Summary: Proper Fruit fly control knowledge is very important if you ever want to live a life without fruit flies. Even though its not a difficult process, you need to know each step. Starting with the elimination of their food sources, you need to treat your drain pipes, find old and rotten food and use a trap to get rid of these pests.
Most people tend to just try and deal with the problem by killing every fruit fly they see without trying to address the root cause. If you are dealing with a fruit fly infestation and fail to address the root cause first, fruit fly removal is going to be extremely hard. Remember that even wet, crumpled clothing and towels can attract fruit flies if left damp for weeks! Regardless of the cause, the good news is that there is a process that can really help you eliminate fruit flies and ensure that that you get rid of them without much expense. After reading this article, check out these other natural fruit fly removal remedies that you can use right now!
Fruit Fly Control – How Is It Possible?
Fruit flies can cause much frustration, especially if you thought you got rid of them, only to find them appearing again, even in places like a commercial restaurant. However, with proper diligence, the problem can be both treated and prevented. If you have a number of red marks that you think may have been caused by fruit flies, I recommend you check out my article about fruit fly bites. In this first part of the article, we are going to discuss possible ways that you can follow that will help you to prevent the spread of fruit flies as a prevention is always better then a cure. Once we have elaborated on this, we will discuss ways in which you can go about exterminating fruit flies, making sure that they do not reappear a couple weeks later to annoy you and cause potential health risks.
Step 1 – Find Their Breeding Grounds
Fruit flies typically gather where there is a high level of bacteria and especially when there is a sugary substance that can be used both for feeding themselves and their young. Fruit flies often start appearing if you fail to clean up properly after meals (such as scraping and rinsing your dishes) or even if you have the habit of leaving wet towels and clothing lying crumpled in the corners of your house for days. Both of these attract bacteria, which in turn attract fruit flies which can make fruit fly control very difficult and can potentially make your fruit fly extermination campaign very long and tiresome. So make sure that you clean up after you enjoy a tasty meal and keep your things dry, especially during the rainy or humid seasons!
Step 2 – Remove the Fruit Flies from Your Home
- Kill Them in Drains! – The easiest way to initiate fruit fly control in your kitchen and bathroom areas is to pour regular bleach down your drain pipes.
- Clear Your Rubbish – This is important! When you throw away your leftovers, it can often start to rot and that can attract fruit flies. Make sure to keep the rubbish bin away from the house
- Remove Old Food – Make sure that you don’t leave food (especially sugar based ones) lying around after eating a meal or taking a snack otherwise fruit flies could find it and share it with their friends!
Step 3 – Using Traps for Easy Fruit Fly Extermination
Building your own homemade fruit fly trap is fairly easy, all it takes is some time and effort. Another great thing is that they are really cheap to make and you can have a couple in your kitchen or wherever your fruit fly problem is within about 30 minutes. I have personally used them and a number of readers have also reported excellent success. Keep in mind that after you have read the article (linked above), you may need to take the plastic right off as I have had feedback that this sometimes encourages them into the jar. Of course, if you don’t have time to make these, you could purchase some for a small fee or hire an exterminator to help you out with any sort of insect removal.
As you can see, exterminating fruit flies can be fairly easy when you know what you are doing. The problem with most people is that they are not willing to learn and for that reason I applaud you for taking the initiative to find out the answers for yourself.
Remember that although that trap for fruit flies works amazingly well, just remember that you still need to be proactive with your cleaning up after yourself and taking basic steps to ensure that you don’t leave things around that attract these bugs. If you follow the steps in this article I am confident that you will get rid of those fruit flies in your home! I hope you enjoyed this guide, please consider sharing it with your friends 🙂
Hello! My name is Natasha, and I have been helping people with their insect problems since 2012. I have published a book, worked with many pest control companies, and helped thousands with various infestations on a one-to-one basis. My goal for this blog is to create evidence-based guides that are easy to understand, provide sufficient depth and can be trusted to be very accurate. Please remember that my guides are for informational purposes only, and that you agree to the terms of use when reading content on this website. If you leave a comment, I typically respond within 48 hours.
Hey Natasha, we’ve got a fruit fly issue on a different scale. Our community supplies each household with 3 bins for refuse pick up, one for garbage, one for recycling, and one for Compost. The Compost goes to a facility that mulches it down to a rich topsoil, and saves on landfill space, so we’re in favour of this, but our bin is the perfect fruit fly breeding ground. We can’t leave it outside, the raccoons knock it over. Fortunately we’ve got an enclosed garage where it can live. But it produces flies on a level that can’t be imagined. Not tens of flies, not hundreds, you’d be kidding yourself if you thought there was a thousand. You’d be in the ballpark if you measured it in Kilograms. Tens of thousands. I could make a hundred bottle style fly traps and maybe reduce their numbers by ten percent.
Our house is clean, there’s no issue indoors, but the fly factory in the garage keeps sending flies everywhere. I’d like to continue using the Compost bin, but it’s unrealistic to suggest cleaning it since we’re always adding vegetable cuttings and old leftovers into it. I’m thinking of wiring a UV light into it. Any thoughts?
