Is there anyone in your kitchen who you didn’t invite? Are they buzzing around your fresh produce or even your trash can? Perhaps you left some empty beer bottles out, and they’re flying around those as well? Infested with fruit flies? Answer yes to any of these questions. What can you do to help eradicate these pests?
Attempt a Store-Bought Trap
If your homemade traps aren’t working, go to your local hardware store and buy a sticky fly trap. These traps catch common flies and fruit flies. After a sticky area has been filled, remove the trap and trash it. The trap can be changed as needed.
Create a Vinegar Solution
You can also try making a vinegar trap to attract fruit flies. Here’s how it works:
- Fill a single-use container halfway with water.
- Stir a few tablespoons of vinegar and sugar into the water.
- Stir in a few drops of dish soap to the solution.
- Place the container where the fruit flies congregate after mixing your solution.
They should be drawn to this solution and will drown if they come into contact with it. Continue using this method until no fruit flies are visible.
Construct a Swimming Pool Trap
Have some red wine leftover that you don’t intend to finish? Make a swimming pool trap for fruit flies. Here’s how it works:
- Stir together some red wine and dish detergent in a disposable container.
- Wrap the container in plastic wrap. Vegetable flies need wide holes to enter.
- The wine should attract fruit flies, and the wine and dish detergent will immobilize and drown them.
You can keep doing this until you no longer see any fruit flies.
Use the Rotten Fruit to Your Advantage
If you still see fruit flies, you can set a trap with items you probably already have in your kitchen. Any rotten or open food that attracts fruit flies falls into this category. Take the following steps:
- Instead of throwing away rotten or open food, place it in a disposable container.
- Wrap the container in plastic wrap.
- Make a few holes in the wrap and hang it near fruit flies.
- The flies should swarm within the trap. Then dispose of them how you like.
Rep this process until all fruit flies are gone.
Keep the Common Areas Clean
After you’ve identified the source of the issue, inspect the drain in your kitchen sink. If it’s clogged or needs to be cleaned, now is the time to do it. Fruit flies prefer warm, moist environments in which to live and breed. Don’t forget to inspect your trash cans for fruit fly activity. Fruit flies have been observed laying their eggs in trash cans, exacerbating the infestation. If they’re swarming around your garbage can, take it out and disinfect it with a powerful cleaner like bleach. Before reusing the cans, make sure they are completely dry.
Seek Professional Help
What’s more, if you have a fruit fly infestation, don’t delay treating it. Contacting a professional like FullScope Pest Control as soon as you see a problem is one approach to achieving this. Our professionals utilize only the most effective and safe methods to eliminate fruit flies from your house and keep them from returning!
