How to Get Rid of Fruit Flies
Tiny flies around the fruit bowl? Here's how to trap the ones you see and stop the next batch from hatching.
Traps catch adults. Cleaning stops the next batch.
A fruit fly lays hundreds of eggs on ripening fruit and moist, fermenting gunk, and the next generation hatches in about a week. Traps alone won't win: you have to remove where they're breeding, then trap what's left. Do both and they're usually gone within a week.
FIXGet rid of fruit flies
Do them in order.
- Throw out or refrigerate overripe fruit and vegetables (check onions and potatoes in the pantry for a rotten one).
- Empty and rinse the kitchen bin and recycling. Rinse bottles and cans before recycling them.
- Wipe up spills under the fridge, toaster and around the stove, and check for a forgotten sticky mop or wet sponge.
- Pour a kettle of hot water down each sink drain (use hot tap water, not boiling, for plastic or older pipes).
- Scrub inside the drain opening with a brush to remove the slimy film they breed in.
- Check: tape a clear plastic bag over the drain overnight. Flies inside in the morning mean the drain needs more cleaning.
- Pour about half an inch of apple cider vinegar into a jar or glass.
- Add one drop of dish soap. It breaks the surface tension, so flies that land sink.
- Cover with plastic wrap held by a rubber band, and poke a few small holes with a toothpick. Or roll paper into a funnel and set it in the jar's mouth.
- Place traps near where you see flies: by the fruit bowl, bin and sink.
No vinegar? A splash of red wine, old beer, or a piece of very ripe banana works too.
- Empty and refill traps every day or two.
- Keep fruit in the fridge or covered until the flies are gone.
- Take out the trash daily for a week to break the breeding cycle.
Something is still breeding them. Check under appliances, the dishwasher filter, potted plants (those may be fungus gnats), and the drain bag test again. If they hover around drains in a bathroom, you may have drain flies: scrub the drain and pour in an enzyme drain cleaner.
FAQCommon questions
Where do fruit flies come from?
They're attracted by the smell of ripening fruit, and often arrive as eggs or larvae on produce from the store.
Why isn't my vinegar trap working?
Add a drop of dish soap if you haven't, make the holes small, and put it right next to where they gather. Without soap, flies can land and leave.
Are fruit flies harmful?
They don't bite, but they can carry bacteria from garbage onto food, so it's worth getting rid of them.
Fruit flies or fungus gnats?
Fruit flies are tan with red eyes and hang around fruit and bins. Fungus gnats are dark and slender and hover around houseplant soil; let the soil dry out between waterings.