How to Get Rid of Fruit Flies

Brilliant. Any tips on cabinet moths? Desperate. Cleaned all the cabinets. Husband is making fun of me because there aren’t a lot, but I am stressing.

I was just complaining about these little buggers yesterday. So doing this. Now, how do you get rid of earwigs? 😉

I find the little buggers are quite partial to rum! I put a little in a small glass dish covered in Saran wrap with holes in it. Works like a charm! I call it the graveyard….

I am so glad that I am not the only one bothered by these bugs. Ive been keeping a bottle of windex with me and when I see one on the counter or cabinet I spray it and then I can get rid of it with paper towel. I hate those things

https://naturalsolutionsbook.com/?uid=B9D490B15574E9BC13A025B1F3635431 This book has been a God-Send & this recipe is in it!

I have used regular vinegar. In a small dish pour some vinegar and a couple of drops of dish detergent, then cover with saran rape, put some holes in it with a fork. This is sure to get rid of the little buggers as well.

I bought a jar of lemon scent nail polish remover had it up on a shelf for a while then went to use it and it was COVERED with fruit flies, very disgusting, but then I thought well if they like it so much they can have it so I put plastic wrap and pinned some holes and put on the counter and it was infested with the darn things in less then half hr, was very gross how many we had in the house but it worked and that is all I buy for the summer now is $store nail polish remover 1 for them and 1 for me lol we’re all happy till I through them out !!

“Watch the carnage..” LOL I’ve been using it all summer. Lavender oil works also. I have mine in a small spray bottle with a little bit of water. 🙂

I have another recommendation. Use a small brandy glass, put a small amount of brandy or cognac in the glass. then cover with plastic wrap. With a fork…make a few holes and soon you will see how this thing works miracle.

lol! No telling when the viral comes! This is very helpful, though, so about to share it! 😉

We had a major problem with them last summer. I took 2 Gatorade bottle them filled half way with a mixture of balsamic vinegar and fruit punch, threw in some banana slices and strawberry preserves, and rolled coated paper plates into a funnels with a very small hole on the end and put it in the top of the bottles leaving the hole just above the liquid. I checked the traps daily and would stir them around to knock the flies of the plate into the liquid. Within a few days they were under control and within a week they were all gone.

I WISH YOU WOULD HAVE TOLD ME THIS LAST WEEKEND WHEN WE WERE TOGETHER. THEY AREN’T AS BAD NOW BUT THEY MAY BE HIDING. HAVE TO BUY SOME APPLE CIDER.

Slice some apples. Open microwave and put apples in leaving door open. Wait for annoying ass flies to enter microwave and turn that fucker on. Bye bye flies.

Why would anyone let some innocent fruit flies ruin a meal?

First and foremost – always get rid of your left-overs and don’t leave dirty dishes or crumbs! Do your dishes asap! After the sink has been cleaned I spray WINDEX down the drain – kills them instantly. Apple Cider Vinegar and a couple of drops of dish-soap in a small glass by the sink is the back-up plan and does work like a charm. No need to even fill all the way to make bubbles ….

off to by Apple Cider Vinegar! Thx!!!

I am going to try that. I have little bugs that sometimes multiply in our houseplants sometimes and I hate to spray bug killer indoors.

I find the best thing to do is take a disposable cup (red solo type), put a spash of WHITE wine in the cup, cover the cup with plastic wrap, put an elastic around the plastic wrap and cup to keep the plastic wrap on, poke holes (about 12) with a toothpick or skewer. Leave the cup on the kitchen counter for as long as it takes to get rid of them. The wine may get yucky, but then you can just throw the hole thing out and start again if needed.

I use a vacuum – fast and easy, but I did share your tip on my site for people without one, or who need to do something else. robynlawson111,com

A tablespoon or so of Apple Cider Vinegar in a glass, covered with a small plastic bag whose corner you cut leaving a hole just large enough for a fruit fly. Push the cut corner into the top of the glass, making a funnel that the fruit flies can enter, but not escape from. Connect the bag to the glass with an elastic band.
You can do catch and release with this method. (and save a lot of vinegar!)

I got some Black Flag fly strips. I was amazed ay how many fruit flies ended up there. I put a couple in various places around the kitchen and the computer. Apparently they like the light.
And after several days, they are GONE!!!

I just use plain white vinegar in a small dish, place plastic wrap over the dish and poke wholes for the flies to find their way in. The never make they’re way back out. So, it doesn’t have to be apple cider vinegar. Any vinegar will attract fruit flies.

I use the same method, but without the water.

you can use red wine or plum vinegar, or you can use the dregs of a cup of wine. the dish soap is the crucial element.

I was out of Apple cider vinegar so i used rice vinegar .. it worked just as well.. just in case you have that laying around too

I
tried this out last night and NOTHING happened * O Is this supposed to
be hot or cold water to activate the detergent and make BuBbLeS ? None
appear when cold or luke warm water is used.

