation starts to occur, you will see that fruitflies will appear out of anywhere. Use a refrigerator to place ripened fruits and vegetables. If you have fruits like bananas that ripen early use paper bags while placing them on the counter or anywhere in your house.
Using a refrigerator is immensely important as the cold temperature of the fridge reduces the ripening process making them ripe slowly to consume in enough amount of time. Due to this, the chances of fruitflies’ attack reduces as we already know they are most likely to feed on ripened fruits and veggies.
When the fruits ripen, it usually degrades. When degradation occurs, the ethanol component is released which is in the family of alcohols, and attracts fruit flies by the smell of it.
7. How To Get Rid Of Fruitflies By Keeping Up With Dishes
Washing dishes is an excellent method to cut off the emergence of fruit flies up to a large extent immediately. The unwashed utensils have some left-out food in them along with the smell of food. When they are kept for few hours, the leftover items start to degrade as water is also filled. This enables the fruit flies to lay eggs as they are tempered towards the gunk. But if you clean them regularly, this can highly stop. Also, make sure you are not letting eater or other liquids accumulate inside cups anywhere, that is another reason.
Dirty dishes should be taken care of immediately.
8. How To Get Rid Of Fruitflies By Cleaning Drains
Another important factor to consider while planning to get rid of these fruit flies is cleaning the entire sinks or basins. You can use apple cider vinegar and ice to do so as they will help get rid of flies because the wet sinks have rotting remains of food, where the fruit flies are most likely to breed. This should be stopped immediately to cut off their population.
You may also use a fan present in your kitchen for ventilation that will help you keep fruit flies away from the kitchen.
9. Complete Check On Rotten Produce
It is very easy to keep in mind about any ripped fruits or veggies present over the counter and replace them with fresh ones, but we often have a habit of neglecting ripped produce present inside the pantry. If you even forget to address a single rotten onion or potato at the back of your vegetable keeping closet, it will not only smell atrocious but also will become a breeding center of many types of insects including the buzzing fruit flies.
Even when you do not throw the garbage or recycle materials for too long, they are likely to become a home for these unwanted invaders and can cause hygienic issues too. Make sure you keep checking the cans, garbage bins, kitchen closets, etc. to get rid of rotten and unwanted produces.
10. Freeze Out The Compost To Know How To Get Rid Of Fruitflies
If you compost, there are some habits that need to be addressed and changes for good house keeping and getting rid of invaders. There are some bugs that are very efficient in helping your compost pile, but fruit flies can create havoc by laying eggs from the pile to the garden in your produce.
The method of freezing has been helpful for many. All you have to is freeze the fruits and vegetables before using them for composting, this will help in killing not only the fruit flies but also the eggs they lay reducing your energy and time.
Another thing you can do is set traps near the compost piles. This will enable trapping and killing invaders.
11. How To Get Rid Of Fruitflies Using Essential Oils
According to research, the basil has abilities leading to a decrease in the attack of fruit flies. Using raw basil plants has compounds for repelling flies. You can get few basil plants for your house and keep your fruit or vegetable basket near them. Another trick you may apply is using some basil leaves to directly sprinkle them on the fruits and vegetables kept outside the refrigerator.
Basil leaves have a high and strong smell. Fruit flies never run towards strong smells. You can also use a sponge and soak it in lavender oil to a place near fruit baskets. Other than that cedar balls kept on your counter near the fruits and vegetables are equally helpful.
12. Wash The Incoming Produce
You can unknowingly bring eggs of fruitflies or even fruitflies with you while you were heading from the grocery to your home. Although you will want to avoid fruit flies, the eggs are nearly visible to be discarded or left behind. As soon as you enter your house, make sure you are cleaning all the contents you have brought before they enter into the baskets and shelves of your kitchen counter.
Most people make mistakes while dealing with bananas. They usually do not consider washing them as they will eventually be eaten by peeling the layer above. But, they may also contain eggs that you have unwantedly left behind.
You have to remain careful and set up a bucket in your house that is entirely clean to wash off the ingredients you have brought before taking anything inside the house.
In summers You can buy green bananas rather than picking the yellow ones because the yellow bananas ripen early and are more likely to get rotten attracting fruit flies.
13. How To Get Rid Of Fruitflies using An Exterminator
This should be your last option to consider after trying all the remedies and tips given above. If all of them fail to remove every fly or invader in your house, you can choose this. This is generally an effective method but can be slightly expensive for you.
The company will send their workers to spray in your house, make sure you are out of the house with all your pets. After they have done their part of the work, you should know the allergies and reactions the chemicals can cause, you have to remain careful.
If you have spotted fruitflies again after the treatment is done, you can ask the company to repeat the procedure without any payments.
These were some common yet effective measures to get rid of fruit flies and other fly invaders. How to get rid of fruitflies using every measure is given in detail. Follow these.
