How To Get Rid of Fruit Flies (Low-Tech Version, High-Tech Version)
The remedies I've tried in the past? Failures. I've been told to leave out a glass of wine, or try a few drops of dishwasher liquid in a container of water. What did I get? House parties of flies who seemed to particularly enjoy a nice Cabernet.
This summer, though, I found the key. The first trick was a variation on the wine-glass method. Fill a jam jar with an inch or two of wine, but then cover the top with plastic wrap. (I know. Seems obvious now.) Secure the wrap with a rubber band, then poke a few holes through it. Flies get in, but can't get out.
Then Terro, the pest control company, sent over a sample of its new fruit fly trap. The trap is a little apple-shaped plastic ball, filled with a non-toxic compound (more or less vinegar and dish soap, looking at the ingredients). It operates on the same theory as the jam jar, and also works quite well. Bonus points to the Terro device for looking a lot nicer on the countertop than a rubber-banded jam jar. I'm tempted to ding it because the contents stained my counter when my curious toddler turned it upside down... but with enough scrubbing, the stain came out, and a red wine spill would have caused problems too.
Customer reviews of the Terro are interesting -- people seem to either love it (17 five-star reviews) or hate it (9 one-star reviews). As you would figure, the lovers say it solved their infestations; the haters say it didn't work for them. Count me among the lovers, because my kitchen is now fly-free -- I may even have the nerve to set my compost container back on the counter.
Short of calling in the Very Busy Spider, how do you get rid of a pesty (fruit) fly?
-- Rebekah Denn
Dr Alice on August 26, 2010 at 03:54 PM
I've read another suggestion: take a plastic bread bag, some twist ties and some fruit bits (banana peels, peach peelings, etc). Put the fruit in the bottom of the bag and leave it open. When you have a nice population of flies, close off the bag with a twist tie and add more fruit to the next part of the bag. Continue moving up the bag till you're out of room, close off the final part of the bag and throw it in the trash. Repeat as needed.
Anne on August 26, 2010 at 06:34 PM
Apple cider vinegar with 3 drops of dish soap- The cider vinegar smells like rotten fruit, which attracts the fruit flies- they land on it, but the dish soap has lowered the surface tension of the water, so they sink and drown. Never fails.
kalyn on August 28, 2010 at 11:04 AM
My method is a piece of fruit (I use the core or peels) in a zip seal sandwich bag. Leave the bag laying sideways on the counter or near the fruit basket with a crack in the opening. The flies go in and usually stay there. Once in a while I quickly press the bag closed capturing the flies and then I smash them. I use the same bag with the same fruit for several days or until I am no longer catching flies. When I am done with the bag I seal it up and toss it in the trash.
Wacky Hermit on August 29, 2010 at 06:26 AM
The fruit flies come by my sink to get water. When I'm doing dishes, I put some soap suds on my hand and I can catch them and kill them. They fly pretty slow. But the soap suds is crucial. If you try to catch them without the soap suds, they get away between your fingers, or fly away when you open your hand.
bfwebster on August 29, 2010 at 06:26 AM
Wait...wait...wait...it turns out you _can_ catch more flies with vinegar after all?
Sorry. Couldn't resist. ..bruce..
Para on August 29, 2010 at 07:03 AM
Pesty? I think you mean pesky.
Julie on August 29, 2010 at 09:03 AM
One thing that's been very effective for us it pouring boiling water down our drains -- if they're laying eggs there (very common) then boiling water will kill them. It can't just be really hot....boiling is key.
Kirsten on August 29, 2010 at 09:13 AM
What works for me is to put a lure outdoors on the other side of a window screen. Bruised fruit in a plastic cup works fine.
I clean up any bruised/overripe fruit that is inside before I set the lure so there's only one thing around that attracts them.
After a couple of hours, the fruit flies all migrate outside through the screen; I shut the storm window so the fruit flies can't get back in and discard the lure. A couple of hours after that, the fruit flies have wandered off so I can open the window again. (Just don't bring the lure back inside since it will be loaded with eggs.)
I've tried the other methods. This is the only thing I've ever tried that gets rid of every single fruit fly in the house.
David on August 29, 2010 at 09:29 AM
Get some sundews! Carnivorous plants that grow like weeds -- they do great on the windowsill, as long as there's enough moisture (not a problem in the summer). They'll go dormant in fall and winter, but don't throw out the pots even if it looks like nothing's living. Keep them moist and come spring they'll pop right back.
Mary on August 29, 2010 at 10:01 AM
I had some success putting a bowl with a little wine and bruised fruit in the microwave with the door open. When enough fruit flies gather, shut the door and nuke 'em.