There is something that is getting overlooked in this post. You need to wipe down the entire area, wash fruit baskets. I tend to take a pillowcase and wrap my whole bowl, twist and tuck the end under the bowl. If you have cooking juices,anything sweet or spilled or glasses or cups sitting around, they are breeding grounds for these crazy fruit flies, no matter how many traps you set, you gotta clean thoroughly. I also found my compost bin way way too close to my porch doorway, they had easy access until I moved it to the corner of the property. Cut them in 1/2 within days. Also patch screen or check windows, they zip in some small little areas.

I didn’t have apple cider vinegar so used regular and cut up a slice of apple in a small cup
. covered with plastic wrap (tight) poked a couple holes in it. The flies got in but couldn’t find their way back out.

Mine are REALLY refined… I use red wine.

I like fruit flies, after ranching for college, I grew quite fond of them and would keep a banana rotting behind the sink in the winter to keep them alive. They’re my little puppies. with their beautiful bright red eyes. They don’t actually eat fruit. They eat the fungus that grows on fruit. That is why smells of spoilage (like wine, beer, vinegar) attract them. Unfortunately, when they walk through the fungus, it gets on their feet, so walking on clean fruit contaminates it, and leads to more rapid spoilage. The flies them selves are quire edible… 🙂

I use cheap brown vinegar, just cover the bottom of a cup with it so it’s deep enough for the flies to drown, and add a drop of dishwashing liquid. No bubbles needed. Works like a charm. 😉

I take a nice wine glass – I think they are attracted to something appealing – I half fill it with juice from the PICKLE jar. I cover the top with saran wrap. I poke a hole in the centre of the saran. They can get in – but they can’t seem to find their way out. I works extremely well – only problem is – it looks like white wine and I’m always tempted to take a sip – oops forgot – not wine!

man reading some of the comments, i almost wet my pants. LMAO

Make sure you check your fruit, cuz the little buggers lays eggs in your fruit and you get larva. The dam fruit flies also bite!

LOL, yes, strangely satisfying is a terrific explanation of what it feels like to see them dead! I HATE those damn things. I do the same thing but without the bubbles. All it takes is the apple vinegar filled to the point of almost going over the edge of the bowl, then 2 drops of Dawn dish soap.

Don’t invite me to dinner please…..at least not for anything you baked in the oven. Thanks anyway…..maybe a raincheck in the winter.

OMG, my husband and I just nearly died laughing! Both your simple trick with the apple cider vinegar and fruitflykiller’s comment about the oven made us just laugh ourselves silly!!

Love this. Totally worked for me. I think what is especially effective is that the suds extend to and even above the lip. That way even just landing traps the fruit flies. I have referred my readers to your post and have used your photo to do so. Let me know if that’s not cool.
http://sustainablescientist.net/2013/09/09/best-fruit-fly-remedy/

Not true about apple cider vinegar being the only kind you can use. I use malt vinegar or balsalmic vinegar or whatever I have – although I don’t use white distilled. But yes – this is brilliant and does work. I also sometimes make an inverted paper cone and put it in the jar and they fly in but can’t get out. I suppose it does take them a bit longer to die than if they just drowned, but it is also quite successful.

this seems preferable to chasing them around with the vacaume cleaner.

I had a fruit fly invasion just recently. I didn’t have any AC vinegar so I used red wine vinegar. That worked too. For some reason, most of the flies ended up in the diaper pail that has a vanilla scented garbage bag in it. Weird!

I use a bit of vinegar in a bowl, covered with plastic wrap. I make small holes in the plastic wrap so the flies go in, but can’t fly out. Simple, easy, cheap. no measurements needed. Bowl lasts more than a week.

I have an easier way. Take a baby food jar with a lid and punch a small hole in the lid large enough for a fruit fly to crawl into. Put an 1/8″ of Kahlua in the jar and cover with the punched hole lid. I usually use two or three jars and put on in each corner of the kitchen. In 2 days the little buggers will drink themselves to death.

AS A MARINE TOLD ME SHAVE, PUT LIGHTER FLUID ON THE OTHER SIDE, LIGHT IT, AND AS THEY RUN FROM THE FIRE, STAB EM WITH AN ICE PICK…are we talking about the same bugs.????

um don’t forget to cover it with plastic wrap and poke a couple of holes in it with a fork! It does work really well… i knew this trick for a few years now 🙂

I do a similar version, but with no added water. I use a small juice glass, use about 1/2 cup of cider vinegar (a must!) add a drop of dish soap, then set it next to the fruit bowl. They go for a swim without the bubble bath, and voila! Drowned bugs.

