The Secret to Killing Fruit Flies

Find the Source

• The most effective method to killing fruit flies is to find the source of the infestation. A fruit fly problem can start with standing water around the drain of your bathtub, garbage that fell out of the garbage bag and sits at the bottom of your garbage can, that bag of fruit on your counter that has been sitting for too long, a bag of potatoes with a rotted potato at the bottom or a piece of fruit that fell to the bottom of your pantry. Check your garbage can, the inside and outside of the garbage disposal in your kitchen sink, your pantry and anywhere you keep food or water. You will know you have found the source because it will be the area of the strongest infestation.

Household Remedies

• Fruit flies can linger for days even after you have removed the source of the infestation. One way to catch and kill fruit flies is to pour apple cider vinegar into a glass and then cover the glass with tin foil or clear plastic wrap. You can also coat the inside of the glass with honey to attract more fruit flies as that will cause them to stick to the glass. Seal the foil or plastic wrap to the glass with tape, and then poke very small holes with the tip of a steak knife into the top. Fruit flies are attracted to vinegar, but the covering and honey will prevent them from leaving. You can set these traps around the house to kill off the remaining fruit flies.

Breeding Areas

• Fruit flies lay their eggs in moisture. One secret to killing fruit flies is to take away their breeding grounds. If your fruit fly infestation is in your bathroom, then re-grouting your tile and removing the old caulk to replace it with new caulk will eliminate small and moist areas where fruit flies lay their eggs. The soil in potted plants can also be popular areas for fruit flies to lay their eggs. You can remove the potted plants, or you can let the soil dry out until the fruit flies disappear.

Two-Sided Tape

• If you can get fruit flies to stick to a surface, then they will die in a short period of time. House fly strips are effective at catching and killing fruit flies as well. For something a little less conspicuous you can hang small strips of two-sided tape around the infestation area. Be sure to change your tape strips frequently until the infestation is gone.