How to Get Rid of Fruit Flies
Every summer, I end up with at least one fruit fly infestation, and for years, I thought there was no easy way to get rid of fruit flies.
It starts out innocently enough — I’ll notice a fruit fly or two buzzing around a bunch of bananas on the kitchen counter. They’re annoying, but harmless. In a few days, though, the fruit flies have multiplied. Give them a week or two, and you end up with an entire fruit fly village in your home, buzzing in your face, dive bombing your end-of-the-day glass of Chardonnay, and generally making life unbearable.
Fortunately, an online friend told me years ago how to get rid of fruit flies, easily, cheaply, safely, and EFFECTIVELY. Here’s the recipe:
First, take a wide mouth jar and fill it 1/2 — 3/4 of the way full with apple cider vinegar. (No other vinegar will work, btw. It has to be apple cider vinegar.)
Add a few drops of dish soap, then fill the rest of the jar with water until the bubbles reach the rim of the jar.
Finally, in the words of my lovely friend…. WATCH THE CARNAGE.
If you leave that jar alone for a few hours, the fruit flies will come. TRUST ME. THEY WILL COME. Check it:
Sorry, my little winged friends. No one ever said life was fair.
Drawn by the scent of the vinegar, the fruit flies get caught in the bubbles and die. When the bubbles disappear, dump some of it out and fill it with a little more water. Keep changing out your jar periodically until they’re all gone — It’ll generally take between 24 and 48 hours to get rid of all of them.
You’ll probably be amazed by how many fruit flies you had in the house. It’s disgusting and yet strangely satisfying to count how many fill your jar at the end of the day. And it’s a HUGE relief to eat and drink in peace again, without worrying that a fruit fly is going to ruin your meal.
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