Ways to Get Rid of Fruit Flies

Homes, restaurants, supermarkets, grocer shops, etc. are the common places where you can find fruit flies. Ripened or rotten fruit and vegetables are the main attraction for fruit flies. Tomatoes, melons, potatoes, rotten bananas, rotten or half-cut apples and similar unrefrigerated products are infested by these insects. Fruit flies thrive for a mere ten days. This period is enough for infestation and breeding as well. Their food source is also their breeding ground. Prevention is the best way to get rid of fruit flies. Here are some effective methods of pest control.

Eliminate Sources of Attraction!
Ripened fruit should not be left uneaten. They should be either refrigerated or disposed of. Fruit which have any openings due to any cut or damage provide a breeding ground for such insects. Thousands of fruit flies can breed in a single rotten potato or onion. When you bring home ripe bananas, ensure that they are not left to over-ripen or rot. Over-ripe bananas tend to attract these flies easily. Soda cans, cider cans and beer cans must either be cleaned with normal dishwashing soap, or sealed in an air-tight plastic bag. These containers must be well sealed. Fruit flies usually breed under the lids and the hatched larvae infest the containers. It is also wise to have your kitchen's windows and doors fitted with tight-fitting screens. This will prevent the fruit flies from entering the rooms.

If not insecticides, then how to get rid of fruit flies naturally? There are several effective ways to get rid of fruit flies. Vinegar, wine, sugar and similar sweet products highly attract fruit flies. You can prepare mixtures using such products and trap the flies.

How to Get Rid of Fruit Flies With Vinegar?
Drop a few drops of apple cider vinegar into a jar and cover the mouth of the jar with a paper funnel. Place the jar wherever the fruit flies are visible. As fruit flies are attracted towards vinegar, they will enter the jar through the funnel and get trapped. Later, you can destroy the flies or release them outdoors.

Prepare a mixture of white vinegar and regular dishwashing detergent. Stir the mix and slowly add water to it. Bubbles will start floating on the surface. Due to the aroma of vinegar, the flies will be attracted towards the mixture and will be trapped in the liquid.

This is one of the simple ways to get rid of fruit flies and destroy them. Put some apple cider vinegar into a shallow bowl and cover the bowl with a plastic wrap. Ensure that the the plastic has covered the bowl properly without leaving any gaps at the edges. Now, using a tooth-pick or a needle, punch some holes into the covering. The sweet smell of vinegar will lure the fruit flies and they will get inside the bowl through the holes. Once they are inside, it becomes difficult for them to find an exit.

Suffocate the Flies!
An effective and inexpensive mixture of milk, sugar and ground sugar is also useful in destroying fruit flies. Form this mixture by taking small quantities of each of the items mentioned and simmer it for 5 - 10 minutes. After you pour the mixture in a shallow dish, you will see the fruit flies getting attracted towards it. Eventually, the flies will suffocate and die.

Use the Oven!
Store all foods in your refrigerator and clean the dishes and cans. Place a piece of ripe banana or any fruit inside the oven and leave the door open for some time. After a few hours you will see that the fruit flies have started feeding on the fruit. Close the oven and turn up its temperature to about 200º Celsius. This amount of heat is sufficient to get rid of the flies. Do not forget to clean the oven and that too thoroughly.

Permanent Eradication
After the infestation by fruit flies, it becomes difficult to locate their food and breeding source. However, as mentioned earlier, their food and breeding source are the same. Try to locate all possible food sources (rotten fruit or vegetables) in your house, especially in your kitchen. After you have located them, dispose in air-tight bags. Once the food and breeding source are removed, insecticides (only recommended ones) can be sprayed to eliminate fruit flies permanently. However, if the process of fruit or vegetables being rotten continues, you are back where you started. So permanent eradication involves complete restriction of such habits.

Prevention is always considered a more feasible option than cure. Preventing infestation in the first place is better than adopting different home remedies for fruit flies. Minimal use of insecticides and similar products is preferable. Proper maintenance of drainage systems in houses also aids prevention. To sum up, proper hygiene is the best way to prevent and get rid of fruit flies and all other types of infestation.