Need Advice on Getting Rid of Fruit Flies

wash fruits thoroughly and immediately when returning from grocery store. Many times the fruit flies are coming home with us and we can't notice because the eggs are there. Do not use citrus scented air freshners, we found that a can of glade citrus was covered with fruitflies left on the sun porch. can't say if that was from sticky hands on the can prior or not, but also wipe kitchen surfaces down well with clorox clean up and keep fruit in the refrigerator if you can. may not be the answer, but is worth a try. discard eaten fruit and peelings into garbage by tying in a plastic bag first and then discard into garbage can. Remember that potatoes make fruit flies (veggies) too.

Maybe the two of them (your parents) are just sweet as honey. If they are in this case, you can do nothing with the fruit flies.(smile)
Good luck to you.

I have not tried it yet, but I have read that if you mix red wine with dishing soap in a small bowl, and just place it near the fruits kills all the flies.
Please try it and let us know if it really works.
Good luck!

Place a piece of fruit (bananas work great) in a small bowl or cup with plastic wrap over the top. Poke a few small holes in it. Fruit flies get in, but they can't get out. It's the most natural way that I can think of to get rid of them...kind of gross emptying it out though. Good luck!

Get rid of any decaying fruit. Important to wash fruits and veggies when you bring it home, then store in the fridge or on the counter.
A glass or small dish of wine will atract any bugs in the kitchen (or even outside now that we are in "bug season") which keeps them from biting us...

My sister-in-law told me this and it worked for me. Just get a bug spray then spray the baseboards and the crown molding and they will go away. Also, if they have a fish take make sure the filter is changed every six months some times they will start there.

Good Luck

W. T.

Hi V.,

We're just getting over this very problem. They're so hard to get rid of. I put a bowl with red wine and banana on the counter and covered the bowl tighly with saran wrap.Then I used a fork to put holes in the top of the saran wrap. The flies will get stuck in the bowl You can catch a bunch this way. For the ones you see that have landed on a surface, you can use a water spray bottle and spray them really good. The water weighs them down and they can't fly away, then you can smush (sp?) them. For the ones that just keep escaping, we ended up calling Orkin and they put something down the drain. So far so good. Tell your parents to be patient because it takes a while to get rid of them. We no longer keep fruit on the counter. Good luck.

Hi, I had these soo bad for awhile. I put vinegar down the drain and that helped while I took a piece of cut up orange and put it in a zip lock baggie left open by the sink. After the orange warmed up the fruit flies go into the bag and then when you get a bunch just grab the bag while sealing it and then squish the bugs and repeat using the same bag as the dead bugs attract even more fruit flies. Sounds gross but it works-it eleminates the existing fruit flies while the vinegar keeps more from coming. I tried soo many different sprays and none worked. Good luck and let me know if this works. S.

Hi V.,
I just saw this on yahoo and remembered your request. Hope this helps!

Fruit flies

Clean up any ripe fruit droppings and take out the trash (or if you are a green superstar, your compost!) nightly for a few days -- fruit flies lay their eggs in overripe fruit.

Apple cider vinegar is a great natural way to get rid of fruit flies. Pour some into a glass, and place a paper funnel over the container. Fruit flies love the smell and will fly into the glass, but will not find their way back out the funnel (for 4 of 5 fruit flies...).

Leave a glass of cheap wine (apparently, fruit flies particularly like chardonnay) out. Mix a bit of detergent in it. The flies will sip on it and die shortly thereafter.

Make your own fly paper by boiling water, sugar, and corn syrup together. Spread the mixture on brown paper grocery bags and wait for the flies to stick.

Suck up flies through the back of an old hair dryer. The flies will go in the hot back end of the dryer and fry.

Basil deters fruit flies. Mix some basil oil with water and spray your kitchen.

http://green.yahoo.com/blog/huddlergreenhome/38/cheap-and...

Similiar to the wine solution...Apple Cider Vinegar + a drop or two of dishwash liquid, stir, place in a cup on counter or where you are seeing them most. It really does work, took care of my problem quickly! Since we don't drink I didn't want to spend money on wine I would not use.