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How to Easily Get Rid of FruitFlies Once and For All

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One day, you're in the kitchen, and there's a fly buzzing around. A few days later, you've got a room full of them, and no matter what you do, they won't go away. Fruit flies can't bite, but they are annoying, and they can spread disease. They can show up anywhere inside your home, but they're most common in the kitchen. And it can happen any time of year, but they tend to rear their ugly head more often during the summer. If you've got fruit flies, take these steps to get rid of them once and for all:

Take Steps to Prevent Them

First of all, if you know you have a problem every late spring, summer or fall, take steps to prevent the flies from showing up in the first place. Disinfect your sink regularly with bleach, as the combination of the water and rotting food attract the flies to your kitchen more than anything else. don't leave unwrapped food sitting around on your counters, especially anything sweet, like fruit and baked goods. Keep your counters cleaned and disinfected, especially if someone in your home spilled food on them, and swap out your dish towels and cleaning cloths daily.

Clean Up Your Kitchen

If the flies have already taken over for the summer, you'll still want to do everything in step one, but you'll have to put in a little more effort. The first thing to do is clean up so the flies don't have food and water sources. Be sure to wash any fruits and vegetables you've brought in from a farmer's market or your own garden, as they may have fly eggs on them, and they can hatch while you're waiting to eat them. Throw away any wet paper towels you have sitting around, and go ahead and switch out your wet towels and dish cloths. Clean any dishes sitting around, and put away any food. Clean out your sink with bleach. Check your non-refrigerated storage areas and pantry for any produce that may be rotting, such as bananas or potatoes. If it is, throw it away, and take the garbage out.

Create a Homemade Fly Trap

Now that you've cleaned your kitchen and know what sort of daily habits you'll need to keep the space fly-free, it's time to trap the flies that are already there. Most of the time, you can do this with items you probably already have around the house. Fill a Mason jar with about an inch of either red wine or apple cider vinegar. Mash up a banana in the liquid, and squirt a few drops of dishwashing soap in it. Next, make a cone out of a sheet of paper, and place it into the top of the jar with the widest part at the top. This mixture will attract the flies, prevent them from escaping and kill them.

Try a Store-Bought Fly Trap

Most of the time, the homemade fly trap will work, but if you're not comfortable making it, don't have time or you have an abundance of flies despite creating the trap, there are some store-bought options. There are several options on the market, but if you want to keep it safe and natural since the flies are likely in the same area where you eat, try Aunt Fannie's FlyPunch. It's safe to have around food, kids and pets, and it's made from all natural ingredients. You just open the jar, and it will work its magic on those pesky flies. You may also consider buying a fly strip, such as the Fruit Fly BarPro, to hang from a cabinet. If you really want to get natural, consider investing in a few carnivorous plants that actually trap and eat flies, like a sundew plant.

Keep Some Natural Repellant Around the Kitchen

Once you've cleaned, trapped the flies and learned how to change your habits to help prevent them from coming back, you may want to take it a step further by adding some natural repellents to your kitchen. Fresh herbs, like basil and rue, work wonders. Some farmers even hang them in chicken coops to keep flies away. You may also want to try using some essential oils. Basil oil works, obviously, but so do lavender, cedar and lemongrass. The stronger the scent the better. Not only will these repellents get rid of flies, but They'll make your kitchen smell fresh and pleasant too.