Cleaning out drains and pouring boiling water down also works -
Kirk Hays on August 29, 2010 at 10:13 AM
I've used a small amount of apple cider vinegar, with a drop of dish soap in it, in a cruet (small bottle with a wide bottom and a narrow neck. I think I spent about a buck on mine at a discount store).
Works like a charm, but you do need to leave it out for a few days or a week, until the next "hatch" of flies has occurred, just to be sure.
You also can't assume that throwing out all your fruit will get rid of them, as fruit flies will lay eggs in any rotting matter, including down the disposal, in your house plants, etc.
The narrow neck is crucial, it seems, as the flies otherwise don't spend enough time near the vinegar to be captured. They may be able to escape the reduced surface tension once or twice, I'm not sure. I do know that an open bowl of vinegar & soap does not work, however.
Cheap, easy, safe for kids, pets, and counter-tops.
Robin on August 29, 2010 at 10:31 AM
What I found best way which does actually work... vacuuming them. I used my central vacuum to suck them up every time I saw them and their breeding population went down to zero. Gone for good.
I tried the trap method. It works for the ones that catch the sent but often they have time to breed again before they are caught so its not as effective.
Jeff on August 29, 2010 at 10:47 AM
Uhhh, think it through people - buy less fruit so you don't always have rotten fruit on hand? Uhhh, put the fruit, except bananas, in the refrigerator so it doesn't rot so fast? The problem is not the fruit, or the fly really, it's the rotten fruit. If these are slow moving flies out of your drain, they are phorid (hump-backed) flies, or psychodid flies (moth flies) and have little interest in your fruit but are interested in the slime in your drain. Run your disposal with lots of hot water and soap. And where are you keeping your garbage and how clean is the can? There shouldn't be constant exterior fruit fly pressure no matter where you live. No offense, but why would you put ANY pest control technology within reach of your "curious" toddler. While we're at it, why would you own a countertop that can be stained with red wine? My 28-year old formica won't stain with red wine. Your compost container belongs outside of the kitchen. Period.
Jane on August 29, 2010 at 12:19 PM
We use the plastic wrap that I poke toothpick-sized holes in on a plastic cup method, and it works for us.
I always put a piece of old fruit, banana peel, or a tomato in with the vinegar.
speedwell on August 29, 2010 at 02:33 PM
I don't even buy fruit since I'm a steadfast low-carber. I did get fruit flies, though, and I did the trick with cider vinegar, dish soap, and plastic wrap. Worked great.
It worked better after I found the source of the infestation. There is ALWAYS a source, and NO tip will get rid of them until you find out where it is. In my case it was a dripping faucet, that's all. Fixed the faucet, dumped a half gallon of boiling soapy water down the drain, and left the vinegar bowls out a few more days. No more flies.
My housekeeper refuses to touch the bowls with the dead flies in them. I'm not that squeamish. But the face she made... it made me laugh.
Marcus on August 30, 2010 at 06:38 AM
Peach Brandy, the cheap kind as the flies are not picky. They will land in even small quantities and I have seen them crowd around their dead brethren to get to the liquid but they never leave. The main problem with a large infestation though is that once you have killed some in one area and think you're done they are already in other areas like the soil in potted plants, animal cages, the pantry...you have to set out several traps.
Rod Taylor on August 30, 2010 at 07:44 AM
I worked as a consultant to the bar and restaurant industry, and fruit flies become a major problem during the summer in this area. I ran into a Jamaican exterminator in a bar one morning, and asked him his recommendation. He looked around to make sure no sure he was not overheard, and told me "Take a strong flashlight and look around the bar in areas that stay wet, such as under the tap drip trays, around sinks, etc., and you will find almost microscopic maggots which will grow up to be a fruit fly infestation. Spray down these areas with a 50/50 mix of Pinesol and ammonia to kill the maggots and to deny the area as a breeding ground for future generations. Once you have them under control, you only need to treat the areas once a month or so." I passed it along to my customers with infestation problems, and the fruit flies disappeared.
nebraska on August 30, 2010 at 07:50 AM
Geez, Jeff! Who peed in your Wheaties today?
Golf11 on August 31, 2010 at 07:55 AM
This cheap and inexpensive method works quite well. I simply use 1 inch of apple cider vinegar, has to be apple cider vinegar, one drop of dishwashing liquid -- swish it around and leave on window sill overnight. For some reason this seems to work best overnight. I woke up with two caught/drowned fruit flies this morning without wasting wine. Been doing this for years with simple items laying around the house.
bed bug extermination on September 18, 2011 at 07:09 PM
Awesome thread! Thank you for the very informative comments. We all have pest problems one way or another, and it seems all the tricks needed to keep pests away are already here.