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Robin Shreeves

Natural fruit fly solutions

You can get rid of pesky fruit flies without pesticides using resources you already have in your kitchen.
Thu, Jul 16 2009 at 9:06 AM EST
Read more: GREEN ALTERNATIVES, GREEN CLEANING, INSECTS, PESTICIDES

Photo: Robert S. Donovan/Flickr
I managed to go 16 years of having my own kitchen without ever getting a single fruit fly. Two weeks ago I left some cantaloupe rinds in a bowl on the kitchen counter all day, and my 16-year streak ended. Ewwww.
 
I thought of the nasty, yellow sticky strips that my mom used to hang in our kitchen when fruit flies would appear, and I decided there must be a better way. So I did a little research and found out how to get rid of the fruit flies naturally. I’m happy to say, I am now fruit fly free.
 
Here’s what I did.
  1. I removed all food from my kitchen counters. The cantaloupe rinds went into the compost. I also had to put the tomatoes that were sitting on the counter in the refrigerator. I needed to get rid any food that was sitting out. I put the bread that normally sits on top of my hutch into the microwave to get it out of the way, too, just to be safe. I didn't think the fruit flies would go after the bread, but I wasn't taking any chances.
  2. I cleaned the counters thoroughly to make sure there was nothing stuck on them that the flies would find attractive.
  3. I put ice cubes in my garbage disposal and ran the disposal. Fruit flies like to live in the disposal and just running it may not kill the flies that are not near the blades. I read that as the ice gets crushed it will shoot around and knock the fruit flies into the bottom of the disposal.
  4. I filled a jar with about an inch of cider vinegar. I took a piece of paper and made a tight funnel with the paper, snipped a small opening at the end of the funnel and placed it in the jar. The end of the funnel did not touch the cider vinegar. The fruit flies became attracted to the cider vinegar went down the funnel into the jar and drowned in the vinegar.
It took several days of emptying the jar and filling it back up to get rid of the flies. I also made sure to keep the counters clean and free of food. But within two or three days, the number of flies decreased dramatically. Within a little over a week, we were fruit fly free.
 
This certainly was more work than putting up a fruit fly strip, but it was safer for my family and the Earth. I can’t say how much it cost me in cider vinegar – maybe $.50 worth? That’s a lot cheaper than a pest strip.
 
I read about other natural remedies to get rid of fruit flies, but I chose to go with the cider vinegar one because I had everything I needed in the house to accomplish it.
 
Have you ever used a different natural method to get rid of fruit flies? Share it with us in the comments. 
 
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Comments(7)

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Posted By Teri - Sat, Nov 07 2009 at 11:45 AM EST

flies

I put the cider vinegar in a plastic water bottle and left it open. Once in they really can't get out.

Posted By Anonymous - Sun, Jul 26 2009 at 2:14 AM EST

Fungus gnats

I hate fungus gnats. I had them in my tomato starts this year and couldn't get rid of them. Not watering for a few days was not an option. Poisons were also out of the question. I ended up covering the surface of the soil with sand to slow them down and puting the starts out as soon as I could. I would love to know if anyone has ever been able to get rid of them.

Posted By Anonymous - Fri, Jul 24 2009 at 2:51 PM EST

Fruit Flies vs. Fungus Gnats

These are commonly confused and you should do research to see which one you have. Over-watering plants causes fungus gnats to multiply as well. If you don't water your plants for a few days, they won't be able to breed as easily.

Posted By Friend Of Reddit - Mon, Jul 20 2009 at 5:13 PM EST

Variation on your method

Often the flies will not climb down the funnel. I've also simply put a little cider vinegar in the bottom of a tall glass. It's easier without the funnel for the flies to go into the glass that way, and the smell comes out and attracts them better. You then periodically walk up slowly with a flat piece of cardboard and trap the flies in the glass and then walk them down the street and release them. This method, with a little practice, will capture more flies in less time.

Posted By Robin Shreeves - Mon, Jul 20 2009 at 5:29 PM EST

the funnel

was so the fruit flies couldn't get back out. So you released them? You're very kind. I'm apparently a little bit mean.

Posted By Jennifer Taggart, TheSmartMama - Thu, Jul 16 2009 at 1:39 PM EST

Use vinegar ice cubes in the disposal

Make some vinegar ice cubes to help clean any food off the blades that may attract fruit flies. Just put 1 cup vinegar in an ice cube tray and fill with water; freeze. Use these instead of straight water ice cubes. Not sure if you have fruit flies in your diposal? Cover the disposable with waxed paper or something similar and see if any get stuck to it overnight . . . you are supposed to use plastic wrap but I hate plastic wrap so I just use a glass plate that fits over our disposal to.... More

Posted By Robin Shreeves - Mon, Jul 20 2009 at 5:28 PM EST

good advice

Thanks. You know what else you could probably do if you didn't want to use new waxed paper? You could use a piece of the inside sleeve from a cereal box to cover the disposal.

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