What Are Fruit Flies and Where Do They Come From?
Fruit flies are small reddish-brown insects. They'll most likely be seen fluttering around your kitchen, possibly around the fruit dish.
Fruit flies can enter through open windows, although they are usually brought in from the grocery store on fruits and vegetables. They lay their eggs in rotting produce and sugary surfaces, and they penetrate fruit at the supermarket through any openings on the fruit's surface.
How to Prevent Fruit Flies
If your kitchen is clean and neat, keeping the fruit flies away will be much easier. Begin by cleaning out any spots where food may accumulate and spoil.
Keep your waste outside or in a container with a tight-fitting lid. Rather than leaving food scraps out at room temperature, place them in a compost bag and store them in the freezer. If old food has accumulated in your sink drains, flush them away.
If you usually keep fruits and vegetables on the counter, try relocating them to a cooler area or covering them, especially if they have a high sugar content and ripen quickly. Put your bananas and tomatoes in a cool drawer or under a dome to keep them fresh.
Prevent fruit flies by closely inspecting the produce you buy for cracks where fruit flies could be hiding. To eliminate any eggs on the surface of unrefrigerated vegetables, wash and dry it as soon as you get them home. Fruit flies deposit their eggs on anything sugary or fermented, so make sure you wipe up spills, take out the trash, and clean your sink drain regularly.
How to Trap Fruit Flies and Keep Them from Your Kitchen
If fruit flies decide to make your kitchen their home, there are methods to trap them. They prefer fermented fruit, so combine a small amount of dish soap with an old beer, wine, or apple cider vinegar. Pour water into the concoction and leave the glass or bowl on the counter where you found the flies.
They will flock to the glass due to the fruit sugar but will become stuck in the soap bubbles. You can also puncture a few holes in plastic wrap and wrap it around the top of a beer bottle or glass of vinegar. Fruit flies can enter but cannot fly out.
Here are a few ways to keep fruit flies out of the kitchen:
1. Apple Cider Vinegar and Plastic Wrap
Apple cider vinegar is more effective than white vinegar since it's somewhat sweeter. Make multiple traps and place them around your kitchen to increase your chances of success.
Fill a glass halfway with apple cider. Wrap plastic wrap across the opening and tighten with a rubber band. Then, make a few small holes to let the fruit flies enter.
2. Paper Cone, Vinegar, and Old Fruit
The smell of rotting produce will attract fruit flies, but the cone shape of this fruit fly trap makes it challenging for them to escape. In a jar, combine a little vinegar and a chunk of very ripe fruit. Roll some paper into a cone and insert it into the jar, placing the narrow opening down.
3. Vinegar and Dish Soap
If your plastic wrap or paper cone traps aren't working, try adding three drops of dish soap to a bowl of vinegar and leaving it uncovered. The soap reduces the surface tension of the vinegar, so the flies will sink and drown.
4. Make Your Alcohol Spray
As tempting as it may be to buy over-the-counter pesticides, we recommend a safer alternative. Instead of dangerous and toxic pesticide spray, use 91% isopropyl alcohol in a spray bottle. It's effective at killing the flies on contact and less harmful than pesticides.
Fruit Flies Extermination
Fruit flies only live for about two weeks, and they die quickly when temperatures get cooler. Fruit flies are mostly annoying, but they do pose some health risks. They can carry bacteria or germs as they land on food and surfaces in your house, potentially causing health problems.
When they become a real nuisance, it's time to call in the professionals. Rid-A-Bug has more than 50 years of combined experience dealing with the most difficult pest issues.
When you have an infestation, we respond quickly and provide the remedies you need to get rid of these unpleasant visitors. Contact us today to schedule a fruit fly extermination!