Hi Russ, goodness 😛 That sounds like quite a challenge. Maybe (although I have never used them) try getting one of those electric traps that zap insects when they get too close? By the sounds of things though, that might prove to be a fire hazard LOL. Just an idea, go find a BIG one 😛
Hey Natasha – I have a restaurant and we have dirty rags that are picked up by a company every week and replaced with new ones. They tell us to store them in an open container but this clearly causes fruit flies and way to many of them. If we store them in a closed container the moist can create mold which is also unhealthy for the restaurant environment.
Do you have any suggestions of how to store the dirty rags until they are picked up?
Thanks,
Hi Lence, that is a tricky situation. Maybe a container with a lid, but the lid can just have the frame and fine net meshing? That way air would get it, but will probably reduce the fruit fly breeding process. Just an idea, let me know what you think.
I’ve had an extremely bad problem with these buggers this year. Usually it started with our garden tomatoes on the counter, but this year not a one. Then my kids brought home apples from an orchard and the parade started. I’ve hung one of those sticky tape strips in my window, above my overpopulated traps, and have caught literally thousands. This is not a dirty house but I can’t seem to get rid of them but my traps (apple cider vinegar, dish soap – filled to brim) and the tape keep them down. But here is something that I’ve not seen on here is houseplants — they love the moist soil. I had to put my favorite orchid outside (freezing here) and now it’s dead — had that thing forever… If they find a houseplant it’s game over – if it’s nice outside put the plant outside for a couple of days then transplant it getting rid of all the old soil – this may stunt but not kill the plant and it will recover. If your plant is infested and it’s cold – well, think of my orchid !!
I also put a sticky trap in front of my vinegar traps and this also nabs a bunch of them – I am going to try a weak version of my garden pesticide on my plants and see if that helps – will fill ya in.
Jeff
Hi Jeff! Goodness, that is quite the infestation there, sorry about that. Thanks for sharing your story though, let me know how it goes!
I have used the traps and only a few went in …. I have poured bleach down my drains and cleaned up all the food and regularly take my trash out so they can’t breed . I haven’t been able to locate the source and they seem to living on my ceiling more than near my sinks or drains. Every time I think I’ve gotten most of them I look up and there’s more on my ceiling … is this normal?
Hi Jess. If that is the case, maybe put a trap in the ceiling? Its fine to see a couple but when they start multiplying, they can be very annoying.
Fruit flies can be a big problem. These tips are a great way eliminate them. We have used many of these suggestions for controlling them in restaurants and bars. Thanks for sharing this info for others to access.
Hi Dean, it is a pleasure to serve the community 🙂
Heya! back at you; and thank you for your kind reply. There’s not a whole lot that can be done for these pesky little critters. I wish there were some kind of monetary bounty on them. The numbers of them hanging out in the trash chute room have decreased since I started spraying in there but some of them always live and must be leaving there and going into other dwellings because I’ve begun to see a few in my rooms every day. I haven’t been able to see but one or two at any given time, but I swat them on sight. I have also made up the solution of liquid soap and apple cider vinegar and one or two of the sneaky ones which I don’t see I’ve found some mornings in the solution. So the solution does “finally” work somewhat/sometimes. It’s just not fast enough so I’ll continue swatting and leave the solution as a back-up in hopes of catching a few stragglers that I don’t see, so couldn’t swat.
Thanks again for your helpful and very friendly web site and for your kind reply. God bless….
Heya, its an absolute pleasure 🙂 Yeah I sometimes wish that as well lol. It sounds like you will just need to keep doing suppressive maintenance (as you are doing). I know its not the best choice but it will work to keep their population down to a minimum. Let me know if anything gets out of hand and we can revisit a few more potential solutions! 🙂
I’m still doing all I can in this ongoing battle between man/woman and the little “beasts” that force themselves upon us. I’ve done all I can but doubt that there is too much of anything else to do other than what i’ve been doing along with all the wonderful tips gleaned from this website and other like it (this being the best of the best of all other sites I’ve visited). Sadly, it seems as though those pesky critters have a much higher form of intelligence than I’ve imagined even in my wildest dreams, that the actually possess. I’ve incorporated the tips and suggestions from this site in my ongoing battle; and I thank you and the other fruit fly “crime busters” who’re leaving their tips here and for all the suggestions from the beautiful, kind, easy-going people who’re a part of this web site community; and for the very gracious and beautiful lady of this web site. THANK YOU, Ms Natasha Anderson. A blessed EVERY day to you.
Thank you for your kind words and I am glad that you are incorporating all the tips from this community 🙂 I wish you the best of luck in getting rid of those pests and please feel free to contact me if you have any more questions!
It must be coming up to their “season” (if they have one) for lessening their nasty ever-presence for awhile because I’ve seen less than usual lately, even in the trash disposal room. Thanks again for your web site because the information I’ve found here has helped me to deal somewhat with the little beasts. I’ve bookmarked your site because I’d hate to rely on my memory to get back here from time to time. The BEST to you!
