What Are Fruit Flies?
Fruit flies are small insects that are attracted to moisture and rotting organic material. These insects, Drosophilidae, got their name from their tendency to appear around fruits and vegetables. However, these flies may also congregate around sink drains where rotting food waste has built up, such as a garbage disposal.
Are Fruit Flies Harmful?
Fruit flies are not harmful, and won't bite or sting. However, they can bring about unsanitary conditions in your kitchen. Much like their larger cousin the common housefly, fruit flies harbor bacteria, germs, and viruses that can affect immunocompromised individuals.
Still, fruit flies are relatively harmless, and pose more of an annoyance than a danger. Fruit flies reproduce quickly, and if left unchecked, can create a full-blown fruit fly infestation in a matter of days. It is important to get rid of fruit flies and their larvae immediately.
How to Get Rid of Fruit Flies - 3 Ways to Get Rid of Fruit Flies in the Kitchen
Fortunately, fruit flies are relatively easy to get rid of. These insects can be eradicated from your kitchen using similar methods in getting rid of drain flies and fungus gnats. Here are three ways to get rid of fruit flies in the kitchen:
DIY Fruit Fly Trap
To create fruit fly traps, all you'll need is a small container, and apple cider vinegar. A mason jar or a soda bottle with the top cut out works best for this. Take your container, and add apple cider vinegar up to the 1/3 mark on the container. Add a couple of drops of dish soap, and cover the container with plastic wrap.
Poke a few small holes on the plastic wrap for the flies to pass through, Adult fruit flies are incredibly small, and can fit through holes as small as the diameter of a toothpick. Place the apple cider vinegar trap around infested areas to attract and trap fruit flies.
Apple cider vinegar smells like rotten fruit, which entices fruit flies to enter through the small holes. The flies cannot find their way out due to their poor navigation instinct, and will drop into the vinegar and dish soap solution. The solution eventually kills the fliers. Fruit juice can be a suitable alternative for vinegar, but may attract ants.
Clear the Breeding Source
Check whether the source of your fruit fly problem is with your sink. The moisture of the sink, couples with the grimey walls of the pipes, provides an ideal location for flies to lay eggs. Their larvae then feed off the food residue on the walls of the sink, and grow into adults, starting the life cycle all over again.
Clean your sink and garbage disposals to get rid of fruit flies. To do this, pour baking soda and warm vinegar down the drain where you notice fruit flies. Let the solution bubble, then follow with freshly-boiled water. Let the sink cool before using, and trap any adult fruit fly you see to prevent them from laying eggs in your cleaned sink.
To clean the garbage disposal, add as many ice cubes as you can fit down the drain, and sprinkle a generous amount of coarse salt on top. Run the garbage disposal, and immediately pour boiling water over the ice. This will kill the eggs and larvae, and remove the food source of these flies. Clean the sink once a week to prevent fruit flies from reappearing.
Cover Your Trash Can
As a long-term solution, covering your trash cans will prevent fruit flies from coming into your home. Trash cans attract fruit flies as they are filled with rotting, fermenting food particles, overripe fruit and vegetable peels. Even an empty wine bottle can attract flies with leftover wine. Covering the trash can cuts the flies off from their food source.
Cover your fruit bowl as well, especially if you keep ripe fruit in them. This will prevent the adult flies from getting into your produce, and reproduce. Cut your unwanted guests from their food source, and they should leave your house alone.
Cleaning is Your Best Solution
To get rid of flies and other pests in your home, schedule a consistent and thorough cleaning routine with us at Luce! We'll make sure pests stay away from your living space as we provide only top quality cleaning services that will leave your house spotless.
Contact us today, or check out our kitchen cleaning blog to get your kitchen to a pristine state!
