How to Get Rid of Fruit Flies in Your Apartment

You don’t want any type of pest in your apartment, but fruit flies are especially annoying, and in the summer, they’re particularly prevalent. We are sharing how to get rid of fruit flies in your apartment and tips that will keep them from coming back.

What Are Fruit Flies?

Fruit flies are small flies, only about 1/8 of an inch long and have brown and black bodies. Their life cycle is incredibly short, going from an egg to an adult in around a week, but the biggest problem is how quickly and prolifically they reproduce. A female fruit fly will lay about 500 eggs at a time on moist, organic material. Once the eggs hatch, they feed on the material until they are able to fly.

Because of this, fruit flies are primarily found in residences, restaurants, and grocery stores, making their homes in drains, garbage disposals, trash cans, and even bowls of fruit sitting out on the counter.

How to Prevent Fruit Flies in Your Apartment

Fruit flies typically enter the home in one of two ways, either by entering through windows or doors or by infesting fruit or vegetables that are then brought into the home from the grocery store, farmer’s market, or other sources. To keep them from getting into your house, you need to eliminate what attracts them.

• Ripe produce should be eaten or stored in the refrigerator and thrown out once it becomes overly ripe.
• Clean spills immediately, especially any fruit or sugar-based items.
• Rinse juice, wine, cider, or beer containers when empty before discarding.
• Ensure windows have well-maintained screens free of holes that could allow flies to enter the home.
• Avoid leaving dirty dishes out overnight or for long periods.
• Use a trash can with a tight-fitting lid
• Run hot, soapy water down drains, especially if you have a garbage disposal.

Getting Rid of Fruit Flies in Your Apartment

If you notice swarms of tiny flies hovering around your sink or trash can, you have a harder mission ahead of you as getting rid of fruit flies can be tricky. However, it’s far from impossible!

Eliminate Areas Where Eggs Are Laid

Because fruit flies lay eggs where there is moist, organic matter, you need to eliminate these areas.

• Take out the trash regularly, especially if there are fruit and vegetable peels in the waste.
• Run a drain cleaner down the drain to remove any organic matter that has backed up in the drain to clear it away.
• Keep fruit and vegetables off the counter and put them away. If you don’t have a place to keep produce, wipe it down using a clean paper towel that has been sprayed with diluted apple cider vinegar (1 cup of water to 1 tablespoon of vinegar).
• Wipe down all surfaces in your kitchen using an all-purpose cleaner to eliminate any spilled food or drinks.

Make a Fruit Fly Trap

While you can buy fruit fly traps, you can also make your own in just a few minutes that will get rid of the pests overnight.

• Set a small mason jar on the counter with a few ounces of apple cider vinegar in it. Cover the opening of the jar with plastic wrap and poke a hole in it that’s no larger than the tip of an ink pen. The flies will fly into the hole but can’t get out.
• Set a small ramekin or saucer on the counter filled with sugar and soapy water.
• Put a piece of overly ripe fruit in the bottom of a jar, and put a paper funnel in the opening so that it’s wide at the top but tapers to a pin-size hole at the bottom. The flies can go down into the funnel but can’t come back out.

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