I like that trap for fruit flies. I live in an older apartment in the south. I have no problems with roaches until people upstairs moved out. I guess their roach friends decided to move down with me.. I have bought every bug spray on the market. I think the roaches think it must be a shower because they come with towel and scrub brush. Until one day I was using GOO GONE. I sprayed that bug and darn if it didn’t turn belly up kicking. I use it on them all the time now. It smells good too. Make sure you clean up surface you sprayed.

Beer works, too.

You can also just put a small bowl of apple cider vinegar with a few drops of dish soap, stir and watch them come.

A more effective way is to use ANY type of vinegar, pour some into a container, pull cling film tightly across the top and put some small holes in the cling film. The fruit flies will climb through the holes and not be able to get out. Also, they like to nest in drains so, keep them clean and food free.

A blast of Cold air will do the job open the front,back doors and let the house air out for 20-30 minutes,the little bastards can’t handle Cold kills’em off.

Actually, all you need is a small dish, about 1/2 inch of vinegar and a drop of dish soap. I’ve also had good luck with Red Wine Vinegar. It Works great!

OMG, you are right, you will never know how may you have and it is satisfying to watch them sink to the bottom! I have killed over 50 in a 3 days span…scary! Thanks for the tip!

Great tip. 🙂 🙂

Other vinegar works fine.

my housemates and i couldn’t find any apple cider vinegar and didn’t want to run to the store, so we tried rice vinegar (don’t even know where it came from, must have been a leftover from someone who moved out). we put plastic wrap over the bowl, poked holes in it, and now we have hundreds of them trapped!

I have been using the cider vinegar method for over 2 weeks now, collecting soooooo many. Went to the local hardware store for more help as they are still so bad. She told me to pour a little bleach in my sinks all through the day, as they breed in the P traps. I have done this for about a week now , and even though they may be less, we still have plenty. We are going crazy with this problem! I have even found them in the refrigerator, under my crisper drawer, which I have cleaned out thoroughly.

Regular vinegar actually does work. Apple cider may work better, though.

red wine vinegar works as well too i put saran wrap on top with a couple small holes to let them in but they cant get out and fall into the liquid and die i left it out over night and the morning the bottom was covered with them had to be over a hundred of them in there now i have the odd straggler but i have another cup out waiting for them

We tried this and it did not work, what did work was putting a piece of fruit like a banana chunk or a split open cherry in a little jar and cover it in plastic wrap and poke little holes. They can get in and can’t get out, you get even more as the fruit rots a little but it doesn’t smell up your kitchen like rotting fruit.

fruit in a old tim hortons cup.saran over top of cup secure with elastic.pokes holes in top with toothpick they can get in but not out…

listen…they are like the plague! They are reproducing in MY FRIDGE! We vacuum as many as we can each day, all day long. They are EVERYWHERE! I wish Noah had of killed those first 2!

why you kill em when theyr harmless

lol

please don’t kill honeybees or bumble bees.

Or cut a paper bag in to strips spread a thin layer of honey on 90% of two sides of several strips, hang them with thumbtacks or push pins from the ceiling where needed, The flies will be attracted to and stock by the honey.

OK – Here’s an experiment I did. They say put a jar with apple cider vinegar in it and cover with plastic poking small holes in it. Well it did not work at all. Then I noticed they liked egg shells..so I put some of them in a jar with the plastic on…well they didn’t seem to like it that way. Then I noticed they liked plain old piece of bread..so I decided to give them a double whamy.. I placed some egg shells on the bottom, broke up a piece of bread on top and put the plastic cover on , with the little holes.
The results — after 5 days, 1 was caught in the vinegar solution, none in the egg shells after 2 days..but to my surprise..overnight, the one with the bread has about 25. So I think the bread works..must not even need the shells.
If you use old jars that you don’t want anymore–like plastic containers from peanut butter..when you have captured the fruit flies..just put the lid on and toss it.

if you are a believer in ‘no unnecessary death’, then you should appreciate this more humane LIVE fruit fly trap!
At night, about an hour before you turn off the lights and go to bed, leave the lid on your compost bucket open a crack. When you wake up and go to the kitchen to make your hot morning bevvy, sneak up on the compost bucket and quickly slide the lid shut, trapping them inside!
Then, when you are more awake, you can take the bucket outdoors and release them into the Universe’s care! 😀
(corny, i know- but there will be some appreciators out there, i’m sure!) <3

When I add a few drops of dish soap and then fill it up with water, no bubbles appear… I have to squirt a continuous stream of soap into the jar for like 5 seconds (the equivalent of hundreds, if not thousands of drops of soap) in order to get the bubbles. Are you sure you only need to add “a few drops”?

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Girl, we have such an infestation in our house right now! I know this blog post is from like, 10 months ago, but I found it through Google, and since we met at the Disqus panel at BlogHer last year I figured I should check it out 🙂 GOOD LORD I cannot get rid of them fast enough. I would say I’m catching 30-40 a day? I’ve been doing apple cider vinegar traps, but it seems like it’s no use. Time to start bleaching the sink drain…