How Do I Get Rid of Fruit Flies?

Fruit flies are the worst. They come into your home and try to eat as much food as they can during their limited lifespans while making everyone who so much as hears the buzz of their wings uncomfortable. Attempting to track each fly down with a flyswatter or rolled up newspaper may be a fun way to spend your afternoon, but that doesn’t always lead to the desired result of a fly-free kitchen. Rather than pursue an alternate cardio regimen, why not let the fruit flies come to you? Seems too good to be true, but anything is possible with the right tools.

Creating a fruit fly trap is surprisingly simple. All you need to get ready is a container, some bait, and a sheet of paper. After you have your supplies, just follow these steps for a fly-free kitchen:

1. The Container: Basically any jar or container will work, but you may want to use an old wine or soda bottle, or even a vase if the mood strikes you.
2. The Bait: Fruit flies love sweet things, but you don’t need to combine all of the sticky and sweet things in your kitchen to make this step work. Any kind of fruit or sugary liquid will do the trick, but some of the best options include: sliced or diced pieces of rotting or over ripe fruit; corn syrup, honey, maple syrup, etc.; any kind of fruit juice or regular soda – diet won’t work because it has minimal sugar; soy sauce or apple cider vinegar; beer or wine. Take whatever combination of sickly sweet goodness you desire and fill your container partway.
3. The Funnel: Take that piece of paper and roll it up into a funnel. This will allow the flies to fly into your container, but will make it difficult for them to get back out. Just make sure that the tip doesn’t touch your bait – you want to make sure the flies have enough space to enter your trap.
4. Place Your Trap: Set your trap near whichever area you’ve found to be the most problematic, whether that’s by the trash can, your sink, or by your bowl of fruit. Depending on how spread out your fly problem is, you may want to make a few extra traps and place them all around your kitchen. Leave it out overnight, and in the morning you should see a crew of fruit flies happily gorging themselves on your bait. If you didn’t manage to catch anything, make sure the funnel’s opening is large enough to let flies in, switch out the bait, and try again.
5. Kill the Flies: Pour a mixture of dish soap and warm water into your trap to drown any flies caught in the container. After pouring, let it sit for a few minutes before disposing of the contents. If you notice that the flies are still buzzing, take your trap outside before pulling out the funnel to pour in the water and soap mixture. Rinse the container with hot water after you’ve poured everything else, and either recycle it or fill it back up to make another trap.
6. Repeat the Process: Fruit fly eggs hatch after about 10 days, so you may need to leave a trap out for a couple weeks to make sure that you’ve caught every last one.

The best way to avoid dealing with fruit flies is to know what food attracts them into your home and making sure that you keep everything clean. The best way to keep your kitchen spotless and free of the spills that make these flies so excited to be your house guest is to hire a professional cleaning team. At The Maids Murrieta, our crew is ready to get your house back to the spotless level you know it can reach. You can start the process by filling out our online form, or call us at (972) 471-9509 to get a free price estimate.

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