Five easy ways to wipe off fruit flies from your kitchen

Having a fruit flies infestation in your house is one of the common kitchen problems you will encounter. Fruit flies are small flies which are attracted to the smell of fermenting or spoilt food. They breed fast and can be tough to deal with, flying all over your kitchen.

While they seem harmless, you might want to get rid of them as they can contaminate uncovered foods by transferring pathogens from bad rotting food. The eggs of the fruit flies, which are laid in fermenting food masses and in water drainages, hatch into maggots within 24 to 30 hours.

This poses a huge problem eliminating them as new swarms keep merging from freshly laid eggs. There are some readily available products you can use to get rid of this annoying pests and their eggs once and for all

Apple cider vinegar trap

Pour a little amount of apple cider vinegar (ACV) into a jar, then cover with a rolled paper funnel. Fruit flies are attracted to the fermented smell vinegar emits. They will move into the jar but won’t be able to leave as the funnel only allows entry. This holds them back and they won’t move around your kitchen laying eggs and multiplying.

Vinegar and dish soap

Put an amount of ACV in an open jar and add several drops of your dishwashing soap. The fruit flies will be attracted to the vinegar and soap will keep them from scheming the surface. By breaking the surface tension of the mixture, soap will ensure they sink into the vinegar and after this you can be sure they won’t resurface.

Ripe fruit trap

Just like for vinegar and paper funnel, replace the vinegar with a very ripe fruit at the bottom of the jar. The ripened fruit’s smell will attract the fruit flies into the bottle and the funnel will keep them from leaving. Using a peeled and chopped fruit will attract the flies more efficiently.

Red wine

Your favourite end of the day drink could be the solution to the annoying fruit flies. Due to its sweet fruity smell, red wine attracts fruit flies in large numbers. Mix a bit of red wine with unscented dish washing soap and leave uncovered. The wine will draw them in while the soap keeps them drowned. Ensure your dishwashing soap isn’t scented to avoid masking the wine.

Milk, sugar, and pepper

Another easy to pull off way to rid of fruit flies is by simmering a bit of milk, sugar and ground pepper for at most 10 minutes. The resulting mixture attracts them and keeps them from taking off once they land on its surface.

One important point to remember though, cleaning your kitchen comes first in wiping fruit flies out. If you have moist neglected corners in your kitchen, fruit flies will always lay their fast hatching eggs hence the infestation will go on and on.