Summer is awesome, except that it’s also fruit fly central. They are everywhere and they are so dang annoying. They hover all over my fresh produce and I can’t stand them! Sometimes it’s my life’s mission to rid my house of them. Luckily, years ago a cashier at the store told me how to kill them and it’s worked like a charm ever since. But then Mrs. HB told me of another way she likes. So I compiled a few ideas to get rid of those nasty little buggars.
Apple cider vinegar: {This is the method I swear by!} Place 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar in a cup covered with plastic wrap. Poke a hole in the top of the plastic wrap and wait for them to drown. *evil cackle*
Get them drunk: {Mrs. HB’s favorite method!} Okay so you aren’t really getting them drunk, but wine is involved! Place 1/2 cup of red wine and a piece of rotten fruit in a cup covered with plastic wrap. Poke a hole in the top of the plastic wrap and drown those little things in alcohol!
Toss bruised produce: If there’s a bad apple in the bunch, it’ll draw fruit flies in by the masses. Check produce regularly, use up any soft ones and throw away any fruit with cuts or leakage!
Empty and clean garbage cans and recycling bins often: Icky and sticky garbage cans are fruit fly breeding grounds. Bleach and scrub those cans to prevent a fruit fly haven!
Lure them in: Purchase a fly lure. Never used them but they have good reviews!
Have YOU ever had a problem with fruit flies? How did you get rid of them?
~Mavis
Laura Z. says
Once we went out of town and I forgot to refrigerate the bananas from the fruit bowl. When we got back, I got rid of the offending fruit and fruit flies, but weeks later I kept noticing the odd fruit fly in a bathroom on the other side of the house. Then I read somewhere that they lay eggs in your drains! Yuck!!! Rinsing out your drains with white vinegar and hot soapy water seemed to really work. I also do Mrs. Hillbilly’s idea, but I use apple cider vinegar (which is sweet like rotten fruit) and a tablespoon of dishwashing liquid (it clings to them and they sink).
Teresa says
They DO lay eggs in your drains!! I work in a school kitchen and we regularly have our floor drains/garbage disposals/ sink drains flushed. Someone once told me the unhatched larva (so tiny you can’t see it) comes in on your fresh bananas. They are also so small they can come through most screens. I do the vinegar/soap bowl and it works like a charm. I keep my ripe bananas in the fridge at home and it has cut the fruit flies by 90%
Molly Jo says
I do as Laura Z with apple cider vinegar and some dish washing liquid. Really works great.
Tammy says
I had some flying around today, which was really annoying. I put some apple cider vinegar in a quart jar with a paper funnel taped on top. It worked! 🙂
Lauren says
Mrs HB is a woman after my own heart, if you have to open a bottle of wine to drown fruit flies then someone has to finish it. We wouldn’t want to waste anything! ☺
Leanne says
I use an electric fly swatter and zap them all! Fastest way and it gives so much satisfaction! Then throw away the bad produce or use what I can of it first.
Jumbe says
I’ve done the apple cider vinegar trick, but the vacuum cleaner is the winner in my house. They can’t out fly the suction so a quick hunt with the hose and they are all gone.
Marie says
Agree with Jumbe. My produce dept mgr uses a hand held vacumn & it works well!
Alyson says
Apple cider vinegar with a little dishwashing liquid and a paper funnel has always worked for me. Plastic wrap with a hole sounds easier than balancing a funnel, though!