How Can I Keep Fruit Flies Away From My Kitchen?

Any sort of insect or pest in your kitchen will be a nuisance that you don’t want around. Just because fruit flies don’t tend to bite people or animals, doesn’t mean you want to keep them around. Fruit flies get their name from their attraction to overripe or rotting fruit. This is where they will lay their eggs and find their food source. So how can you eliminate fruit flies and keep them out of your kitchen?

What Brings Them In?

Fruit flies are attracted to, obviously, fruit. This can be overripe, rotting, or even decaying fruit. Usually, fruit flies will only appear when your fruit is at one of the ends of the ripe or rotting spectrum, but sometimes they will remain long after you’ve removed the fruit from the area. Fruit flies will lay their eggs within the fruit for the larva to feed on after they hatch. However, the life cycle of a fruit fly is rather short, so when you begin seeing anything buzzing around your kitchen, make sure you do everything you can to eliminate fruit flies as soon as possible.

Eliminate Fruit Flies

There are a few different home remedies to eliminate fruit flies on the internet, but there are also commercial and store-bought solutions that you can find at your local drugstore.

Cleaning

Your first step to eliminate fruit flies is to clean your kitchen. This obviously includes discarding the food or fruit attracting all the flies to your kitchen. Make sure to thoroughly wipe all surfaces and keep your sink and any drains clear. If your sink or drains have any fruit pieces, pulp, or juice, it will keep fruit flies coming around, even if they don’t have a place to lay their eggs.

Apple Cider Vinegar Traps

The most common household ingredient used to eliminate fruit flies is apple cider vinegar. The irresistible fragrance given off by apple cider vinegar draws in fruit flies from all over your home. We have information on two main home remedies to eliminate fruit flies using apple cider vinegar.

Apple Cider Vinegar + Plastic Wrap

Since apple cider vinegar produces a potent smell, it can be used to help eliminate fruit flies, as they cannot resist the smell. To make a trap to eliminate fruit flies, fill a bowl or container with apple cider vinegar and securely cover the opening with plastic wrap. Then, poke holes into the plastic. This allows an entry point for the fruit flies, but they will not be able to find their way back out.

Apple Cider Vinegar + Dish Soap

Again, fill a bowl or container with apple cider vinegar. However, this trap does not require plastic wrap to eliminate fruit flies. This time, mix some dish soap into the apple cider vinegar. Mixing in the dish soap will lessen the surface tension of the apple cider vinegar, causing the fruit flies to sink in and drown.

Store-Bought Treatments

If you cannot eliminate fruit flies through cleaning or apple cider vinegar traps, you may want to look into different chemical treatments. Browse your local drugstore or grocery store to find what sort of fruit fly treatments they offer. The most common types are sprays and traps. You will still want to clean up either way before administering these treatments, as you won’t want any chemicals contaminating food or clean dishes. Follow the directions that come along with these products for the safest, most effective treatment.

Prevent Pest Control

If you are struggling with any sort of pest infestation, call the professionals at Prevent Pest Control today! We can fully eradicate any infestation or pest problem you might have. Visit our website or call (440) 322-0887 today!