How to Exterminate Fruit Flies When Fruit Is Not the Problem

Find the attraction of fruit flies and you can exterminate them.

Fruit flies are tiny, flying insects that have an attraction to overly ripe fruit and vegetables, as well as wine, beer and soda. Fruit flies will breed in any of these locations, so in order to exterminate them, you have to find the source of their attraction. Common places where fruit flies breed besides decaying fruit: rotten potatoes, onions, garbage cans, food debris in garbage disposals, recycling bins, and even mops and cleaning rags. If your home has any sources of moisture or fermentation, fruit flies might congregate there. Once you locate the breeding spots, you can start the extermination process with a homemade fruit fly trap. It may take two weeks or longer, but they will eventually die off.

Things You'll Need

• Pint jar
• 1/3 cup warm water
• Package of activated dry yeast
• 1 tsp. sugar
• Small plastic sandwich bag
• Rubber band or canning ring

Instructions

1. Walk through your kitchen and other areas and look for fermenting foods, drinks or any source where fruit flies might gather. Clean the garbage disposal, the bottoms of garbage cans, the recycling bin and underneath appliances. Check mops, sponges and buckets for moisture and clean them thoroughly. Fix any holes in screens where fruit flies have a route into the house. Once you find and clean the places where the fruit flies gather, make your fruit fly trap.

2. Measure and pour the warm water into a pint jar. Add the package of activated dry yeast to the warm water and add the sugar to it. Stir the mixture around to activate the yeast, which creates a foam that the fruit flies like because of the carbon dioxide release.

3. Cover the jar with the plastic bag and leave one corner of the bag down inside the jar. Put the rubber band or canning ring around the plastic bag and poke a small hole in the center of the bag. Make sure the hole is tiny enough so the fruit flies get trapped inside of the jar. The fruit flies will crawl into the trap right away and have a hard time finding a way back out. They stay the most active during the day, so keep the trap on the counter continuously for best results.

4. Dump the contents of the trap into the toilet or sink after a week because the female fruit flies lay eggs which turn into maggots. The maggots will feed off the yeast and crawl up the side of the jar to pupate and turn into tiny fruit flies. A small number of these new fruit flies may find their way out, so play it safe and make a new trap if you see any remaining fruit flies. Flush the sink thoroughly if you pour the mixture in it to make sure all larvae wash into the sewer system.

References

• University of Nebraska: Fruit Fly Trap

Resources

• University of Kentucky College of Agriculture: Fruit Flies