How to Get Rid of Fruit Flies

Fruit flies can be troublesome bugs to banish once they have gotten into your home.  Attracted by fermenting fruits and vegetables, one of a fruit fly’s favorite places is the kitchen.  While their lifespan is relatively short, their population in your home can expand exponentially as a female can lay up to 500 eggs at a time.  With numbers like these, your house can quickly become overrun with an infestation of fruit flies.  Follow these simple tricks on how to get rid of fruit flies.

Focus on a Clean Kitchen

Since fruit flies thrive on overripe fruit and vegetables, often even laying their eggs on these foods, it is important to toss any food before it gets to this point.  You should also be diligent about keeping the drains free of food particles that may attract these pests, running the garbage disposal regularly to clear out any food that may be in there.  Fruit flies hate clean surfaces, so regularly scrubbing kitchen counters and tables will help to deter them from your home.

If you need help keeping your kitchen clean, call in Woodard to help you with hard surface cleaning needing! Our technical experts can help with tile & grout cleaning, marble cleaning & polishing, and more! For information or questions about cleaning your kitchen, submit a form online or call us at (314) 227-3932.

Set a Fruit Fly Trap

Once they have invaded and reproduced in your home, getting rid of fruit files can feel like a loosing battle.  Fortunately, there are some simple fruit fly traps that you can make yourself, often with things that you already have in the kitchen.  For one of the most effective DIY traps, mix together apple cider vinegar with a drop of dish soap in a deep bowl or mason jar.  The sweetness of the apple cider vinegar will attract the fruit flies, but the dish soap will decrease surface tension making it impossible for them to escape.  If you do not have apple cider vinegar on hand, red wine or balsamic vinegar will do the trick.

There are also a number of commercial products and traps that can be used to get rid of fruit flies in your home.  Keep in mind that these traps will eliminate the adult fruit flies but eggs may still be hatching in your kitchen.  By getting rid of old fruit that has been sitting out, you may likely be also removing the fruit fly eggs from your home.

Begin diligent about removing old food before it goes bad and keeping your kitchen drain free from food bits will go a long way to preventing a future fruit fly problem in your home.

About Woodard Cleaning & Restoration

Woodard was founded in 1946 by Earl and Nancy Woodard. Today, their grandson, Justin Woodard, is the third-generation president and CEO. Located in St. Louis, Missouri, Woodard began as a cleaning company and expanded to offer fire and water mitigation, mold remediation and reconstruction, as well as board-up, smoke restoration and hard surface cleaning. Woodard has the most capable employees in the industry! With a mission of Helping People Get Back to Their Lives, Woodard serves both residential and commercial clients in the greater metro area. Woodard takes pride in investing in their employees and is recognized by the St. Louis Post Dispatch as a Top Workplace. For information or questions submit a form online or call us at (314) 227-3932.

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Updated 7/21/2021