You are welcome! Thanks for the bookmark and hope to see you back again soon 🙂
Unfortunately, I live in a high-rise senior citizen building where there are people who’re not always clean as well as there are trash chutes on every floor and the room in which the trash chutes are located, they contributes very greatly to the fruit fly population. I have used the professional grade sprayer (made up of a large bottle-shaped container which I fill with insecticide, pump the handle a few times to build up the pressure, and then press the other handle that sits atop the nozzle hose and allow the built-up pressure to dispel a fine mist of the insecticide).
I went into the “trash chute” room yesterday and sprayed the entire room for a couple of minutes. There must have been well over 100 of those little “beasts,” some of them walking on the floor, some crawling up the walls, others crawling across the ceiling and flying in the air. I gave them a GOOD dose but when I got back to my door, there were several of them now crawling on my door. A few of them got in and it is difficult to get them out. I’ve tried the vinegar/dishwashing liquid method in the past as I see that this is the method the receptionist who work at the front desk on the first floor use every season to try to get rid of them. I didn’t catch even ONE of those things and to my dismay, I’d now used all my industrial grade pesticide.
I started stalking them and killing them whenever I saw on of them light onto something like my table or the window, and I used Raid when I could see them flying, but Raid is too expensive to be using on those little guys. I use my Raid in cases when I see roaches crawling down the hallways. I don’t have roaches inside, (thank the Lord) because of the Boric acid I’ve placed everywhere.
In food prep, I always use a plastic bag from the grocery store to place food scraps as I’m cooking then take the bag to the trash room. I don’t keep trash or food in the open long enough to attract these things. They come in here from the trash room, and I constantly use pure bleach or bleach diluted with a little water and dish washing liquid in a spray bottle and clean, clean, clean every few minutes while cooking and then use a heavier solution or pure bleach at final clean up time. But the vinegar and soap has not worked for me.
This is a really good web site with GREAT tips and friendly people who leave nice comments, and it has been a pleasure visiting here. Thank you, Ms Anderson for your good tips and your good will.
Heya! Thank you for your kind words and for sharing your experiences. Fruit flies can be a nightmare, especially in situations like yours and it takes time and effort to get rid of them. I have also used insecticide for fruit flies in the past but when the infestation is small, its not usually necessary. However, in your case, I would definitely advise it! Hope you win the fight against those fruit flies and let me know if I can help in any way!
I like using ice in drains, a floor fan for floor drains, and light.
Fruit flies like dark, moist, and warm areas.
Give them light, dry, and cold.
Hey Corey! Thats one way of approaching the situation and if it works, then stick with it. I also recommend that you take a look at my other fruit fly articles as they have a number of other ways to kill them quickly 🙂
I’ve bleached down the sink pipes and cleaned the whole house but they keep coming back. I’m planning to get an exterminator on this one but do you think I’m just overreacting? My friends will be here in 2 days and I cant seem to find a solution to getting rid of them. I’m having my birthday party so yeah this is a serious problem. By the way, I loooooovvvveeee your website! 🙂
Hey Kat! Hiring an exterminator will ensure that you get rid of the problem but following this guide from top to bottom and I am pretty sure you will have sorted it out within 2 days.
Good luck, let me know if you have any other questions 🙂
I can’t seem to get the trap right… they are definately attracted to the outside of the bowl but I can’t get the lil buggers to go in! The holes are plenty big enough… fruit flies may be dumb but they’re out-smarting me 🙁 I’ll do more research but any suggestions welcome! thanks
Hey Stefanie! Hahaha! I am not too sure if you commented on another article using a different name but I have just had somebody recommend taking the entire cover off the bowl. Apparently the fruit flies just dive in and drown! I have always put plastic on the top of mine but give that a try! Good luck!
thanks for the tip; i’lll give it a try n keep ya’ll posted… i didn’t have any sugar so i used honey, i don’t know if they’re attracted to that..
Hey Stefanie! Yes that’s fine, hope it worked out for you as its been almost a year since your comment. Cheers!
I have tried a lot of methods, let me share what works best for me aside from eliminating the source of the problem (fruit, garbage, etc.) I have tried the small amount of vinegar/dish soap in like a dark beer bottle where the fly in and get caught, not bad. What i discovered by accident is this:
take a small RED plastic bowl (probably doesn’t have to be plastic) they seem to like red better than pink or other color, place a half teaspoon of sugar, a little water and 2 or 3 drops of dish soap in the bowl, stir it up, place saran clear wrap over top and poke a few small holes in it, I do little slits, they go in but can’t get back out. And it seems once there are a few in there it attracts more, works like a charm. within 3 or 4 days I have had like a 100 trapped in there. Then I dump out and start again, keeps them under control as I’ve had trouble eliminating them permanently. Wanted to share this as the best method I’ve found, pouring boiling water down the drain at quiet times is something to try as well as they can live there. good luck!
That is a fantastic suggestion David, thank you very much for sharing it 🙂 I will definitely recommend it to others!
This is the first time I’ve been to your website. Thnx for explaining more details.
Awesome stuff, I hope you will be back soon and hope that the information was helpful!