If you’re like most people, then you don’t find fruit flies particularly pleasant. That’s why, if you see them in your apartment, you might feel the urge to get rid of them before they become a bigger issue. Fruit flies can be especially bothersome since they multiply rapidly, which can mean approximately 500 eggs near your ripe fruit in about a week.
Although fruit flies are more common during the warmer months, they can enter your apartment at any time of year. Below, you can find four tips for handling fruit flies in your apartment.
1. Fly tape
One easy way to get rid of fruit flies in an apartment is to catch them with fly tape, also known as fly paper or fly ribbons. After hanging insect tape, fruit flies may be drawn to the often brightly-colored tape, which is strongly adhesive and gives fruit flies no escape. Many fly tape products are affordable and can be found at drug stores or department stores. They can be a great alternative to insect sprays that include smelly, poisonous ingredients.
2. Store-bought traps
Many simple yet effective fruit fly traps that can eradicate an infestation are available in stores and online marketplace places. You can find non-toxic reusable fruit fly traps that you can fill with a solution or liquid such as apple cider vinegar. These traps are usually made with a funnel that allows fruit flies to enter yet prevents them from exiting, and they can often substantially reduce a fruit fly population within just days. After 30 days, it is recommended that the trap be cleaned.
If you prefer a more modern store-bought trap, you can find ultraviolet (UV) fan insect traps online or in department stores. Fruit flies will be attracted to the trap’s UV light and then get sucked up by its fan, which leads to an inescapable adhesive. Whether you get a modern-looking UV insect trap or a container trap, you can use fruit fly traps safely near food and hopefully put an end to your pesky fruit fly infestation.
3. Homemade traps
If you want to get rid of fruit flies in your apartment without spending extra money on traps, you can trap fruit flies using materials around your kitchen. Flypaper can be an effective homemade trap and is easy to make. First, mix equal parts of corn syrup, sugar, and water in a saucepan and heat it up. Next, saturate paper bag strips with the mixture and dry the strips on a drying rack stacked on a cookie sheet. After your flypaper is dry to the touch, you can hang the dry strips near an area where there are multiple fruit flies.
You can make easy fruit fly traps with solutions in a bowl or skinny-necked bottle. For example, if you pour a mixture of vinegar and a few drops of dish soap into an uncovered bowl, fruit flies will be attracted to the vinegar and get caught in the solution. Fruit flies are also attracted to wine and stale beer.
4. How to prevent flies in the first place
There are several ways you can avoid an apartment fruit fly infestation in the first place. Since fruit flies congregate around fruit, you can avoid fruit flies by keeping ripe fruit refrigerated. Not only are fruit flies attracted to fermenting fruit, but they are attracted to all fermented foods. To further prevent fruit flies in your apartment, it’s important to clean your sink and take out your garbage more regularly. With these preventative measures in place alongside effective fruit fly traps, you can decrease your chances of fruit flies proliferating in your apartment.
