Home Remedies to Your Fruit Fly Problem

Every summer, the worst part about having all the fresh seasonal produce coming in your kitchen are the fruit flies that flock to them. These nasty critters aren’t just annoying when they fly to your face or to your food, they’re also dangerous because they carry a plethora of parasites and bacteria that cause diseases that’s dangerous for your family. Allowing these little bugs to fly around your household is unacceptable but the usual insecticides are toxic and also bad for your health. Also, they’re not cheap. So here are some home organisation tips and home remedies that will help you with your fruit fly situation.

1.CLEAN YOUR DISHES AND TRASH CANS RIGHT AWAY

Fruit flies and gnats are attracted to dish dirts, trash stench, and moldy smells. Basically, they love nasty, rotten areas which is why you must get organised at home by clearing your trash cans right away and to not let your dishes collect in your sink. This preventive measure will lessen the instances of fruit fly infestation in your home before it even starts.

2.REMOVE THE DAMP AREAS

Same with trash and food debris, fruit flies as well as other insects like mosquitoes (which also carry dangerous kinds of parasites) fester in damp and moldy areas. These collections of water is where they mate and lay their eggs so if you don’t want those fruit flies to multiply, get rid of their nests and brooding areas. Remove water from your spare tires, sides of your potted plants, or any other areas with stagnant water to eradicate areas where the nymphs and larvae of these bugs reside. This home organisation tip will make your home fruit fly free for longer.

3.USE YOUR WINDOW SCREENS

I’m a big fan of fresh morning air but opening your window up to the world means letting your little fruit fly friends into your home. But, closing your windows will make your house feel stuffy and clogged. Not to mention, the stench of your house will become really nasty. So what do you do? Compromise the stuffiness of your house in exchange for fruit flies leaving your home or have a fresh and airy home filled with fruit flies? Don’t choose one over the other, instead make use of window screens. These will keep the air flowing in while keeping the fruit flies out of your house.

4.APPLE CIDER AND SOAP

If you already have a fruit fly problem, a great way to get rid of them and save money as well is to concoct a mixture of apple cider vinegar and some liquid soap then place it in a narrow mouthed bottle. Add some water then place this to near areas where a lot of the fruit flies reside. The smell of the apple cider will attract the fruit flies while the soap will reduce the surface tension of the mixture, making the fruit flies drown into the mixture.

5.RED WINE

Another great home organisation tip is to use some of your leftover wine from last night’s party or dinner celebration and leave it on near areas where fruit flies are usually found. The smell of the red wine will attract the flies while the narrow mouth of the wine bottle will trap them inside. Not only will this decluttering tip help you make use of your leftover wine, it’ll also remove these fruit flies from your house.  

6.ROTTEN FRUITS

Rotten fruits are also one of the most potent fruit fly attractants out there. Use your leftover fruits and fruit seeds and place them in narrow-mouthed bottles. Place a paper cone in the mouth of the bottle and let the flies collect inside the bottles. Another way of using leftover fruits as fly attractants is by placing them in a jar. Pour some honey over the fruits to use as adhesives then cover the jar with plastic wrap. Poke some hole on the plastic wrap where the flies can enter the jar. These flies will then stick to the fruits covered with honey.

7.STICKY FLY TRAPS

Sticky fly traps can also be a solution for your fruit fly problem. These traps are sticky that the flies will adhere to them when they fly near the traps. A smart way to catch as much flies in these traps is to place the apple cider and soap trap, rotten fruit, or red wine trap near the sticky traps so that the flies will fly nearer to the adhesive surfaces of these traps. This remedy, however, will cost more money than the home remedies mentioned previously so it’s up to you to make use of these stick fly traps.

8.BLEACH

If you find yourself doing all of these tips and hacks to prevent fruit flies from infesting your home yet still find some gallivanting around your home, then they must be hiding out somewhere else. You see, a thing about fruit flies is they’re just relentless. If they can’t grow in stagnant waters around the house, they will surely find a way to grow inside your sinks and pipes. In order to get rid of these fruit flies and their larvae hiding inside your drain pipes is by killing them with bleach. Pour some bleach solution down your drains to get rid of these fruit flies. You also choose to use ammonium chloride instead. However, do not mix these two solutions together because they will react and form toxic fumes that’s dangerous to your family.

Hopefully, if you follow these tips, your fruit fly problems will not be bothering you anymore. If you have any more tips and home remedies you’d like to share with regards to keeping fruit flies at bay, please let us know in the comments section below.