How To Keep Fruit Flies out of Your House This Fall

We’ve all experienced the vexing annoyance of fruit flies. These pests show up in droves when sipping on a glass of wine with friends or when you bring your garden’s bounty into the kitchen. You swat them away only to have them reappear in front of your face again within moments.

According to U.C. Davis, fruit flies have been plaguing California for nearly 60 years, where over 17 different fruit fly species have been found in nearly all areas of the state. Web MD reports that they can carry salmonella, E Coli, and listeria — all germs that cause food poisoning.

7 Solutions to Getting Rid of Fruit Flies

To kill pests such as fruit flies, you need a plan. Here are a few tricks that work:

1. Deep clean your kitchen. Unsealed food, unswept floors, and unwashed counters will keep fruit flies hovering around. Even though they have a very short life span, their eggs hatch quickly, and then those flies make even more flies.
2. Keep food sealed and in the refrigerator. Fruit flies love an environment where produce is kept out in the open with easy access. Another solution for fruit such as bananas that don’t do well in the fridge is to buy less so you can eat them before they become overripe.
3. Wash fruit and vegetables as soon as you bring them into the house. This will keep you healthier by washing off some of the impossible-to-see larvae on the fruit, keeping them from evolving into flies in the home.
4. Take your garbage out regularly. Especially in hotter weather, garbage decays faster, which is an attractant.
5. Use apple cider vinegar to trap fruit flies. Apple cider vinegar mixed with a few drops of dishwashing soap does the trick. Microwave it for a few seconds to release the smell of fermenting apples from the vinegar. Then, put it out on your counter and watch the flies drop in. The soap traps them in the bowl so they can’t fly out. After a few hours, you’ll see all the flies you’ve trapped and killed.
6. Trap them in an old wine or beer bottle with only a few sips left. Just leave the open bottle out on a counter. The skinny neck of the bottle will keep the flies trapped inside. Add a bit of dishwashing soap for added success.
7. Purchase a pre-made fruit fly trap. Available at many supermarkets and hardware stores, these traps attract and trap fruit flies.

Let the Professionals Kill the Insects

When fruit flies become too much to bear, a professional pest control company such as Ecola will know exactly what to do to get rid of fruit flies quickly. Call Ecola for a free pest inspection at 800-471-BUGS (2847).