Fruit flies: tips to control & eliminate

Fruit flies are nothing but a nuisance. We show you how to get rid of them and how the flying pests don't even find their way into your four walls.

Whether you have the little flies in the fruit bowl, fruit flies, vinegar flies, fruit flies or Drosophila melanogaster calls, one thing is certain: They disturb us in everyday life and are accordingly so-called annoyances. This means that the fruit flies do not cause any direct damage, but we still do not want to find them in our apartment.

Fruit flies: this is how they get into the house

Sometimes you get the feeling that these flies appear out of nowhere. Unfortunately, we are often responsible for the plague of fruit flies in our home. We usually bring the fruit fly eggs home with us from the supermarket, because they are often already on vegetables or fruit. Then they just have to hatch and you have the tormentors in your four walls. If our fruits and vegetables are not stored correctly, we ourselves encourage the appearance of fruit flies.

The fruit flies also find their way into our living area through open windows and doors when they are attracted by special smells. The smell of very ripe fruit is attractive and the fruit flies also find the vinegar smell of damaged or rotten fruit and vegetables particularly attractive. Therefore, fruit flies are sometimes also called vinegar flies.

As soon as you have adult fruit flies in the house, they look for fermenting substances or liquids in order to feed and lay their eggs. The fruit flies are not only annoying, but can also be responsible for our fresh fruit rotting faster. Fruit flies are so-called hygiene pests. They run around on our food and in their breeding grounds and thus spread germs. When they lay their eggs, they spread germs and the rot takes hold of our fruit more quickly. In general, the fruit flies do not spread any germs that can be dangerous for us, but a larva of the fruit fly can easily become an involuntary side dish.

Keep fruit flies away and prevent plague

In order not to be surprised by a plague of fruit flies, you should pay attention to the following points:

• Examine fruit after shopping
  When you've brought your fruit home from the market, examine it for any bruises or injuries. It is precisely from these damaged areas that the fruit flies are attracted. It is best to use it right away.
• Correct storage
  Store your fruits under a cover or in the refrigerator.
• Empty trash cans often
  Organic waste in particular, but also residual and plastic waste, are breeding grounds for fruit flies. They are also attracted by the smell of the trash can.
• Thoroughly clean the drain
  Leftovers and unpleasant smells are not only emitted by the trash can. The little flies can happily multiply in the drain of the sink.
• Close the dishwasher
  Dirty dishes in the dishwasher can also be very attractive to fruit flies. You should therefore always keep it closed if there are dirty dishes in it and you do not want to turn it on yet.
• Ventilate often
  Since the fruit flies are attracted by sour, fermenting smells, it is advisable to ventilate the apartment more often. This is how these smells are removed from the rooms. Fly screens are very useful for preventing insects from entering when airing.
• Be attentive
  Leftovers on a plate in the sink, a forgotten apple or an open beverage bottle are enough to attract the little flies. Be careful and remove these things as soon as possible.

These tips should keep the little pests at bay. Basically, fermenting smells attract the little pests. Keep your surroundings clean and try to store your fruit in a shielded area (refrigerator, cover).

Eliminate and successfully control fruit flies

If the fruit flies do show up in your home, there are a few ways to get rid of them effectively. You can buy special traps for this or try home remedies.

Fruit fly trap

Since the fruit flies can be easily attracted, there are various traps for sale in drugstores, hardware stores and retail outlets. These traps contain an attractant, mostly vinegar-based, and are completely non-toxic. This can attract the fruit flies. These liquids are not insecticides, just fragrances designed to attract flies. There are also live traps into which you simply put a piece of fruit so that the fruit flies are attracted by it.

Furthermore, there are traps with glued surfaces, to which no flies will stick, and also traps with small holes, into which the fruit flies can climb and cannot find their way out. The disadvantage of glue traps is that you can only use them once, live traps are often reusable. You can do this too Yellow panels use from the garden. The fruit flies are attracted to the yellow paint and then stick to the sticky surface. The disadvantage of live traps is easy to see. What do you do with a mug full of fruit flies? Because if you leave them out outdoors, there is always the risk that they will find their way back into the house.

Plug-in fruit fly traps are also available in stores. These traps usually only have a limited function in the control of fruit flies. The principle of the plug traps is that they emit UV light and thereby attract the fruit flies. The animals are either killed by an electric shock or they stick to a film. When using these UV traps, it is also important that you do not infect them directly in your dining area. The dead flies are then under the plug - not an appetizing sight in the kitchen.

Other allies in the fight against fruit flies are carnivorous houseplants, for example the Venus flytrap. It is best to get several of these plants and place them near the swarms of flies. The plants have sticky drops, the smell of which attracts the flies. As soon as the plant snaps shut and has caught the fruit fly, it remains closed for a few days.

Fight fruit flies with home remedies

Often there is no need to purchase complicated and expensive traps in stores. You can often get rid of fruit flies effectively with home remedies and simply with things that you already have at home.

To attract fruit flies with vinegar: Put a mixture of vinegar, juice and a little sugar in a bowl and add a few drops of washing-up liquid. The fruit flies are attracted to the smell. The detergent ensures that the surface tension is lower, so that the fly is then submerged in the liquid. It is best to use a yellow peel, as this color is particularly attractive to fruit flies. To keep the flies from escaping, you can also put the liquid in a jar and drill a few holes in the lid. The flies will climb in and never find their way out.

Another bait is wine or champagne. The fruit flies are also attracted to this smell. So leave some wine in an opened (not too expensive) bottle and place it near your infestation of fruit flies. The flies will climb into the bottle and either drown in the liquid or never come out.

Home remedy 1: Catch fruit flies alive

For example, you can easily make a live trap. To do this, you take a glass, add a (fermenting) fruit and attach a paper funnel. The small flies are attracted by this and can no longer escape so easily.

Home remedy 2: suck up fruit flies with a vacuum cleaner

In the event of an acute infestation, you can also intervene with the vacuum cleaner and simply suck in the swarms of fruit flies. Since the fruit flies are relatively sluggish, this method works quite well for the first control. But empty the vacuum cleaner bag outdoors immediately, otherwise the flies may climb out again.

Home remedy 3: Repel fruit flies with smells

Fruit flies are also deterred by the intense smell of herbs, especially basil the fruit flies should not be able to smell good. How strong the defense effect really is has not been proven, but the herb pots also look great on your windowsill. The intense smell of cloves also scares off fruit flies. Spread a few cloves on the fruit plate and you will quickly see that the unwelcome guests are avoiding this area.

Fight fruit flies with an electric net bat

If you want to get rid of the fruit flies forever, you can also get an electric net bat. Such electric fly swatters work with batteries and generate an electrical voltage at the push of a button. They look like a tennis racket, instead of the normal network you will find wires that generate electrical voltage. Whenever you hit a fruit fly with this bat, you are electric killing the insect, so be careful when using it. Children in particular should not use these electric fly swatters.

Various plants can also help to repel flies. Here you can find an overview of Plants against flies.