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
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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. Eww.
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.
- 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 of 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.
- I cleaned the counters thoroughly to make sure there was nothing stuck on them that the flies would find attractive.
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.- 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 cents 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
S Morris
08/29/2010 16:10 PM
I found this out by accident- left a glass of wine on the counter overnight. In the morning there were about 20 of the poor suckers. At the time I didn't even know I had fruit flies. I decided to leave the glass out a couple more days and the entire surface of the wine was covered in flies. I don't think it matters, but it was white zinfandel.
JoeB
06/24/2010 01:55 AM
I was told to add a few drops of dish detergent too. The sweet smell attracts them faster. Not sure how important that is, but it worked for me and it only took literally a few drops... Just FYI
Teri
11/07/2009 11:45 AM
I put the cider vinegar in a plastic water bottle and left it open. Once in they really can't get out.
Anonymous
07/26/2009 02:14 AM
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.
Anonymous
07/05/2011 17:35 PM
The only way I found to get rid of fungus gnats is, use hand hot water with a few drops of baby shampoo added to it each time you water the plants. keeping the surface of the soil fluffed and a soft breeze also helps (small fan on low).
Anonymous
07/24/2009 14:51 PM
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.
Friend Of Reddit
07/20/2009 17:13 PM
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.
rshreeves
07/20/2009 17:29 PM
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.
Jennifer Taggart, TheSmartMama
07/16/2009 13:39 PM
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
rshreeves
07/20/2009 17:28 PM
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.
