How do I get rid of fruit flies or gnats?

Helen Greene
by Helen Greene
  10 answers
  • Janet Pizaro Janet Pizaro on Jan 01, 2018

    place bowls of apple cider vinegar topped with saran wrap.poke small holes in it. Remove any fruit that is out. if you have house plants,that would be fungi gnats in which case the plants will need re-potting in fresh soil

  • DesertRose DesertRose on Jan 01, 2018

    The best way to rid the home of fruit flies is 2 fold. First, be sure all the fruit in the house is contained in the fridge or someplace where they cannot get to it. Fruit flies come in with the fruit we buy and hatch. Second, if all fruit and food is put up, they will live in the drains in your home, mostly the kitchen, but all drains should be treated. I use Simple Green. (walmart and menards have it but maybe others too). Spray the drains with Simple green 3 or 4 sprays. This includes all drains in the house in the bathroom, utility room, anywhere you have a drain. Do this every day for about a week. If you see any after that spray them all again. I often find one or two hovering around my shower after I have blasted the whole house full of drains. Then after you see NO fruit flies, prevent any further infestation by spraying the drains once a week, except the kitchen. I spray that drain daily at least once anyway. Simple Green is a disinfectant and deodorizer. I use it for all my cleaning. It is safe for children, pets, and the environment. I am allergic to most cleaners so it is my life saver. I even killed a house fly that happened by one time when I was cleaning the kitchen and had a bottle in my hand. He got sprayed and died in the sink right then! It is great stuff.

  • Pjo26908388 Pjo26908388 on Jan 01, 2018

    I always have lots of fresh produce and many fruit flies. I have a small squat bottle with a small neck (entry/exit) that has vinegar in it.


    Fruit flies here love the balsamic vinegar. I get the cheapo kind at the dollar store. When it gets too buggy- down the drain it goes. Then it gets cleaned and we start again...


    Works like a charm.

  • Vimarhonor Vimarhonor on Jan 01, 2018

    The vinegar trap in the covered glass jar a cup has always worked for me.


    Per link below

    “Get Rid of Fruitflies with a Homemade Fruit Fly Trap. Pour just enough cider vinegar to cover the bottom of the jar. Add a drop of dish soap (it will break the surface tension of the vinegar so the fruit flies can't just sit atop the liquid). Now, cover the jar with plastic wrap and poke a few holes in the top.”

    https://www.apartmenttherapy.com/homemade-fruit-fly-trap-123615


  • Geri Geri on Jan 01, 2018

    Lemon

  • Diana Brewer Diana Brewer on Jan 01, 2018

    Get a cup and put about a quarter cup of apple cider vinegar in it.Add a tablespoon of Dawn dish soap to it.Stir and sit out where the bugs congregate.They will fall in and drown.Good luck.

  • Chloe Crabtree Chloe Crabtree on Nov 07, 2023

    I had a terrible gnat problem and the vinegar traps worked perfectly! Simply place a few tablespoons of apple cider vinegar or white vinegar, a few drops of dish soap, and a tablespoon of sugar in a bowl and stir. Set your bowl in an area where gnats are prevalent, such as your kitchen or bathroom. This took care of my problem in just a couple of days!

  • Redcatcec Redcatcec on Nov 12, 2023

    This is what I do, wash all fruit and vegies when you bring them home and store all in the refrig except bananas. If there were any eggs on the produce they are now in the drain, to address this problem put 1/2 cup of baking soda in each kitchen drain and follow with 1 cup vinegar. When the fizzing stops rinse well with hot water for a min or so, cover the drains with a stopper. For the airborne ones, take a mice sticky cardboard trap and cut 1 in half with the plastic cover on it, peel off the plastic cover off 1 of these halves and place a piece of decaying fruit in the center of it, that will draw them. They will land and that ends the cycle.