I have fruit flies in the house, but they seem to be found the most in the living room. I do not keep fruit on the counter in my kitchen and I have made sure my drains are clean. I am sure that the fruit flies have something to do with some new plants that my husband put in the living room since we have never had them in the living room before. Is there anyway to keep them from coming back once I get rid of them?
By Alissa
This is a variation on the Fruit Fly Motel.
Make a fruit fly flytrap by putting a small amount of a banana in a shallow dish, cover it with a plastic wrap, stretching and holding it with a rubber band. Pierce some holes on the cover. Attracted to the smell of the fruit the flies will crawl in and would not be able to escape.
I need an easy way to kill off fruit flies in my kitchen. Thanks.
By Ron
I've personally found that the best solution is to put banana peels or other fragrant fruit peels in a plastic bread bag and prop it open a bit so that they can go in. Leave it overnight, and in the morning, snap the bag up and put the tie on it and toss it in the trash.
Squirrels got into the space between my apartment and the one upstairs. They hid their winter nuts in the space and after a couple of months I now have more fruit flies than I can kill daily. The complex is preparing to clean the space, but I need help getting rid of the flies in my apartment. Help. Please.
By beho from Mobile, AL
First, shoot the squirrels.
Then, make a fruit fly trap:
Pour an inch or two of vinegar into a cup. add a drop or two of dish soap.
Cover the cup with saran or similar. Poke a bunch of holes in the saran, and set near where the fruit flies congregate.
They smell the vinegar, climb in, and when they come in contact with the vinegar get sucked down into it because of the effect the dish soap has on the surface tension of the vinegar.
I have been inundated lately with these pesky flies. Not only are they in my kitchen but are now all over my house. They seem to be attracted to my bathroom and bedroom mirrors. I have no food in these rooms and can't figure out where they are coming from. Help please.
By Joanne D.
Fruit flies are drawn to anything acidic, even lemon scented dish detergent. If you keep glass cleaner in the bathroom that is likely the attraction. Using a small jam jar or baby food jar I'll almost fill it with vinegar water along with a drop of dish detergent and float a small slice of lemon or orange and dunk it under then allow it to float.
I do not have any over-ripe fruit or garbage around. I'm very clean, yet I have so many fruit flies. I put a cup of sweet wine on the table and there will be as many as 24 a day in the cup.
Now I am wondering how they can continually keep popping up in the kitchen? Is there a greater problem with them this year? I hear bed-bugs are a problem also. I'm 79 years old and never have experienced anything like this.
Is there a scientific answer to this? I do not have food for them to be attracted to on the counters, etc. However, I keep that wine cup.
Thanks.
By aca
I don't have much faith in the wine trap - I think you just get inebriated fruit flies! They only live a few days anyway. Fruit flies can live & breed in recycle pop cans or juice boxes, or also in the dirt of house plants. You don't have to have anything particularly dirty to breed them once they get a foothold. They usually come into the house on fruit.
I have a small compost pail in the house for scraps and I want to know how to keep the pests out of it. I have put the cider trap next to it. I do empty it (the pail) on a regular basis, but still plagued by them. Is there anything else I can do to get rid of them, other than put it outside?
By E.
I am having a fruit fly infestation. I don't have fruits or veggies on the countertops. I have no clue where they came from. Can they come inside on pets or humans?
By D.C.C from Slidell, LA
I agree... they come in through the screens, they are awful! I got rid of mine by placing a clear bug strip on a window that gets the last light of the day. They will always head in that direction in the evening - and they find the sticky tab and stick leaving me alone. They only need about 2 or 3 days to reproduce...
How do you get rid of fruit flies? I tried apple cider vinegar. I caught a huge amount of them, but there are 10 stragglers left. Perhaps they are the smarter, more evolved fruit flies.
By Joy
Put some ripe or over-ripe fruit in the microwave and leave the door open for a few hours. When all the fruit flies are in the microwave, close the door and zap them for about 30 seconds.
This morning I got up and opened my fridge. There were many half dead fruit flies in there. I must throw out all the food that may have been open. I even find dead ones in the freezer. I have so many; I kill them daily. I use cider vinegar and dish soap, but they are everywhere in my small apartment. I noticed at the supermarket they were all over, too, in my face at the checkout as well. The checker said they drive her crazy. I never had this problem before. I need help.
By June
Fruit flies are attracted to rotting fruit and sugary things like recycle cans from pop or juice boxes. You must eliminate the places that they are hatching from. Some also seem to live in house plants sometimes. They have a very short life span, and so attempting to kill them is a futile effort. You must clean up anything, fruit bowls, garbage, compost buckets, anything where they might be breeding.
Fruit flies are not like ordinary house flies. I don't think you have to worry about germs being spread, it is the nuisance factor with the little devils.
I keep getting little fruit flies coming in through my windows. I have tried taping the screens. I have taped the cracks around the windows. I find their bodies on the outside of my screens. I don't know what attracts them. How do I get rid of something when I don't know why they're there?
By Karen
This will help in the interim. Fill up a cup or plastic glass with some apple cider vinegar and then drop in a couple drops of dish washing liquid to break the surface adhesion. They will dive in and drown.
It works every time. The other advice is good, too. If you don't have a disposal, or the things you have can't go down there, put the things in a plastic bag and toss.
Here are a sample photo I posted to help.
PBP
We had our house professionally treated for pests. They sprayed our yard, but not inside the house. We are told this is the way it's done now. These fruit flies are driving me crazy. I have told our pest control service that we are having trouble with these pests - we have tried everything for months. How can we rid ourselves of these pests?
By Norma
We have millions of fruit flies that seem to love our wash room. I spray them with deoderizer and we have killed millions of them, but the next day or even 2 hours after there are just as many. Any solution?
By Coral
You must have some rotten fruit or veggies in there somewhere. You won't have fruit flies if you get rid of whatever it is they are eating.
What's the best way of getting rid of fruit flies? We use those sticky strips and we make sure to rinse out bottles and dishes containing sweets. Any suggestions?
By George F.
Put your vinegar/soap solution in a narrow mouth bottle, like a soda bottle. You might want to drop an apple core or some banana peel in there, too. Then place a funnel in the top of the jar. The flies will enter through the funnel and eventually drown in the solution. Until they do, they will be trapped in the jar because they can't figure out how to get out the spout of the funnel since it isn't the highest point.
