How do I Control a Fruit Fly Infestation?

Controlling a fruit fly infestation typically involves eliminating the food sources of fruit flies, keeping surfaces scrubbed clean, and regularly using either homemade or store-bought fruit fly traps. You might also be able to use fly tape to trap many fruit flies. Even if you are successfully able to get rid of your fruit fly infestation, you should keep in mind that they will likely return if you continue to practice habits that attract them to your home, such as leaving food debris or overripe fruits and vegetables out on your counter tops. It is most important to take steps to prevent fruit flies during late summer and early fall, which are the two times of year that the flies tend to be the worst.

Fruit flies generally cannot survive if they have nothing to feed on. If you are noticing a great number of fruit flies flying around any area of your home, you should try to determine what is attracting them. Fruit flies tend to be attracted to rotting fruits and vegetables as well as beverages that are allowed to sit and ferment, such as beers and some soft drinks. If it seems that the flies are coming from your sink drain, you should try to use drain cleaner to eliminate whatever rotten food might be attracting them. You can also improve your chances of controlling a fruit fly infestation if you scrub the inside of your garbage and recycling bins as well as the area around the bins.

Keeping your sinks and counter tops cleaned off and thoroughly scrubbed a few times a day might also cut down on your fruit fly population. If things are kept clean and there is no food debris that will attract the flies, they cannot survive for long. If you frequently leave fresh fruit and vegetables sitting out on your counters, consider storing them inside an airtight container instead. This should keep fruit flies from being attracted to the produce as it ripens.

There are traps available to use for controlling a fruit fly infestation. These traps are made to lure fruit flies inside, and once inside the fruit flies are unable to escape. You can make traps like these at home by filling a jar halfway full of vinegar and covering the top with a piece of plastic wrap secured with a rubber band. If you poke small holes in the top of the plastic wrap, the fruit flies will enter because they are attracted to the smell of vinegar, but they will likely not be able to get back out. In addition to these traps, you can also use sticky tape traps to catch many of the fruit flies that are hovering around, as well as any house flies that you might be having problems with.