Getting Rid of Fruit Flies! - Littleton,NH

Updated on July 06, 2011
A.F. asks from Littleton, NH
18 answers

YUCK! I've always had the occassional fruit fly but it seems like my kitchen area is overrun! I've never seen so many and it's giving me the creeps! I have ALL the food put away, the trash is changed all the time (today I changed it and it didn't even need it but I couldn't find the source!). So, smart mamas, I need HELP!! How do I get rid of these things? Thanks Ladies!!

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So What Happened?

I'm off to the store for some red wine and apple cider vinegar! You ladies are the best! Thannk you!!!

Featured Answers

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E.C.

answers from Hartford on

I know this one! LOL! apple cider vinegar in a shot glass with a couple of drops of Dawn liquid dish detergent. You will see the flies at the bottom of the glass!

1 mom found this helpful
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D.M.

answers from Boston on

The tip we got from an email works well (sorry if this is repeated in previous posts). Take a small glass, put in 2 parts apple cider (or some other real fruit juice if you don't have cider), 1 part vinegar, and one squirt of liquid dishwashing detergent. They will all end up in the bottom of the glass, I used it all last summer, changed it out a few times, worked great! Good luck!

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T.B.

answers from Bloomington on

Set out a small glass of cider vinegar, it attracts them and they drown.

3 moms found this helpful
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S.B.

answers from Redding on

Fruit flies are wine-o's.
Get a bottle of the cheapest stuff you can find. A full bottle lasts a while. I pour some in glass coca cola bottles and leave them around. They fly in, get tipsy, and can't get back out.
I have found they prefer red wine. The crappier and cheaper the better.
:)

2 moms found this helpful
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M.B.

answers from Austin on

I'm having problems with fruit flies, as well.

I just poured maybe 1/2 c cider vinegar in a bowl, and a drop of dishwashing liquid.

The apple cider vinegar attracts the fruit flies, they land on the cider vinegar, but the dishwashing liquid disrupts the surface tension, so they quickly sink and drown.

There are a BUNCH (50-100, maybe?) in there already, and it has been just an hour or so.

1 mom found this helpful
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C.K.

answers from San Antonio on

If you don't have any live plants in the kitchen they are probably in your sink drain. Clean your sink drains, and garbage disposal if you have one, very well. Wipe out the drain with a clean cloth then dump some baking soda down the drain into the pipe. Follow that with vinegar to clean the pipes.

Also, set a dish with vinegar in it in the sink and another on the counter. They will be attracted to it and die.

If you have live plants in the kitchen check to see if any of them have fruit flies on them. Sometimes soil that is too wet will attract them. If they are on the plant, set it outside to dry out some and most of the flies will disappear. Bring it back in and set a dish with vinegar in it to clear up the rest.

1 mom found this helpful
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M.B.

answers from Portland on

Put out a small jar with apple cider vinegar (about 2 tbsp) top the jar with Saran wrap. Poke small pin holes in the top, an put a rubber band around the the rim to hold down the Saran wrap. The fruit flies will be attracted to the vinegar and fly in get trapped and die (drown). Replace weekly or sooner if you need to. Hope this works for your problem!

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K.G.

answers from Burlington on

I see that you've gotten quite afew answers already, but my method is some sugar water with some dish detergent in it...place it in the busiest area, and give it a few days. Their life cycle is not very long, so if you have removed the source (check for stray potatoes that may be rotting in a cabinet) they won't last long.

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D.

answers from Houston on

They breed in the p-traps of your drains. Put about 1/2 a cup of ammonia in all of your sinks, tubs & showers without diluting for a while. GL

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T.H.

answers from Boston on

We keep a sonic pest-repellant (it makes a sound that we can't hear and pests hate) plugged in right next to our fruit bowl. We discovered this by accident: my husband was in the kitchen testing them out to use on the squirrels in the attic, and we noticed that when he plugged them in, the fruit flies we had buzzing around the fruit bowl moved to the other side of the kitchen. Clean everything out, then get one of these babies to keep them at bay. :)

C.O.

answers from Washington DC on

I get fruit flies when I let my bananas go "ripe" for muffins...

I try to keep them down by keeping the fruit in a ziploc bag instead of out in the open...

Fruit flies are attracted to fruit. Store all of your fruit in the refrigerator until you get rid of them...do not let your fruit get too ripe...if you can store them in a bag, do so.

I've heard about the cider vinegar...but haven't personally used it..

good luck!

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J.R.

answers from San Diego on

I've also heard the thing about red wine and/or cider vinegar, but I was told to put a drop of dish soap in it.

T.F.

answers from Dallas on

We had this problem over the weekend. After looking up solutions online... we tried the red wine and drop of dish soap and apple cider vinegar and drop of dish soap.

I was shocked at how it worked. Both bowls were loaded with dead fruit flies the next morning!

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S.O.

answers from Oklahoma City on

Orange juice works too! I left a cup out overnight once and there were 3 fruit flies in there in the morning :)

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K.H.

answers from Phoenix on

We used red wine instead of cider vinegar. Same concept. Works like a charm.

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P.B.

answers from Boston on

Make a vinegar trap (google it). It works amazingly well! I caught about 25 flies in an hour once!

S.T.

answers from Kansas City on

put the cider vineger in a small cup or bowl, cover it with plastic wrap and poke a few very little holes in it..they get in get stuck and end up drowning...works every time

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M.K.

answers from Boston on

I use the cheap red wine trick and it works every time!

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