Getting Rid of Fruit Flies in the House

Frenzy little fruit flies can be found across the globe; in homes, restaurants, grocery stores, food processing plants, wineries, etc. These flies are a year round problem, however, they seem to thrive the most in summer and early fall. Getting rid of the flies is a major concern during such times.

Fruit flies can be easily identified by their distinguishing bright red eyes. These flies are one-eighth inch in length and one-third the size of a house fly. They have a light yellow to tan colored body and are identified as fruit flies because they are commonly found around fruits.

Fruit flies are attracted by the fermentation of over-ripe fruits and vegetables, fruit juices, yeast and vinegar. This is why they are also referred to as vinegar or pomace flies. Fruit flies get attracted to anything that emits a fermented smell of decaying fruits and other decaying organic matter.

Fruit flies thrive on food counters housing decaying fruits and vegetables, in messy dishwashers, in garbage cans, around leftover soft drinks, etc. What makes matters worse is that these flies can lay over 500 eggs at a time and swarms of fruit flies can seem to appear virtually overnight.

If not handled in time, the population numbers of these flies can rise exponentially and cause havoc at home. Rather than worrying about getting rid of fruit flies in your house, it is better to prevent them from creating nuisance.

Keeping fruits and vegetables in the fridge, keeping the kitchen counter, dishwasher, drainage and garbage can clean can help keep fruit flies at bay. However, if you have been unsuccessful in keeping them at bay and are wondering as to how to get rid of fruit flies, here are some tips to get rid of fruit flies.

These remedies are for those who are desperately struggling to eliminate these annoying species from the house and not for those extra sensitive souls who cannot bear to see a fruit fly bid farewell to life.

Stretch and hold the wrap with a rubber band and pierce some holes through the stretched wrap.

The flies will be lured to the wine and will crawl in, however, they won't be able to escape. One can also use apple cider vinegar instead of wine.

This remedy is one good method of getting rid of fruit flies in kitchen. Take one ripe banana, peel it and place it inside the bowl. Cover the bowl with a piece of paper, fastening it with a rubber band. Next, take a needle and pierce it through the paper, forming holes.

Leaving the bowl overnight in the kitchen will allow the smell of the banana to lure the flies towards the bowl. Once they enter the bowl, they won't be able to escape and will get trapped.

Another method is to combine 1/4 lb raw sugar, 2 ounces ground pepper and one pint milk in a saucepan. Allow the mixture to simmer for 10 minutes and pour it out into a shallow dish. Allow the fruit flies to attack the mixture and watch them suffocate to death.

One can also make a plastic zip lock bag trap to get rid of the gadflies. Just place some slices of apple into a zip lock bag and leave an inch open, so as to allow the fruit flies to enter. The flies will soon enter the bag and feast on the apple. Quickly zip the bag and crush them to death. Sounds evil, right!

Pour a pinch of liquid dish washing detergent and one-fourth cup of white vinegar into a cup. Slowly and steadily, add water till the bubbles touch the brim of the cup. Fruit flies will get attracted to this and will be drowned to death.

Add 10 drops of lemongrass oil to two ounces of hot water and spray it all over the house. This will not only kill these fruit flies, but will also get rid of creepy crawlers like spiders and ants.

Another method of getting rid of fruit flies in the kitchen is by filling a jar with vinegar. Just pour some vinegar into the jar and insert a metal or paper funnel into it. Remember to prevent the funnel from touching the liquid in the jar. Use tape to seal any gap between the jar and the funnel.

Place this invention on a flat surface and allow the flies to fly into it. Attracted by the smell, the flies will slip down the funnel and fall down into the vinegar. The flies will not be able to fly out of the funnel and will eventually fall into the vinegar and drown.

Getting rid of fruit flies in house plants can be done by using insecticides. One can even adopt the commercial fruit fly traps for getting rid of fruit flies in the house. These traps are basically little cardboard or plastic units filled with sticky material that attracts the flies. They can be placed anywhere and the result is dead fruit flies.

After getting rid of the flies, one should follow the treatment by maintaining good hygiene at home. This will prevent them from re-infesting!