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How to get rid of fruit flies fast
Straight off the bat, let’s begin by saying that fruit flies aren’t the worst thing to invade your home. They’re very scared insects that will disperse the area as soon as they sense your proximity. What’s more, they aren’t poisonous, and have no intention of hurting you. However, this doesn’t remove the fact that their existence makes for a very unhappy living environment. Let’s face it, you wouldn’t be reading our blog otherwise. Am I right?
Fruit flies are easily one of the peskiest things to invade your living space. They fly around you constantly, gather in groups on your kitchen counter and normally set up shop on your basket of fruit. You can try your best to shoo them away with a wave of a hand, but they’re bound to return with a vengeance.
In our experience, fruit flies can make themselves at home anywhere. So long as they can reproduce and survive, they aren’t fussy home dwellers. They are also quickly attracted to overripe vegetables and fruits. Even worse, these act as their breeding ground! What ever happened to the good old bedroom? Unfortunately for you, they will also breed in anything with moisture that contains fermenting material. This means trash cans are also a prime spot for some fruit fly frisky fun.
Fruit fly infestation
Upon their arrival in your home, they are incredibly hard to control. They can lay eggs on almost anything, even the smallest little crumbs. They can also enter hidden areas like your drains and begin to lay eggs. Nasty right?
It’s important to note that, although this is a concerning issue, the arrival of fruit flies isn’t your fault! These pesky little things can arrive on your groceries and are very crafty in their pursuit of happiness. What we’re saying is, you can try to prevent their arrival, but they could still grace you with their presence.
Thankfully, there are plenty of ways to spoil their fun. In our experience, its best to prevent fruit flies from settling in, ensuring you remove them for good. This will ensure they never return.
DIY fruit fly traps
When experiencing a fruit fly infestation, one of the most effective tools to win the battle is DIY. Now you may be thinking…’have these guys gone nuts?’ but hear us out.
One of the most effective DIY tricks involves the use of apple cider vinegar. Take a small jar and pour in the cider vinegar, around two centimeters deep should do the trick. Proceed to cap the jar with a funnel, a DIY paper version will do just fine. After you’ve taped the funnel around the jar, place in a spot near to where you believe the fruit flies are laying. The apple cider vinegar will act as the perfect bait, attracting the flies with nowhere for them to escape. We suggest you place a few of these jars around your home, perhaps near sinks, cabinets, or the trash can. If the problem’s gotten bad, this will guarantee you wipe them out asap.
Similarly with the Jar trap, you could also try a dish trap too. This will drown the flies. Less humane, equally effective. For this, you would use the apple cider vinegar, but you would add three drops or so of dish detergent. This is effective as the soap cuts the surface tension of the vinegar so the flies will sink and drown.
For more detail about how you can make a DIY Fruit Trap killing machine, visit this page!
Get rid of fruit flies
If your aim isn’t to kill the flies, then preventing their arrival may be better suited to you. As we mentioned previously, fruit flies can arrive in groceries, with fruit being a popular method of transport. Therefore, cleaning your fruit properly is a great way to ensure they don’t stay for very long.
When you bring home fresh fruit and veg from the grocery store or supermarket, wash it off. Water will work, but for a more thorough job, use a vinegar wash. Mix two parts water to one part vinegar. ‘Won’t this ruin the fruit?’ I hear you ask. No. Not only will this get rid of fruit flies, but it will ensure your produce lasts longer too.
Store-bought products
If you don’t have time for a DIY approach, there are plenty of store-bought products available in your quest to defeat them. However, as is the case with most things, not all these ‘magic’ products are guaranteed to solve your problem.
Sure, there are insect sprays and repellents you could spray and populate around your kitchen, but we feel the apple cider vinegar and DIY does the same thing, if not better. The best part is, most of us probably have all the stuff you need to take the battle to the flies, so why waste money at the store for products that might not work?
Gnats
With all that being said, don’t consider it job done just yet. It’s important you don't confuse fruit flies with gnats. Gnats tend to travel in swarms and can bite, whereas fruit flies are loners and pretty tame. The difficulty is, they're attracted to the same foodstuffs. Fortunately, as with fruit flies, there are plenty of ways to remove them.
Similarly to the process used to get rid of the fruit flies, simply mix up some apple cider vinegar, water, dish soap and sugar. Then, leave it in a bowl on the counter and wait for them to flock to the good stuff. Red wine and dish soap will work equally well too. Gnats are about half the size of fruit flies. If they arrive at your trap, winner! If not, you may see them hanging around the sink. In this case, just pour bleach down the drain and ensure the surrounding workspace is thoroughly clean.
Clean up
We’re coming to the end of the blog which means one thing…job done right? WRONG. Given the fact that fruit flies are unwanted guests in your house, you’ll need to ensure you stick to a long-term solution. Yes, all the things we’ve mentioned today will work, but to truly ensure they never return, you must make sure to clean clean and clean some more.
As we’ve previously stressed, fruit flies hate clean surfaces. That’s why cleaned countertops and scrubbed surfaces will ensure your home is a no-fly zone for those pesky little insects. Similarly with your fruit, a regular clean and removal of overripe items will help to ensure there’s nothing tasty on offer.
The success of your battle depends on consistency, if you maintain an organized routine and regularly check the house, there’s no reason why fruit flies will invade your safe place. We know this may sound like a chore, but look on the plus side. Not only will you keep fruit flies away for good, but you’ll also have a spotless house all year-round. That sounds like a win-win to us.