How to Get Rid of Fruit Flies: A Fun Guide for Everybody!
These are small flying bugs that magically appear out of nowhere whenever you have fruit sitting on the counter, which happens to be ripe. Okay, so maybe they’re small in nature, but they can be quite annoying to have buzzing around in your kitchen and enjoying your snacks. Fear not! In this post, we’re going to find out how to get rid of fruit flies in a really easy way, even an 8-year-old can do it. We’ll find out what they are, why they get into our homes, and the best ways to send them packing!
How to Get Rid of Fruit Flies: What Are Fruit Flies?
Fruit flies are insects colored tan or light brown, with red eyes, and are about 1/8 of an inch long. They mostly infest kitchens near vegetables and fruits. The insects prefer a warm climate and are quite active during summer and autumn when the fruit is plenty ripe.
How to Get Rid of Fruit Flies: Why Are They Called Fruit Flies?
As their name suggests, fruit flies are in love with fruit! They love to lounge around overripe bananas, tomatoes, and generally sweet, decaying produce. But they never seem to stop there—the place seems a bustle with their humming as they buzz around garbage disposals, empty bottles, and even damp cleaning rags.
How to Get Rid of Fruit Flies: Why Do Fruit Flies Invade Our Homes?
Fruit flies can appear to arrive overnight and take over your home, but they actually originate from a few specific locations:
Ripe or Rotting Fruit: Fruit flies will pick up on it if you have fruit sitting out, especially if it’s on the verge of going bad.
Drains: They can breed in the gunk that accumulates in your kitchen sink or bathroom drain.
Trash Cans: Leftover food scraps in the trash can attract these tiny pests to your kitchen.
Open Windows and Doors: They can fly in from outside, particularly if you’re leaving windows or doors open.
How to Get Rid of Fruit Flies: Step-by-Step Instructions
Now that we have established what fruit flies are and why they visit our homes, let’s delve into how to get rid of fruit flies with the following easy methods.
How to Get Rid of Fruit Flies
Step 1: Clean Up Your Space
The very first thing you want to do is clean up your kitchen and any other areas where the fruit flies are present. Here’s how:
Discard overripe fruit: Check your fruit bowl and toss out any that’s too ripe or near rot. Like putting up an eviction notice to the fruit flies!
Wipe surfaces down: Use a cloth or sponge to clean the counters, tables, and any other surface food may have spilled onto. Fruit flies really like crumbs, so be sure to sweep those away!
Take Out the Trash: Empty your kitchen trash can regularly. A clean trash can means fewer places for fruit flies to hang out.
Clean the Drains: Pour hot water down your sink drains to clear out any food particles. You can also use a brush to scrub the insides.
How to Get Rid of Fruit Flies
Step 2: Set Up Traps
Now, once you have cleaned your kitchen, set up some traps for those pesky flies. Here are a few very easy homemade traps that you can create at home:
1. Apple Cider Vinegar Trap
Apple cider vinegar seems to be a magnet for fruit flies! Here’s how you can create a trap using it:
Ingredients:
A small bowl or jar
Apple cider vinegar
Dish soap
Plastic wrap – optional
Instructions:
Pour about ½ cup of apple cider vinegar into the bowl.
Now, add a few drops of dish soap. This breaks the surface tension, so it’s hard for the flies to get out.
Optional: Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and poke some small holes in it. The flies go in but won’t be able to get out!
2. Fruit Trap
In case you don’t have vinegar, you can use the overripe fruit as a replacement:
Things You’ll Need:
An overripe piece of fruit, for example, a banana
A bowl or jar
Plastic wrap
Instructions:
Put the overripe fruit inside the bowl.
Cover it with plastic wrap, poking holes in the top. The fruit fly will be attracted to the fruit and get caught inside!
3. Beer or Wine Trap
Fruit flies also get trapped by the smell of beer or wine. Here’s how to trap them with it:
What You Need:
An empty bottle of beer or wine
A plastic wrap
Instructions:
Just leave a bottle out there with some amount of beer/wine leftover at the bottom. Close it with some plastic wrap and poke small holes in it. Flies will crawl inside to drink and get stuck!
How to Get Rid of Fruit Flies
Step 3: Use Chemical Solutions, If Required
If the traps just are not working, or if you simply do not have the time and you still have those pesky fruit flies buzzing around, then you may want to use a store-bought fruit fly spray. Look for those with pyrethrum—it kills adult flies rather well. Keep in mind these will not kill the eggs or larva, so best to use in addition to good cleaning and trapping methods.
Prevention Tips: Keeping Fruit Flies Away
Now that you are rid of the fruit flies, you want to keep them away. Here are some tips on how to keep fruit flies out of your home:
Store Fruits in the Refrigerator: Keep fruits and vegetables in the refrigerator to more slowly ripen them up and allow them to be less attractive to fruit flies.
Seal food containers: Keep snacks and leftovers in airtight containers to keep fruit flies off of the food.
Clean Your Kitchen Regularly: Make cleaning a habit! Wipe down surfaces and take out the trash regularly. Clean up spills right away.
Check for Breeding Grounds: Check your drains and garbage disposals frequently for the presence of fruit flies. Clean them out as needed.
Use Screens on Windows and Doors: Fine mesh screens help keep fruit flies from flying inside.
How to Get Rid of Fruit Flies
Updates About Fruit Flies
The news has recently been riddled with fruit flies, as people have been home-bound and cooking more. Many are learning how to keep their kitchens clean and how to deal with these pests. Experts are touting the use of vinegar and fruit for natural traps as an alternative to chemical-laced sprays.
Moreover, fruit flies are also being used by some researches in the scientific laboratory since they are closely associated with genetics and biological experiments. This has made the public more aware of these minute pests and their relevance to households and laboratories.
How to Get Rid of Fruit Flies
Conclusion
Getting rid of fruit flies really does not have to be such a chore. Clean up the space, set traps, and take precautionary measures to help rid you of the pesky flies once and for all! A clean kitchen is a happy kitchen; a little effort will go a long way to enjoying your fruit without those buzzing pests.
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