There’s not much more annoying than having fruit flies buzzing around your home, particularly the kitchen. Not only are they a nuisance, but they can also leave behind harmful pathogens on your food. Knowing how to get rid of fruit flies in the house will ensure that you, your family and your guests do not become sick.
Apple Cider Vinegar Trap
This trap is very clever as the flies are drawn to the smell of the fermenting apples, which is what apple cider vinegar is made from. Before you begin to assemble this trap, make sure to warm the vinegar, as fruit flies find it irresistible.
To make the trap you will need:
- A jar or plastic bottle cut in half
- A funnel - shop bought or you can make one from paper
- Apple cider vinegar
- Dish soap
Making the Trap
1. Pour the apple cider vinegar into the jar.
2. Add a few drops of dish soap as this will break the surface tension and prevent the fruit flies from escaping, meaning that they will drown.
3. Then insert the funnel. This will entice the flies into the jar, but again they won’t be able to figure their way out.
Apple Cider Vinegar Trap
How to Stop Fruit Flies From Entering Your Home
- Take Out the Rubbish Daily - this is a must as fruit flies are attracted to the smell of rubbish and rotting fruit and vegetables. It is also important to regularly clean out the rubbish bin.
- Cover Fruit - this is an absolute must if you have previously had a fruit fly infestation. Simply cover the fruit with a bowl or cling film. Regularly clearing the fruit bowl will also keep the flies away.
- Regularly Clean the Dishes, Sink and Work Surfaces - this should be a daily cleaning routine. It will help to prevent fruit flies from feeding on crumbs and any food debris that has been left behind.
- Wash Melons and Bananas - these two types of fruit are the most savoured by the fruit fly. Always wash this fruit before storing and eating.
- Replace Your Kitchen Sponges and Washcloths Regularly - Sponges are absorbent by definition, so the sponge is full of sticky substances that flies are attracted to.
- Clean Out Empty Cans, Jars and Pots - Even when they're completely finished, you still need to wash out the residue left on them before throwing them in the bin.
How Fruit Flies Reproduce
Multiple male fruit flies can inseminate a single female, who will then lay hundreds of eggs all throughout a house. If these eggs receive nutrients and energy from any sweet organic food source a larvae hatches within 24 hours.
After about a week the larvae has all the spiracles, hooks, and other apparatus necessary to crawl to a dry area so it can pupate. It takes no longer than another week for a fully formed adult fruit fly to break out of the hardened shell known as its puparium. 48 hours after this final pupal stage ends, fruit flies are ready to reproduce again.
This entire process takes no longer than two weeks. Furthermore, fruit flies are able to reproduce over the course of their entire life span which at ideal temperatures can last up to 50 days.
Considering that a female can lay hundreds of eggs dozens of times over the course of her life, a fruit fly problem can get seriously out of hand if swift measures aren't taken to get rid of the flies and stop them from breeding.
Again, temperature is a huge factor, and the "ideal" temperature for fruit flies is between 58 and 68 degrees Fahrenheit (room temperature or slightly warmer than room temperature).
Thus, for those wondering how to get rid of fruit flies, one solution would be to drop the temperature in the home. But this would obviously mean swapping the disgust and discomfort of fruit flies for the displeasure of a frigid home. So that's not a viable option.
If you are one of the many who are struggling with this plague and really want to know how to get rid of flies in the house quickly, the above solutions are easy to implement and really do work.
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