Very hot days at the height of summer often bring fruit fly attacks. If you keep fresh fruit in bowls on the kitchen counter, hoping the kids will eat them, but end up with some moldy peaches, bananas that look speckled like leopards, and the darting buzz of annoying bugs, you might having a fruit fly problem. Get rid of these small but annoying insects by trying one of the following methods to kill and trap them.
Step
Method 1 of 3: Making Traps
Step 1. Use rotten fruit
Your fruit fly problem probably won't start until you realize you left some fruit outdoors until it rots. Use a method that gathers the flies in one place to catch them again, but this time, lead them to a more sinister ending. Place a piece of rotten fruit in a bowl, and cover it with clear plastic. Make a few small holes in the plastic using a toothpick, and leave them near the flies. The flies will be attracted by the smell of the rotten fruit, but are unable to get out.
Step 2. Sacrifice a few drops of wine
Humans aren't the only ones interested in wine. Fruit flies flock to this alcoholic drink, too. Luckily, this perfect flytrap is ready to be made, whenever you open the bottle. Empty the bottle so that there is a small amount of wine remaining in the bottom of the bottle. Leave this bottle open near where flies congregate; they will fly into the bottle, but the jamming effect in the funnel will trap them.
Step 3. Try apple cider vinegar
Apple cider vinegar is a great household product to have on hand, as it is useful for many things in the home. Included in one of its uses is its ability to kill fruit flies after an outbreak. Pour some vinegar in a cup, and add a plastic or paper funnel on top. The funnel will block most of the way in, leaving room big enough for flies to get in, but too small to get out for less cunning flies. For an extra step, add a little dish soap to the vinegar as a fly poison.
Step 4. Make a trap out of dish soap
When added to a sweet solution, dish soap cannot be detected by fruit flies. The chemicals in the soap act as poison and kill unwary flies. Fill a jar with a mixture of vinegar (any) with sugar-it doesn't matter how much. Add a few drops of dish soap and mix the solution well. The flies will be attracted to the sweet and sour aroma, but will die when they drink the poisonous liquid soap.
Step 5. Make a trap out of beer
It turns out that flies like alcoholic beverages, not just wine. Take a mason jar and fill it halfway with any kind of beer. Use a hammer and nails to punch holes in the metal lid of the jar several times, making 3-5 holes. Put the lid back on the jar and leave the trap where the flies gather. The beer can be discarded after a few days and replaced again to catch more flies.
Step 6. Use a bottle of soda
If you've been drinking soda, then you're in luck. Take a bottle of soda (any, though cola tends to work better) and punch a hole in the plastic cap. Empty the soda so that there are only a few drops of soda remaining in the bottom of the bottle. Put the lid on and watch the flies swarm!
Step 7. Try using yeast
This one may sound strange, but yeast concoctions can do the trick in catching and killing fruit flies. Take a glass and half fill it with warm water and 1 teaspoon sugar, and pour in some active dry yeast. Mix the solution (prepare for bubbles!) and then cover the glass with plastic wrap. Make a hole at the top for the fly to enter, but make sure the hole is small enough so the fly can't get back out.
Step 8. Hang some fly glue paper
While undoubtedly the least attractive way of trapping, fly glue paper works wonderfully at catching fruit flies. These ultra-sticky sheets of paper will attract flies and trap them quickly, as quickly as they set foot on the paper. Try hanging your sheet of paper glue in a less conspicuous place than directly over your kitchen sink, for the most attractive traps.
Method 2 of 3: Keeping Flies away
Step 1. Move to an attractive place for breeding
Fruit flies, of course, are very attracted to fruit. However, they will flock to areas that are generally dirty and fruit rotten. Try to dispose of these spoiled foods immediately, and keep your garbage disposals and trash cans dry, and free of spoiled food. Doing this will reduce the temptation of flies to turn your home into a breeding ground.
Step 2. Kill the fly eggs
If your flies have gotten to the point where they are striking, chances are they have laid eggs somewhere in your home. Fruit flies like moist areas, so the location of these culprits is generally in the kitchen or bathroom sink, and bathroom drains. Pour bacteria-killing liquid down your drain to kill any fly eggs that may be there. If you don't have the liquid on hand, bleach can be used instead, but since it's too runny it probably won't be sticky enough to kill the eggs.
Step 3. Plant some basil trees indoors
Oddly enough, it turns out that fruit flies don't like basil. If you want to use your farming skills to keep these herbs fresh and available, you've also succeeded in keeping flies away from your home. Plant basil in a small pot and keep it inside where flies gather. Place it near a bowl of fruit, so flies are less likely to appear later on.
Step 4. Use cedar wood
Another strange natural remedy, flies don't like the smell of cedar wood. Find a way to keep some cedar wood in your home, either as decorations or use in fireplaces, and your fruit fly population will decrease. Keep a few pieces of this wood around your kitchen, and near fly breeding grounds to scare away flies, and keep them out.
Step 5. Spray a few drops of essential oil
Improve the smell of your home, and keep flies and other insects away by regularly spraying your home with certain essential oils. The scent of citronella and lavender oils is repulsive to fruit flies and some other insects or fleas, and causes them to avoid congregating in the area. Mix 10 drops of the oil with 2 ounces of hot water, and spray all rooms in your house with this concoction.
Method 3 of 3: Killing Flies Quickly
Step 1. Make a sticky fly swatter
Like most people, your first response when you see lots of flies is to swat them away. Unfortunately, for us, their small size makes them very hard to hit. To solve this problem, make your own fly swatter. Take a plate of Styrofoam, and coat it with a thick layer of vegetable oil or cooking spray. When you hit the tiny flies, they will become trapped in the oil and stick to the dish, and will eventually die.
Step 2. Use a hairdryer
If you want to take revenge on these annoying flies, take out your hairdryer and aim at them! Turn on the hairdryer so that the air blows from the fan. The suction from the other side will suck in the flies, where they will burn on the inside of the heater of the hairdryer. It's a bit scary, but your flies will disappear quickly.
Step 3. Burn a small incense stick
The respiratory system of fruit flies is very delicate, and requires a constant supply of clean air. This means that the irritant, or inhaled irritant, such as smoke, can kill it quickly. While you can't light a fire in your house, you can burn incense. The smoke and aroma that comes out of this incense stick will cause your flies to die slowly.
Step 4. Use a vacuum cleaner
Use a vacuum cleaner that has a flexible cylinder (and the better the suction, the more effective it will be). The vacuum cleaner must also have a wide nozzle.
- Set up a trap. When the flies gather, move the trap slowly.
- If the flies had been there a while, they would not have flown as fast as when they had just landed. Suck up quickly, then throw the fly litter out.
- The main thing is: for example, if the vacuum cleaner bag is full, the suction will not be strong and the attempt to suck up the fly is almost useless.
