Top 5 Homemade Fruit Fly Traps *That Really Work* | pest resources (2023)

FAQs

What is the absolute best way to get rid of fruit flies? ›

Bowl and Soap Trap

Fill a microwave-safe bowl with apple cider vinegar and a few drops of dish soap. Microwave the bowl so the mixture becomes even more aromatic. Leave the bowl out uncovered as fruit fly bait. The soap will reduce the surface tension, causing any fruit fly that lands on the surface to drown.

For the liquid, you will want to use something very sweet, just like the overripe fruits they enjoy so much. Typically, juice, wine, apple cider vinegar, or even beer have been known to lure them into the fruit fly trap.

Apple cider vinegar works better than white vinegar for fruit flies because it smells like fermenting fruit. Red wine vinegar will also work, but it tends to be more expensive than ACV. Microwave the mixture for 20 seconds or so to enhance the smell of the vinegar, then place the bowl in an area with a lot of flies.

Fruit fly traps can be made out of plastic containers such as soft drinks, milk bottles, or honey or peanut butter containers. Peel from 6 mandarins or two oranges 50mL household ammonia 1L water Medfly are attracted to sugar and protein content in fruit so home made recipes can do the trick.

They like fermented fruit, so mix a bit of dish soap with old beer, wine or apple cider vinegar. Pour water into the mixture until it bubbles, and leave the glass or bowl on the counter where you spot the flies. They'll come to the glass because of the fruit sugar, but get trapped in the soap bubbles.

Use a shallow dish bowl and fill it with an inch of apple cider vinegar and a tablespoon of sugar. Next, add some fruit-scented dish soap. You can leave the dish uncovered or tightly covered with plastic wrap. Make sure to poke a few holes in it to attract the flies.

A good bait for house flies is 1 part molasses, 3 parts water. This ferments and smells pleasant as long as it doesnt putrify. Many house fly baits use brewers yeast, fish meal, and sugar that ferments in water.

Fruit flies dislike strong smells and you can repel them by grinding up, or hanging, fresh herbs in your kitchen. Lavender, basil, mint, and rosemary are said to be effective.

Mix a half cup of salt, half cup of baking soda, and one cup of vinegar, and pour the mixture down the drain. You can follow that with boiling water a few hours later.

What kills gnats instantly? ›

In order to get rid of drain gnats, pest control company Arceneaux recommends pouring a half cup of hydrogen peroxide or bleach in the drain. This should kill them instantly, but repeat as needed.

Scientists have found that fruit flies detect and are attracted to the taste of carbonated water, such as water found on rotting fruits containing yeast.

Fruit flies can't stand the smell of basil, peppermint, eucalyptus, lemongrass, lavender and clove. If you've had a fruit fly problem in the past, try placing these fragrant herbs in muslin sacks or tea bags and hanging them around the house.

Naturalure ™ Fruit Fly Bait Concentrate is a protein and sugar based bait containing the active ingredient spinosad. The mixture is attractive to fruit flies, including Queensland and Mediterranean fruit flies. Female fruit flies can detect the bait from several metres away.

A fruit fly infestation won't just go away on its own—it'll likely only get worse. Even if the adult fruit flies die, you'll continue to get new fruit flies every day unless you cut off the source. If you do nothing, they'll just breed on unnoticed crumbs, spills, and food particles.

Luring flies to a trap is the hardest part. Luckily, they're attracted to anything sweet — simple syrup, honey and fruit — so you shouldn't have to look too far to find something sugar-y enough to entice them.

Vinegar (or acetic acid) is the ultimate product of the fermentation process in fruit, which is why fruit flies are attracted to vinegar odor. However, both low and high concentrations of vinegar odor leave flies indifferent (left).

Health Risks of Fruit Flies

Some of the bacteria they may carry include salmonella, E. coli, and listeria. These three germs each cause food poisoning. Severe cases may put you in the hospital and can even be life-threatening.

They're attracted to fermented waste: Sinia says you'll frequently find fruit flies lingering near "ripened fruits and vegetables, moist fermenting or decaying organic matter, as well as dirty mop heads and buckets." They also congregate near discarded beverage containers and recycling bins.

Cinnamon – use cinnamon as an air freshner, as flies hate the smell! Lavender, eucalyptus, peppermint and lemongrass essential oils – Not only will spraying these oils around the house create a beautiful aroma, but they will also deter those pesky flies too.

What smell kills house flies? ›

Eucalyptus oil is a good option, but you can also use lavender, citrus, pine, clove, peppermint, and thyme essential oils. Most flies hate these scents, so the oils will act as a fly repellent.

Does honey actually help you catch flies? Well, it's definitely going to help you more than vinegar generally will, at least (though apple cider vinegar can be used to attract them too). Flies may be attracted to the sweetness of honey. Of course, that sweetness can be a fly's downfall, since it's also quite sticky.

