Top 5 Tips of How to Get Rid of Fruit Flies in House

Top 5 Tips of How to Get Rid of Fruit Flies in House

Introduction

“Arrgh! You pesky little sucker”

A vexing set of words that come out of your mouth for those tiny little annoying and unwanted fruit flies buzzing around you in your home and especially in your kitchen, dining table, and trash cans.

Though not as harmful as houseflies and other obnoxious pests, fruit flies infest our home now and then and especially during summer time. 

Among the reasons are all those delicious fruits we tend to keep over our kitchen countertops at this time of the year. 

You probably wouldn’t mind one or two fruit flies flying around your house, but you know what!

They are very good and fast at multiplying.

And soon these irksome insects will take over your kitchen and everywhere — 

Like on your fruity baskets, kitchen countertops, your fruit processing appliances like a blender, centrifugal juicer, etc.

You don’t want that. Do You?

Luckily, there are several easy and natural home remedies and DIYs to get rid of fruit flies fast. 

Here are the top 5 tips on how to get rid of fruit flies in your kitchen and house.

  1. The Funnel Method
  2. The Bowl Trap Method
  3. DIY Dish Soap Trap Method
  4. Wine or Beer Method
  5. Preventive Measures

Top 5 easy and effective methods to get rid of fruit flies in your kitchen and house

Let’s dive into more details. Shall we?

  1. The Funnel Method

The Funnel method works like a charm!

It works like a magic and is so easy to set up that you’ll have fun doing this DIY project. 

  • To start, all you need is a tall vase or jar to be used as a base container. 
  • Time to think about bait or lure for your fruit flies. 

Anything sugary works. Like over-ripe fruits or rotten fruits that you are going to throw away anyway. 

If you don’t have any, you can also use honey, syrup, any fruit juice or gushy soda, or even apple cider vinegar. 

  • Now, regardless of what you chose as your lure, put it in the base container.

You won’t need a lot, just enough to cover the bottom. A layer that’s about 2-fingers wide will do. 

  • Now, the fun part, roll a piece of paper to make a funnel shape or a cone shape and tape it so that it retains its form. 
  • Now, stick it into the jar’s opening where the narrow end is within the jar and the wider end is placed above the jar’s opening. Just remember that the tip of the cone is not touching the bait mixture. 
  • Setting up is done! Now, place the trap near the infested area, such as near your countertop fruit bowl or the garbage can. 
  • Let it sit overnight and tada! In the morning, you should have no more fruit flies in your kitchen or your house. 

This method is so simple yet it works its magic charm. The flies get attracted or gets drawn to the smell of the rotten solution or bait. 

So, they fly down into the wide part of the funnel and follow the sweet (to them or eww! Rotten to us!) scent of the bait inside. However, due to the cone shape of the funnel, they can’t fly back out! Poor flies!

  1. The Bowl Trap Method

This method is quite similar to the funnel trap method but is a bit less crafty than that. 

You won’t need to mess around with making a cone or funnel.

All you need to do is to put your over-ripe or rotten fruit in a large bowl. Like before, add in some sweet liquid such as soda or syrup, or even vinegar will do. Again, you don’t need to fill it in or anything – just a layer about 2-fingers-thick will do. 

Now, cover the bowl opening with plastic wrap as tightly as possible. You may use a rubber band. 

After that, use a fork or something sharp to poke a few holes. Not too big, not too tiny. Just enough so that fruit flies can get in. 

Remember, even a full-grown fruit fly is less than half a centimeter in size. 

Once they’re in, viola! Work is done. Your bowl should be filled with lots of fruit flies in the morning.

For the best result, try making several such traps and place them around your kitchen and house. 

  1. DIY Dish Soap Trap Method

If the plastic wrapping or making cone seems a bit hassle work for you, then simply fill your bowl with apple cider vinegar and add a drop of dish soap to it, and then mix them well. 

The way it works is that the flies get drawn by the stale sweetness of the vinegar and the dish soap reduces the surface tension of the vinegar. 

The result is that once the flies come into contact with the liquid, they are immediately drowned and can’t escape. 

  1. Wine or Beer Method

Yeah! Fruit flies love wine and beer too. 

The fermented wine or beer works perfectly as their breeding ground.

So, if you have an old beer or wine bottle with some leftovers – use it to attract the fruit flies into the bottle, leaving the cap open. 

Due to the skinny neck design, it will make it harder for the flies to fly out and they will be trapped inside. 

You may also add a couple of drops of dish soap for better results.

  1. Preventive Measures

By knowing what attracts the fruit flies into your home in the first place, you can prevent them from invading. 

So instead of keeping your ripe fruits on your countertops or in a fruity basket, refrigerate them. 

This has a bi-fold benefit. One is that it won’t attract flies and the other one is that they will last much longer. 

Keep your kitchen and dining area clean.

Use garbage cans with covers or secure-fitting lid on them. Regularly empty your trash cans. 

Thoroughly clean up any fruit juice, wine or beer, or any sugary soda spill immediately. 

Also, make sure to get rid of fruit flies in plants, indoor and outdoor. 

Conclusion

By following the above five easy and effective measures, you will make your kitchen and house a no-fly zone for these pesky little suckers!

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