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You know fruit flies? Those tiny little bugs that buzz around your produce? They have a way of appearing out of nowhere and they basically taking charge of your kitchen. The best way to prevent them is to seal your fruit up in the fridge instead of leaving it on the counter. But when you’re waiting for things to ripen, you can’t always do that. When fruit flies come around and won’t buzz off, here’s how you can get rid of them.
1. Unfiltered Cider Vinegar
Here’s our old friend, vinegar again! Pick up some unfiltered applecider vinegar and take off the lid (if you have a bottle that’s almost empty, that will work too). Cover the top with plastic wrap and seal it off with a rubber band. Poke a hole in the plastic, and the flies won’t be able to resist that fruity, vinegar scent. They go in the hole but can’t find their way out. Voila! No more fruit flies.
2. Dish Soap & Vinegar
If you find the apple cider vinegar alone isn’t doing the trick, add a couple of drops of dish soap. You can also use a bowl or jar, and leave it uncovered. The dish soap breaks the tension on the surface and lets the flies sink and drown. Morbid maybe, but it works.
3. Fly Strips
There are sticky traps made for fruit flies. These don’t stink, either. Just hang them in the area and and watch the little buggers stick.
4. Sugar, Pepper & Milk
This old-fashioned fruit fly trap uses a pint of milk mixed with 4 oz of raw sugar and 2 oz of ground pepper. Heat the mixture in a sauce pan and simmer for 10 minutes, then pour into a shallow bowl.
5. Fly Punch
If you want a simple solution, Aunt Fannie’s FlyPunch is a good option. It attracts and traps those darn things, and lasts up to 30 days.
6. The Cone
This trap involves some overripe fruit, a jar, and a paper cone. The flies go in after the fruit and can’t figure out how to get back out.
7. Whine-O Flies
An open bottle of cheap wine can also help trap fruit flies. They love the smell of the wine, but the neck of the bottle helps keep them from getting back out.
8. Make Sure They ARE Fruit Flies
I had a big problem once with fruit flies. The confusing thing was, they loved hanging around my kitchen sink, even when I didn’t have any fruit out. Turns out they were drain flies! They look pretty much the same as fruit flies, and they’re just as annoying! To get rid of them, first clear any clogs (their breeding ground) with a drain cleaner. Make sure that you follow the directions! After that is all cleared up, Ammonia can help kill them off. Pouring some down the drain a couple of times a day, for a couple of days, took care of them for me.
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