How to Get Rid of Fruit Flies

To get rid of fruit flies, remove everything they breed in (ripe fruit, spills, trash residue, drain slime) and catch the adults with a jar of apple cider vinegar and one drop of dish soap. Do both on the same day and most kitchens are fly-free in 3 to 7 days.

Skip either half and it fails. Traps alone catch adults while new ones hatch from a forgotten onion; cleaning alone leaves the existing adults to lay eggs somewhere new. Here is the full plan.

Step 1: Remove the breeding source (the part people skip)

Fruit fly larvae live inside fermenting food and slime. Spend 20 minutes on this:

• Fruit bowl: move ripe produce to the fridge; compost or bag anything soft or split.
• Pantry: dig to the bottom of potato and onion bins. One rotten potato can produce hundreds of flies.
• Trash and recycling: take them out, wash the can and especially the underside of the lid, rinse bottles and cans.
• Spills: pull the fridge kick plate and wipe under it; check under the dishwasher and around the coffee maker.
• Rags and sponges: wash or replace; let mops dry.
• Bottles: cap wine, vinegar, kombucha, and juice tightly.

Step 2: Set traps

The vinegar trap that works:

1. Small jar or glass.
2. About 1/2 inch of apple cider vinegar (it smells like fermenting fruit; white vinegar is weaker).
3. One teaspoon of sugar, optional.
4. One drop of dish soap. It breaks the surface tension so flies sink. Too much soap masks the smell and the trap stops working.
5. Optional: cover with plastic wrap and poke 4 to 6 small holes, or roll a paper funnel into the mouth.

Put two or three traps where you see the most flies: next to the fruit bowl, by the sink, near the trash. Replace every 3 to 4 days. Cooks on the Hungry Onion forum report that covered traps catch far more than open ones, and that a splash of red wine works as well as vinegar.

Other traps that work:

• Wine or beer dregs in the bottom of a bottle; the narrow neck keeps flies in.
• Ripe banana in a jar with a paper funnel; flies go in and cannot find the way out.
• Store-bought traps with a liquid lure; handy and cheap ($5–$10, approximate). Compared in fruit fly traps.
• Yellow sticky cards catch some, though fruit flies prefer the vinegar.

Step 3: Clean the drains

Fruit flies often breed in the slime of kitchen sink drains and garbage disposals. If flies hover over the sink, tape clear tape over the drain overnight; flies on the tape confirm it.

1. Remove the sink stopper and scrub as far down as you can with a stiff pipe brush.
2. Run the disposal with ice and a cut lemon, then scrub under the rubber splash guard.
3. Pour in an enzyme or bacterial drain cleaner at night for several nights.

Boiling water alone rarely clears it; the slime clings to the pipe walls.

Step 4: Knock down the adults (optional)

• Vacuum: a handheld vacuum picks up flies resting on walls and ceilings.
• Spray: a flying-insect aerosol with pyrethrins kills adults on contact. Read the label, cover food and dishes, and do not spray toward pets or aquariums. Spray only buys time; it does nothing for the larvae.
• Electric fly swatter: satisfying, mostly cosmetic.

How long does it take?

Expect a big drop in 24 to 48 hours once traps are out and sources are gone. Late-hatching larvae keep emerging for about a week. Keep one trap out for two more weeks after you see the last fly; if it starts catching again, there is still a source.

What does not work

• Foggers and bug bombs: larvae survive inside food and drains, and you have to clear the kitchen of food.
• Bleach down the drain: flows past the slime layer and is harsh on pipes and septic systems.
• Plain vinegar with no soap: flies land, drink, and leave.
• Cloudy or dark liquids: some people find cola or coffee traps catch less than clear vinegar.
• Basil, mint, or essential oil sprays: no good evidence they repel fruit flies indoors.

Getting rid of fruit flies in the bathroom

If you see small flies in the bathroom with no food around, they are most often drain flies (fuzzy gray, moth-like). Fruit flies there point to a slimy sink or shower drain, a wastebasket with food in it, or a leak behind the toilet. Clean the drain as in Step 3.

Keep them from coming back

• Refrigerate ripe produce from late July through October.
• Wash fruit when you bring it home to remove eggs.
• Rinse recycling and take trash out every couple of days.
• Scrub the sink drain monthly.
• Check window screens for tears.

If fruit flies return over and over, see why you have fruit flies for less obvious sources.