How to Get Rid of Fruit Flies

These tiniest of pests to invade your home, can also be some of the most annoying. They appear out of nowhere, and might seem hard to get rid of. At least until you consider the sources.

There are actually a group of similar looking flies, which tend to be lumped together as fruit flies. But others may be coming from drains, or stagnant water such as a pail of dirty water left standing, or a wet mop that wasn't washed and dried.

The true fruit fly, is attracted by moist, decaying vegetable matter. This can be anything from the overripe bananas on your counter, to the bin where you have been keeping compostable materials that are taken out to the heap, every night.

While you can use pesticide sprays to get rid of the adults flying around your kitchen, the best idea is to get rid of the source. That means regular dumping and complete cleaning of garbage cans and waste containers that are holding any kind of moist garbage. This is particularly important in hot, humid weather that accelerates the decay of materials, and thus the reproductive cycle of the fruit fly, which averages 6-10 days.

If it is summer, move your container for kitchen scraps outside. Even if you have a tightly sealed can or bucket, the flies are in there and just waiting to take off when you open the top to put something else in. This allows adults to escape and seek other sources of food, such as exposed and ripening fruits, vegetables, and even glasses of soda, or other sweet drinks.

When this isn't practical, or if you have only the one garbage container and it must stay indoors, make sure you do have a pesticide suitable for fruit flies, and spray the surface of the contents several times a day, and empty the container as soon as possible.