You might see tiny little bugs flying around your fruit bowl and think that they’re gnats. They’re not gnats; these tiny bugs are fruit flies and they are not only annoying, but potentially bad for your health. It’s important to know how to get rid of fruit flies in your house before they become a huge issue in your home and for your family.
Fruit flies are brown, with striped bodies and relatively big red eyes. They are only 0.2 inches (3mm) long with tiny wings. Fruit flies have a strong sense of smell and can smell food from a good distance away. They enter homes through window screens, door jams, or other cracks; typically, fruit flies enter through your kitchen due to its numerous smells. They can also enter through your grocery bags or hatch from eggs in food that isn’t very fresh. You can usually find them around overripe fruit or decaying vegetation. When they’re not eating or flying, they usually rest on walls or ceilings. You may be asking yourself, “How do I get rid of fruit flies?” Eliminate ‘Em is here to help you get rid of these pesky pests.
How to Get Rid of Fruit Flies in the House
The best way to get rid of fruit flies indoors is to avoid them and/or keep your kitchen clean. Clean up areas where food might collect and decay. More specifically, that means keeping your garbage outside or in a container with a tight lid. Put food scraps in a compost bag or bucket and don’t let it sit out at room temperature. Instead, you can put a compost bag in your freezer. It also helps to flush the drains of your sink with boiling water to get rid of any food that has collected in the drain. Finally, move fruits and veggies off the table or counter, and put them in cooler spots. Eliminate ‘Em can also help answer the question, “How do I make a fruit fly trap?”
How to Trap Fruit Flies
If fruit flies do make it into your kitchen, there are strategies to make a fruit fly trap and get rid of fruit flies indoors.
- The most popular method to get rid of fruit flies is with white vinegar. Fruit flies like fermented fruit, so you can create a trap by mixing dish soap with old beer, wine, or apple cider vinegar. Pour water into this mixture until it bubbles, and then leave the container on the counter, close to where you see the flies. They’ll come to the glass because of the sugar, and then get trapped into the soap bubbles.
- You can also affix saran wrap over the top of a beer bottle or glass of vinegar and poke some holes in it. This is effective because the fruit flies can get in, but they can’t get out.
- You can create a homemade spray with isopropyl alcohol and water; if you spray the flies, they will die.
- Yeast traps can be effective, as well. In a small jar, combine ⅓ cup of water, a packet of activated dry yeast, and a teaspoon of sugar. Then, make a cone out of a piece of paper and put it on top of the jar with the narrow end pointing up. The yeast mixture will attract the flies, while the cone keeps them trapped in the jar.
Fruit flies lay eggs that hatch into larvae in only a few hours and can cause issues in your kitchen. Furthermore, fruit flies can transfer germs and they carry bacteria, including salmonella, E. coli, and listeria. These germs can cause people to experience food poisoning. If preventative measures don’t work in your battle against fruit flies, you need to look into professional fruit fly extermination to kill these nasty flies.
How to Kill Fruit Flies in the House: Professional Extermination
Eliminate ‘Em Pest Control services can provide you with fast, courteous, and professional service and licensed technicians to handle killing your fruit flies with safe and effective techniques. Eliminate ‘Em offers same-day services and free estimates. Professional technicians are available to you 24/7 to get rid of pesky fruit flies, along with any other animals that are causing a nuisance or creating damage in your home. For more, contact us today.
