Skip to main content

How to Get Rid of Fruit Flies

Any kind of bug entering your home and causing an infestation can become a serious problem. While it’s always handy to have bug-killing gadgets in your home, fruit flies are tricky to fight off. Fruit flies come from nowhere and can ruin a nice meal faster than just about anything. Getting rid of them isn’t nearly as mysterious as where they come from, however. With an understanding of their lifecycle and what attracts them, you can get fruit flies under control.

How to get rid of fruit flies once and for all

Image used with permission by copyright holder

You need to handle fruit flies before they get out of hand. There are several excellent methods for ensuring fruit flies don’t return or live long enough to complete their life cycle. The fastest way to get rid of fruit flies is to take a two-pronged approach. You must capture the adult flies to prevent them from further contaminating your home. Then, you need to get rid of any eggs that may exist. By taking care of both prongs of the fruit fly life cycle — not just trapping adults — you will ensure that you’re getting rid of the flies and keeping them away for good.

Recommended Videos

First, look for the source of the swarm and remove it. It could be food on the counter or a dirty drain. Clear and clean where the swarm seems to be coming from, and set your trap as close to that area as possible. This will ensure you remove them as efficiently as possible. Here are some of the best ways to get rid of fruit flies in your home and keep them out.

How to get rid of fruit flies with a pre-made trap

Image used with permission by copyright holder

One of the easiest things to do is purchase a pre-made trap from a big box store. This can live on your counter and trap fruit flies for a period of time before needing to be changed. You’ll be able to keep infestations down even if you forget to eat all your fruit sometimes.

Buy at Amazon

How to get rid of fruit flies with vinegar

If pre-made traps aren’t your thing, we can tell you how to get rid of fruit flies naturally. A sweet-smelling, fermented vinegar is great at attracting fruit flies. To make your vinegar trap, you’ll need:

  • Apple cider vinegar
  • Dish soap
  • A glass jar
  • Lid with small holes

Put about 1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar into the bottom of the jar. Squeeze a little dish soap into the vinegar so that it’s harder for the flies to escape. Screw the lid onto the jar and place it close to the source of the fly swarm. The flies will be attracted to the vinegar smell, but they won’t be able to find their way out.

How to get rid of fruit flies in plants

Plants are a big attractor of fruit flies because of the moist soil. Being careful not to overwater can be a good start, but sometimes you need something more. To help get rid of fruit flies in plants, you’ll need:

  • A small shallow dish
  • Apple cider vinegar or old wine
  • Dish soap

Place a bit of apple cider vinegar or wine to cover the bottom of the dish. Put a few drops of dish soap into the vinegar and place the dish directly onto the soil of the plant. If there’s no room, place the dish next to the plant.

You can also dilute some vinegar and water into a spray bottle and mist the soil once a week to deter flies from laying their eggs.

How to get rid of fruit flies the lazy way

Image used with permission by copyright holder

If you have a bit of leftover wine or beer, you can just leave the bottle out on your counter. Put a few drops of dish soap into the leftover liquid to prevent flies from escaping. The natural slope of the bottle will also help prevent escape. This can be a quick and dirty way to begin the process until you make an official trap or buy something.

Troubleshooting your traps

If your traps don’t seem to be working, there are a few reasons why that could be happening.

  • You have something more attractive nearby — If you’ve still got that sweet, tempting fermenting fruit on your counter, your vinegar trap isn’t going to fool anybody.
  • The holes in the lid are too big — If flies can hang out on the rim of the hole or fly down into the jar for a bit, they may still be able to escape. Reduce the holes.
  • They can’t smell your trap — Sealing the jar too tightly prevents the flies from noticing your trap. Allow the trap to breathe by leaving it open or trying a different top. A bit of plastic wrap with holes or a cone of paper could help.

What causes fruit flies in the house?

Explore why fruit flies may be coming in in the first place. They may seem to come out of nowhere, but there’s a science to it. They’re attracted to fermenting, moist conditions such as that fruit you’ve neglected on the counter or a drain that hasn’t had much attention. A single fly can lay around 500 eggs on a piece of fruit hidden from your view. From there, the short lifecycle from egg to reproductive adult can put you in a situation that quickly gets out of hand.

Go through your home and find areas where moisture gathers or food sits out — think about your mop that doesn’t dry well or even the trash. Clear these areas (and eat your fruit!), and you’ll be ahead of the game.

How long does it take to get rid of fruit flies?

Fruit flies have a life cycle of around two to four weeks, depending on the environmental conditions. When the adult dies, you aren’t in the clear. When you get rid of their food and egg-nurturing source, that handles a great deal of it.

More proactive methods may take a week to a month to clear your home completely. The key is patience and maintenance.

The Manual
The Manual is simple — we show men how to live a life that is more engaged. Whether it be fashion, food, drink, travel…
Don’t ruin your cigars: here’s how to properly season a new humidor
Seasoning secrets every cigar lover could use
faceless man presenting a cigar humidor with cigars inside with gloved hands

If you're a newcomer to the world of cigars or just bought a brand-new humidor, you'll need to season it. And no, I'm not saying to add salt and pepper to it. If you've never heard of it, you might ask, "What is seasoning for a humidor?"

Don't think you need to flavor the box or anything — seasoning is really about getting the wood inside your humidor so as not to rob your cigars of precious moisture. Easy to understand, and getting it done is relatively straightforward as well. The trick is figuring out the "why," and we'll get into that in a bit. But let's first discuss seasoning a humidor.

Read more
The NBA’s ultimate celebration tool: The victory cigar
A look at the players and coaches who smoke to celebrate
Jordan smoking a cigar image on a bag

Sports are synonymous with celebration. After winning the biggest trophy of their lives, athletes want to indulge in the payoff that comes with seeing their dreams realized. Teams go into the locker room, where a waterfall of champagne hits them in the eyes, and swimming goggles seem to be a requirement, lest you walk around on the best night of your life half blind. While drinking is often the activity of choice after winning a championship, the NBA has an alternative symbol of greatness that other sports don't use nearly enough: the victory cigar.

Basketball is a team game, but it's also an individual canvas for solo superstardom. After winning an NBA championship, the coaches and players who sit atop the throne have long smoked a cigar in the locker room, during the parade, or even on the bench before the clock has hit zero. There's nothing quite like a good stogie to signify the ultimate win over the rest of the league, but how did the victory cigar get so ingrained in NBA championship celebrations? We want to take a walk down memory lane and look at some of the historical moments and people who made the cigar what it is within the NBA today.
Red Auerbach's victory cigar on the bench
Red Auerbach: The Story Behind the Victory Cigar + His Disdain of NBA Officials - Red on Roundball

Read more
The best medical shows of all time to binge now
From ER to The Pitt, these are the best medical shows ever made
Noah Wyle in the Pitt

Throughout TV's long history, the medical drama has occupied a somewhat unique place in the landscape. Medical shows are often some of the most reliable on TV precisely because there's so much drama built in to working in a hospital.

Personally, I've found the medical drama to be deeply comforting for years, even if I have no desire to be a doctor myself. Understanding the stress of people in the healthcare profession is fascinating in and of itself.

Read more