How to remove fruit flies from your kitchen — Mary’s student essay
How To Remove Fruit Flies From Your Kitchen?
Are there fruit flies in your kitchen? If so, there are many do it yourself hacks to get rid of them. First off, its important to understand how and why fruit flies show up and why it seems like they come out of nowhere in huge swarms. See these flies live off of any moist fermented surface and can lay up to five hundred eggs at once, so if one appears, there is a huge likelihood that dozens more will follow.
The term “moist fermented surface” may appear pretty self explanatory, but in truth, this phrase encompasses many different surfaces. This can mean anything from ripened fruits and vegetables to moist towels and mops to empty bottles, cans, trash bags, and even inside dirty drains and garbage disposals, and they probably have laid eggs on or in many of those surfaces.
Its not difficult for them to get into a house either. These pests can sneak in through cracked or open doors and windows, and more often than not, there are already fruit fly larvae on the fruit and vegetables that you buy at the grocery store or pull from the garden.
There are many different methods to remove fruit flies. One option is to buy a pre-made fruit fly trap such as the Terro Fruit Fly Trap, or you can use a generic fly or insect trap such as flypaper or UV insect traps. Others prefer a DIY option that can be put together quickly from typical kitchen ingredients and tools.
Many of these methods include a trap with a substance that they are attracted to as the bait; sometimes the substance is the trap too, such as in the cases of honey, agave, or maple syrup. Other foods that could be used include lemons or limes, apple cider vinegar, brown bananas, or even some kinds of alcohol. One typical trap is constructed by putting the bait inside of a jar or some other type of container and using a piece of paper to create a funnel leading to the inside of the jar. Similarly using a layer of cling wrap with small holes poked through it, you can cover the jar to make it more difficult for them to get out. Another option is to fill a wine bottle or a shot glass with part dawn soap and part apple cider vinegar, the soap trapping them with its stickiness.
The true feat to get rid of fruit flies permanently is in preventing their return. To test your drains to find out of there are fruit flies breeding inside your pipes, tape plastic wrap over them, and if after a couple days there are adult flies underneath, you need to clean your pipes.
This can be done by pouring boiling water, baking soda, and vinegar down them. After this, its important to clean up the kitchen and get rid of anything that attracts them from returning. Clean the drips pans, under the stove, under the lip of the kitchen sink, and check underneath the refrigerator as well as sealed jars of jelly or fruit to clean up any hidden remains of food or sugary substances that attract them. Washing fruit when you bring it home and then keeping it in the fridge can get rid of any larvae and slow its ripening.