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You leave a banana on the counter overnight and wake up to a swarm of tiny black flies. Fruit flies seem to appear out of nowhere, and once they’re in your kitchen, they multiply fast. A single female can lay up to 500 eggs at a time, and those eggs hatch into adults in about a week. What starts as a few annoying bugs can become a full-blown infestation in days.
The good news is that fruit flies are easy to kill once you know how. The bad news is that killing the adults isn’t enough – you have to eliminate their breeding grounds too, or the cycle just continues. Here’s how to get rid of them for good.
1. Set Out Vinegar and Dish Soap Traps
This is the classic fruit fly trap for a reason – it works. Pour about a quarter cup of apple cider vinegar into a small bowl or cup. Add a few drops of dish soap and stir gently. The vinegar attracts the flies, and the soap breaks the surface tension so they sink and drown instead of landing and flying away.
Set several of these around your kitchen, especially near where you’ve seen the most flies. Empty and refresh the traps daily until you stop catching flies. The vinegar smell dissipates quickly, but it’s worth it to stop the infestation. Don’t use white vinegar – fruit flies prefer the sweeter smell of apple cider vinegar.
2. Make a Jar Trap with Holes
For a reusable trap, take a small jar and punch several tiny holes in the lid with a nail or drill. Fill the jar with a quarter cup of apple cider vinegar and a few drops of dish soap. Screw the lid on tight.
Flies enter through the holes attracted by the vinegar smell, but they can’t find their way back out. The jar trap lasts longer than open bowls and looks less messy on your counter. When it fills with flies, just rinse it out and refill. Keep one on the counter year-round as a preventive measure.
3. Use Red Wine as Bait
If you don’t have vinegar, red wine works just as well. Fruit flies are attracted to fermented beverages. Pour a small amount of wine into a glass, cover with plastic wrap, and poke several small holes in the top. The flies enter but can’t escape.
This method has the advantage of using something you probably already have open. The wine trap works best when it’s been sitting out for a day and has started to ferment more. Replace every few days or when it stops attracting flies. Don’t waste good wine on this – the cheap stuff works fine.
4. Clean Drains with Boiling Water
Kitchen drains are prime fruit fly breeding grounds. Food particles collect in the trap and on the pipe walls, providing perfect conditions for eggs and larvae. Pour a kettle of boiling water down the drain twice a day for three days to kill any eggs or larvae living there.
For extra effectiveness, follow the boiling water with a mixture of half vinegar and half baking soda. The foaming action helps scrub away the organic buildup that feeds the flies. Do this treatment once a week as prevention, even after the flies are gone.
5. Store Fruit in the Refrigerator
Ripe fruit on the counter is a fruit fly buffet. Once you have an infestation, store all produce in the refrigerator until the flies are gone. The cold kills any eggs on the fruit and prevents new flies from accessing their food source.
Even bananas can go in the fridge – the peel will darken but the fruit inside stays fine. If you absolutely must keep fruit on the counter, check it daily and discard anything that’s overripe or has broken skin where flies can access the sugar inside.
6. Take Out the Trash Daily
Kitchen trash is another major breeding site. Food scraps, especially fruit and vegetable waste, attract flies and provide egg-laying sites. Take the trash out every day during an infestation, even if the bag isn’t full.
Use trash bags that seal tightly, and rinse out any containers that held food before throwing them away. The small amount of residue left in an empty yogurt cup or juice bottle is enough to support a fruit fly population. Don’t give them the chance.
7. Clean Spills Immediately
Fruit flies can detect fermentation from impressive distances. That tiny splash of juice on the counter, the drops of wine on the table, the residue in the bottom of a glass – all of it attracts them. Wipe up spills as soon as they happen.
Check under appliances and furniture for forgotten spills. A splash of orange juice that dripped under the fridge two weeks ago could be supporting a whole colony. Use a flashlight and really look – fruit flies find spills you didn’t even know were there.
8. Wash Reusable Shopping Bags
Those eco-friendly reusable bags are fruit fly hotels if you don’t clean them. Food residue from produce, bread, and other groceries accumulates in the corners and seams. Flies lay eggs there, and the next time you use the bag, you’re transporting flies into your kitchen.
Wash fabric bags in the washing machine weekly. Wipe out plastic or nylon bags with hot soapy water. Turn them inside out to get the seams where crumbs collect. Store bags clean and dry – damp bags with food residue are breeding grounds.
9. Replace Sponges Regularly
Kitchen sponges stay damp and collect food particles – perfect for fruit flies. They can breed in the sponge itself, which is disgusting and means you’re spreading flies every time you wipe a counter. Replace sponges every week during an infestation.
Between replacements, microwave damp sponges for two minutes to kill any eggs or larvae. Or run them through the dishwasher on the hot cycle. Better yet, switch to dish brushes that dry faster and don’t provide the same breeding habitat.
10. Check for Hidden Breeding Spots
Fruit flies hide in places you wouldn’t think to look. Check the drip pan under the refrigerator – it collects condensation and often has food spills. Look behind the stove where crumbs fall. Inspect the garbage disposal rubber flap for trapped food.
Empty and clean any vases with flowers – the water and decaying plant matter supports flies. Check bottles of cooking oil, syrup, or sauces that have been open a while. Any damp, fermenting organic matter can be a breeding site. Find and eliminate them all or the infestation will keep coming back.
How They Get In
Fruit flies often arrive on produce you bring home from the store. They lay eggs on the surface of fruits and vegetables, which hatch in your kitchen. They’re also small enough to come through window screens and gaps around doors.
Once inside, they spread fast because of their rapid life cycle. Eggs hatch in 24 hours, larvae feed for a week, then pupate and emerge as adults. A single overlooked banana can produce hundreds of flies in ten days. Speed matters when dealing with them.
When to Call a Professional
If you’ve tried everything and still have fruit flies after two weeks, you may have a breeding site you haven’t found. A pest control professional can identify hidden problem areas and treat them with stronger methods than DIY solutions.
This is rarely necessary for fruit flies, but it’s an option if you’re overwhelmed. Most infestations can be handled with diligent trapping and cleaning. The key is persistence – keep up the prevention methods even after the flies disappear.