www.1howmany.com

   Home & Garden / How to Get Rid of Fruit Flies

Every housewife knows how annoying fruit flies¹ can be if they start appearing in the kitchen. These wee insects usually come in quantity and breed so quickly that you can lose heart in unsuccessful efforts to gain a victory over them.

But we will give you some tips about how to get rid of fruit flies. Just follow our instructions and these tiny pests will forget their way to your apartment.

Are they really fruit flies?

First of all, make sure that you deal with fruit flies. Catch one of them and examine the bug closely. It will not be a difficult task, because they are ungainly fliers. A common Drosophila grows to no more than 3 mm. Its eyes are red and bodies are yellow or brown.

Now when you know that your guests are fruit flies, it is high time to make them feel uncomfortable at your home.

Destroying Breeding Grounds and Food

Fruit flies eat and blow in the same place. It simplifies the task. In order to get rid of fruit flies you just have to destroy their food source. The eggs will be there too. But it will not be enough to throw away a couple of rotten apples - you must cut off all the supply lines.

Probably you will have to examine the entire house, but typically fruit flies gather in a kitchen, so you should clean it properly. Take these steps:

• Empty the garbage pail and do it every day from now on.
• Find all forgotten foodstuff in the cabinets and throw it away.
• Flush the garbage disposals and drains with some special cleaner and do it several times during the day.
• Pour out all standing liquids and dry out all wet fabrics in the kitchen.
• Clean the filter and the bottom of you dishwasher.
• Clean the floor under the refrigerator, stove and furniture.
• Clean the inside surface of you stove.
• Throw away old sponges, towels, floor cloths and dusters.

Now you can move to the bathroom and living areas. Do the same there. Cleanness is the best way of getting rid of fruit flies and preventing their appearance.

Extirpating the Existing Population of Fruit Flies

A fruit fly's life span is about two weeks, so they can bother you for some time after you have cleaned out the whole apartment. But there is a simple method that can help you to get rid of fruit flies sooner. We mean homemade traps.

Find a two of three liter plastic bottle with a narrow neck. Cut off its neck and put it in the bottle upside down.

Pour several ounces of juice, soda, beer, or cider into it. Add a bit of liquid soap or vegetable oil. It will not allow bugs to fly up from the surface. Then place your trap in the area most infected with fruit flies and wait until they get caught in the sticky fluid.

You can also use a bowl instead of a soda bottle. Pour the same mixture on the bottom and cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Pierce several holes in it and place this DIY trap in your kitchen, bathroom or some other room.

If making traps is too difficult for you, go to a hardware store, buy a ready to go model and follow the instructions that go with it.

Ask a Question

Ask any question beginning with "how many..." and get an expert answer.

Contact

Any problem will be solved when you consult our customer service.