If you see small flies with red eyes hovering around your kitchen, they are probably adult fruit flies. These tiny flies can be a nuisance all year long, but tend to be more active late summer into the fall as they are attracted to decaying fruits and vegetables.
There is good news and bad news if your kitchen has a fruit fly infestation. The good news is that fruit flies only live about a week; the bad news is that in one week’s time, female fruit flies can lay up to 500 eggs, meaning they can infest your home quite quickly.
Fruit Fly Clean Up
The first step to effectively getting rid of fruit flies is to give your kitchen a good thorough cleaning. Places to focus on would be:
- Bag up all of your over ripened fruit and toss it out. Make sure the bag goes outside to the trash cans, not inside
- Store any food that you are not throwing out in airtight containers or in the fridge
- Make sure that any bottles and cans are removed as well. Fruit flies are attracted to anything sweet for a spot to lay their eggs, and that trace amount of soda, fruit juice or wine will be just the ticket for them
- Emptying trash cans and recycling bins regularly and scrub them out
- Do not allow dirty dishes to sit in the sink or rinse them off especially beer, wine and juice glasses
- Replacing sponges, mops and dish cloths regularly
- Cleaning your drains and garbage disposals out with a mixture of 1/8th ammonia to one gallon of tap water and let it sit for a bit before you rinse it down
Simple Fruit Fly Traps
If after cleaning your kitchen, you are still experiencing a PA fruit fly problem, there are several, simple DIY fruit fly traps that homeowners can make. They include:
- Mix several drops of citronella, cedarwood and cinnamon in an oil diffuser, this will not only repel fruit flies, but mosquitoes and house flies as well
- Take a glass jar and fill it halfway with apple cider, punch holes in the lid and replace it back on the jar. Place the jar near the kitchen sink and wait. The fruit flies will be attracted to the cider and will enter the jar, but will not be able to get back out
- Fill a bowl with either apple cider vinegar or white wine and detergent and place it in the kitchen, this mixture will attract the flies and when they feed on it, it will kill them.
- Zap them with rubbing alcohol by filling a spray bottle and simply spraying the flies hovering around in the kitchen; rubbing alcohol instantly kills fruit flies
- Fill a bowl or jar halfway with regular vinegar and a little bit of detergent, place a piece of plastic wrap over the top and poke a few small holes in it; this mixture will attract fruit flies, letting them enter to feed and then trap them and kill them inside
If after you starve them, zap them, trap them and kill some of them, fruit flies are still a problem in your Pennsylvania home, Moyer can help! We offer an effective home pest control program that will help you get rid of fruit flies and many other household invaders. Give us a call at 215.799.2010 or fill out the form below and we will contact you.