Soap + Water + Sugar + Vinegar

Add a few drops of dish soap to a bowl of water, sugar, and apple cider vinegar. Leave the bowl out for a few days close to the drain to attract the drain flies to the sweet solution. The thickness of the added soap will trap the flies in the water.

Cayenne pepper is an excellent natural fly repellent and also deters many other insects. Mix one cup of water and one teaspoon of cayenne pepper in a misting bottle and spray it near entryways and wherever you see flies. Other natural fly repellents include lemongrass, peppermint, eucalyptus, camphor, and cinnamon.

Because Windex doesn't work as a repellent, it's no more effective at getting rid of the occasional bug than using a broom to shoo the critter outdoors or a paper towel to squish it. You're better off saving the cleaning solution for its rightful use.

The assumption was that toothpaste attracted the fruit flies. So, I put about a tablespoon in the bottom of the glass. A day later, there were still zero fruit flies in the trap. Bottom line: Does not work.

Flies seem to HATE pine-sol. To make the fly repelling spray, mix the original Pine-Sol with water, at a ratio of 50/50 and put it in a spray bottle. Use to wipe counters or spray on the porch and patio table and furniture to drive the flies away.

But if you put a cup of apple cider vinegar out on your counter—a common trap tactic—you won't kill the pests. You will only make the problem worse, since fruit flies can actually breed in the cup.

Fruit flies lay their eggs near the surface of fermenting foods or other moist, organic materials. Upon emerging, the tiny larvae continue to feed near the surface of the fermenting mass.

Pickle juice works too for fruit flies.. pour some into a small disposable container.. like a jar lid..and set it on your kitchen counter..then can be tossed into waste container.. This works, the trick is the drop of liquid soap.

Does hydrogen peroxide get rid of fruit flies? ›

You can use a simple mixture of one part hydrogen peroxide and three parts water to kill fruit flies in your home and in your garden.

Do not use bleach. Since bleach does not coat the pipes, it will not kill the flies.

Water with soap can help in resolving your fruit fly problems. Mix water and drops of liquid soap and place it during the night under a light. This trap can attract not only fruit flies but also mosquitoes which have been infesting your home.

If conditions like moisture (in your sink, via juice from rotten fruit, or even due to humidity), decaying food, and dirty drains continue, so will your fruit fly infestation, Baldwin explains.

That's because they have incredibly fast life cycles. A single female fruit fly can lay up to 100 eggs a day, which hatch in less than 24 hours. The maggots then tunnel under the fruit skin, feeding on the microbial rot. In just a few days later, they pupate into fully fledged fruit flies.

Fruit flies often come in to your home through cracks in walls, loose seals around doors or windows, or via eggs laid inside of a piece of produce from the grocery store. Fruit flies can seem to come from out of nowhere to infest your home, but this is mainly due to how quickly fruit flies breed and develop.

Fruit flies can lay up to 500 eggs at a time near the surface of fermenting (ripening) foods or other organic materials like the soil in your houseplants. They can also lay their eggs in sink drains, garbage disposals, empty bottles and cans, garbage bags, and even damp mops and sponges.

It can take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks to eliminate a fruit fly infestation, which is why experts recommend preventative measures.

If fruit flies aren't going into the vinegar, make sure it's apple cider vinegar you're using in the trap. 'Plain white vinegar does will not attract fruit flies because it has no fruity scent,' says Diane Kuthy. And if it is the right sort of vinegar, don't use it cold.

Keep the air moving. Once you've located and removed the source of the fruit flies, keep a ceiling or blower fan going all day in your kitchen. Fruit flies can't zip around the kitchen very well, says Harrison, so letting the fan run will stop the flies from landing in your fruit bowl and breeding.

What kills fruit flies on contact? ›

Spray them with rubbing alcohol.

Fill a fine-misting spray bottle with rubbing alcohol, and spray the fruit flies. The alcohol will kill them, and dead fruit flies can be cleaned up easily with a wet rag.

A fruit fly infestation won't just go away on its own—it'll likely only get worse. Even if the adult fruit flies die, you'll continue to get new fruit flies every day unless you cut off the source. If you do nothing, they'll just breed on unnoticed crumbs, spills, and food particles.

Fly traps are a great way to get rid of fruit flies in the bathroom. They work by trapping the flies in a sticky substance, which prevents them from escaping. As the flies try to escape, they become stuck in the trap. This eliminates the need to use harsh chemicals or pesticides, which can be harmful to your health.

If there is no fruit or vegetable matter in your kitchen, check your garbage and recycling bins. Fruit flies may also use unclean drains as breeding grounds. Outdoor drains are likely sources of yard-based fruit flies, as are overripe fruits beneath the trees from which they have fallen.