How do I get rid of fruit flies?

Tazha1n
by Tazha1n

How do I get rid of Fruit Flys in my house? They are mostly in my kitchen, but some also manage to go in all other rooms! They are driving my husband and myself crazy! They even try flying up our noses!!!! Someone please,please, please help!!!!!!

  10 answers
  • Laura Stan Laura Stan on Nov 13, 2018

    Walmart has these plastic red apple item you put the fruit fly attractant in... it works


  • DesertRose DesertRose on Nov 13, 2018

    They come in on fruit you buy and live in the drains in your home if you put the fruit away like in the fridge or under a bug proof cover. Simple Green kills them. It is non-toxic to people and pets. Spray 5 or 6 times in each drain in the house every day for a week, then once a week for maintenance. If you just spray your kitchen, they will travel to other drains in the house. Do the showers, tubs, every thing that has a drain. It does kill them.

  • Redcatcec Redcatcec on Nov 13, 2018

    Hi Tazhain,

    The fruit flies are entering from the produce brought into the house, They find perfect conditions and hatch and pester you and your family, only to lay eggs on more exposed fruit. What you can do is thoroughly wash and promptly refrigerate your fruit, with the exception of bananas, just wash them. They also like moisture, so keep your sinkdrain clean, one way to do that is to pour some baking soda in it and follow with a white vinegar, when the fizzing stops, rinse with a good amount of hot water.

    Take away the food source and you;ll be back in control of your fruit fly situation.

    Another thing you can do to trap them is place a piece of fruit, a very small piece in a disposable cup, cover it with plastic wrap held in place by a rubber band, make a small hole in the plastic wrap, about the size of a pencil, they crawl in and can't get out.

    Another was is to take a sticky cardboard used for mice/insects and put a small piece of fruit on it, the fruit draws them and they land on the sticky part for good.

    Best to you

  • Cynthia H Cynthia H on Nov 13, 2018

    Hi Tazha! Put out small bowls with apple cider vinegar, a squirt of dish detergent and a tiny amount of water. Mix the bowl just enough to make it bubble. Within a day or so, you should start seeing the gnats drowned in the bowls. I also pour vinegar down my kitchen drain. When the liquid starts evaporating or it gets gunky (a technical word ), it's time to redo the mixture. Good luck!

  • Ken Erickson Ken Erickson on May 01, 2021

    We do the apple cider vinegar trick. Add it to a small bowl, cover with plastic cling wrap, and poke holes in the wrap with a fork. They will go through the holes and get trapped.

  • Chloe Crabtree Chloe Crabtree on Apr 17, 2023

    Fill a microwave-safe bowl with apple cider vinegar and a few drops of dish soap. Microwave the bowl so the mixture becomes even more aromatic. Leave the bowl out uncovered as fruit fly bait. The soap will reduce the surface tension, causing any fruit fly that lands on the surface to drown. Now, if what you have might be drain flies...if that is what you have try this: Boil some water on the stove and pour down your drain several times a day for about a week or Mix 1/2 cup salt, 1/2 cup baking soda and 1 cup of vinegar and then pour the mixture down the drain, leaving it overnight. In the morning, pour boiling hot water down the drain.

    If a drain fly infestation lasts longer than 20 days despite different approaches to get rid of them, then it’s time to call a professional exterminator.

  • Buy sticky traps - available on Amazon.

  • Kathy Gunter Law Kathy Gunter Law on Dec 14, 2023

    use apple cider vinegar with a squirt of dish detergent. Cut a soda bottle in half. Pour solution in the bottom. Remove cap and invert the top of the bottle into the bottom. You can cover with contact paper to make more attractive. The vinegar attracts them. The detergent makes them stuck. They can’t fly back out the tiny bottle neck.

  • Buy sticky traps. They are available on Amazon.