Every spring my home gets invaded by fruit flies, and not just when I’m peeling fruit in the kitchen or making a salad. They gather by my kitchen and bathroom sinks; attracted by the scented soaps on top. If I snack on anything sweet in the living room or by my computer, they hover there, too. I’ve deduced that exposed fruit in just one room initially attracts them, but once they’re in the house, they fly to other rooms to find more sweets. I’ve tried various methods to get rid of or kill them, but now I only use the best one, because it always works, and lasts as long as I want.
It’s chemical free, simple, inexpensive, and I don’t have to keep working at it. I don’t have to keep my fruits constantly covered, seal up holes in my walls, or wash everything in sight, as some folks recommend. And when I’m entertaining guests, nobody suspects that as we speak, I’m killing fruit flies.
So how can you get rid of and kill them? All you’ll need is a couple empty jars with wide mouths (such as from jelly, and they needn’t be tall), some plastic wrap, regular dishwashing detergent, and apple cider vinegar (specifically apple cider!). One side benefit: Apple cider vinegar is delicious when making cole slaw! I use the Bragg’s brand because it’s organic, raw, unpasteurized, and flavorful. But I digress…
Simply put 1 tablespoon of dish detergent into each jar, add 3 tablespoons of vinegar, and slosh them around a bit. Then stretch a baggie, a plastic bag grocers supply for carrying produce home, or any plastic across the top of the jar. Before cutting it off, make sure you leave enough plastic to completely cover the top of the jar, and to drape over the sides. Then secure the plastic around the mouth of the jar with a rubber band. Next, use the tip of a knife, or anything with a sharp end, to punch several small holes in the plastic. Since you can only kill and get rid of fruit flies if they get inside, I stretch the top plastic again to ensure that it’s really tight.
Don’t want your handiwork visible? Although I use colored detergent, I think it’s best to use clear jars and clear plastic so I can readily see the results. But if you prefer, you can decorate yours, or use decorated jars. Some people glue fabric around the sides.
Where to put your jars the first day–vital: When I initially tried this, fruit flies had congregated around my kitchen sink, in the waste basket I keep in the cabinet underneath it, and around a platter of bananas on my kitchen table. First I washed the cabinet around the sink and the sink itself, including my metal strainer and around the inside of the drain. Then I put a jar of my concoction on the cabinet, right next to the sink. (Some suggest taking the drain apart and cleaning it far down inside, but that proved to be unnecessary. Others suggest pouring bleach down your drain, but I didn’t.) Within minutes, flies were landing, going through the holes in the plastic to get into the jar, and they couldn’t get out. They ended up floating on the bottom. Next I washed inside the cabinet, and after throwing away the used garbage bag, washed the waste basket and put in a new bag.
My last step was washing the bananas and platter on the table. I put the bananas in the refrigerator overnight so they’d stop attracting flies. (They still were yellow the next day.) My second jar went where the bananas had been, and sure enough, flies that still were in that area began flocking in, too.
The second day and beyond: I refused to be kept hostage by fruit flies, so the next day I kept my screen door open as usual, and put the bananas back on the table on the same platter. More flies went into the jar, but only a few flew near the bananas. Several days later, none were there anymore, so I moved the jar from the table to a nearby shelf. I kept the other jar on my kitchen counter, because for that area, that was the best place: Flies stopped going into the garbage underneath.
Since then I’ve been able to do work with fruit or eat anything without having to brush away flies. Occasionally, if there’s a particularly hot spell, I’ll see a few circling any exposed overly-ripe fruits on the table, but I merely move the jar back to the table for a day or so, and that gets rid of and kills them. For the one on top of the sink, replacing the used bag underneath and leaving the jar on top is sufficient. Any flies in there go out to my jar. Also, my bathroom and other rooms remain fly free. They prefer my jars in the kitchen. Overall, I no longer see any, although I know some still enter my house because they build up in my jars.
Vegetables: Important! Avocados and tomatoes aren’t veggies; they’re fruits! The big pit in avocados is a seed. And biologically, the mature ovaries in tomatoes contain seeds. See http://www.ccmr.cornell.edu/education/ask/index.html?quid=653
Note-stay healthy! Avocadoes help us absorb the lycopene in tomatoes, and the carotenoids in carrots, spinach and lettuce, so eating them together works best. For a better explanation, see my article http://voices.yahoo.com/best-fruits-help-lower-high-blood-pressure-naturally-5798470.html and for the Most Nutritious Lettuce and Vegetables for Salads, see http://voices.yahoo.com/healthiest-most-nutritious-lettuce-vegetables-for-3436388.html?cat=5.
Conclusion: Being from Minnesota, I put my jars out as soon as I see fruit flies congregating (spring) to get rid of their main source. If I double the ingredients, I’m able to use the original concoction until it gets cold, then start over the next year. Depending on where you live, you may need to keep your jars out year-round. But this is the best method. It invariably attracts and kills them.
