Why Does My House Have a Fruit Fly Infestation

Are you dealing with a fruit fly infestation? You aren’t the only one if so. During the summer months, especially, fruit flies tend to make kitchens their new homes. If you see a ton of fruit flies around your home and your kitchen, there could be a couple of reasons why. 

So, why are there so many fruit flies in your house? The most likely cause is that your home has some overly ripe or rotting fruit. As their name suggests, fruit flies are drawn to sweet fruits like bananas, apples, and more. Fruit flies are also attracted to fermented drinks and foods, like beers or pickles. 

I recently went out of town for an extended period, and when I came home, my kitchen was abuzz with a whole family of fruit flies. My housemate had left the fruit out for a bit too long, and our bananas and apples were utterly rotten. The fruit flies concentrated near the fruit, but they had moved to other areas in the house. Even my room had a few fruit flies. It was not ideal. It took a few days, but I eventually rid our home of the pesky fruit fly problem using some of the methods we will discuss later in this article. 

Not Sure If It’s a Fruit Fly Infestation? 

Fruit flies are a considerable nuisance, and they tend to find themselves in all of your food, not just the rotten fruit. However, it may be hard to identify if you’re having a fruit fly problem since other pests look and behave similarly.

For example, some may get confused between drain flies and fruit flies. Drain flies are drawn to shallow standing water (like that in your kitchen or bathtub drain), but they also can contaminate and food and be drawn to rotten fruit. Drain flies have a different shape than fruit flies, however, and are darker and fuzzier. 

Fruit flies typically have a light color, and their body is similar to an ant but with enormous eyes. Fruit flies are tiny but hugely annoying. They also have the potential to cause damage to the rest of your pantry.

Once you’ve identified a fruit fly infestation, you will want to start attempting to put a stop to their breeding in your kitchen and home as soon as you can. Be sure to store all of your food in airtight containers during this time, and be sure to keep a sharp eye on fruits or bread. I also recommend cleaning your sink, drain, and garbage disposal weekly to ensure fruit flies are not making these areas their homes (and eating any waste left there). 

How Do You Get Rid of a Fruit Fly Infestation?

Fruit flies reproduce quickly, and it can be challenging to rid your home of these pesky invaders. Female fruit flies lay up to 100 eggs daily. Not only that, but it only takes 24 hours for these eggs to hatch! This breeding pattern is the key to why houses can go from zero fruit flies to hundreds the next day. The only way to truly eliminate a fruit fly infestation is to find and eradicate all of their breeding spaces. 

You may be asking, “How am I supposed to do that?”. Fair question – it’s not an easy undertaking. There are many options when it comes to getting rid of fruit flies.

Get Rid of Fruit Flies Using a Pest Control Expert

One option is to get a pest control expert to come to your home and perform a professional investigation. If your fruit fly infestation is pretty concerning, we would recommend going with this option.

Hiring professionals to help you get rid of any bug infestation is a great idea. Even if you hire a pest control company to help you with a fruit fly infestation, it’s still important to figure out where they are breeding and what is drawing them into the house. Understanding these points will help you prevent future problems with fruit flies.

A great way to figure out where they could be breeding is by covering openings to the sink, drain, and plastic like a plastic bag. If you catch several, then it’s likely there are adult fruit flies breeding in that area. 

Getting Fruit Flies Out Of The Drain 

As we mentioned above, fruit flies often breed in the sink drain. We talked about how to determine if the fruit flies are breeding in an area above. Once you think that the drain is the culprit area, you can begin some treatments to help ensure that breeding in that area stops. You’re going to want to ensure that whatever you use is drain and sink-friendly.

While urban legend says that bleach is enough to fix the problem, I recommend looking for specific products for bug infestations in your sink and drain. Yes, they exist. And yes, they can work! Some other tips for ensuring you stop fruit fly infestations in your drain: regularly clean your drain (this is a huge one!) and ensure that there’s no standing water or waste in the sink and drain. 

DIY Fruit Fly Removal 

If you like me and don’t think you need to bring in the big guns for your fruit fly infestation, some DIY traps work pretty well in catching fruit flies. Here are some methods that I found to be helpful to get rid of fruit flies. 

Apple Cider Vinegar 

With this method, we’re capitalizing on fruit flies’ love for fruit. You’re going to grab a bowl, jar, or small cup and fill it with apple cider vinegar and a little bit of dish soap (make sure the dish soap is the last step, so it doesn’t bubble up). You can then cover up your container with clear plastic wrap that you’ve poked numerous holes in.

Place your container somewhere where you’ve noticed a concentration of fruit flies, and leave it there for a while or overnight. This trap lures them into the container with the smell of apple, and then the dish soap makes sure they don’t leave. You’ll want to keep this up until you’re confident the fruit flies (and their breeding areas) are gone. This trap worked particularly well for me when I had an infestation.

Rotten Fruit Trap 

Rotten fruit was the original issue that caused an infestation, most likely, and now you get to use it on your terms. Like last time, take an empty container and put a dab of vinegar inside it. Add a piece of rotten or overly ripe fruit, as well. Now, this is the tricky part. You’re going to roll a regular piece of paper into a cone shape and put it the smallest inside the jar or cup.

This trap works like a charm since the overly ripe fruit will attract the flies straight to the trap, and the vinegar and cone effectively keep them down. Keep this up until the fruit flies are no more in your home. 

Soda Trap

A soda or alcohol trap is another handy DIY trap that you can easily make out of leftover drinks. Now simply leave any excess soda, beer, wine, or other alcoholic drink out. Fruit flies will invariably be drawn into the glass and, unbeknownst to them, meet their end.

It seems too easy to work, but it does do the trick! Be sure to throw away those empty cans and bottles, though, to avoid having the awkward moment of realizing a guest drank out of a bug trap instead of a wine bottle. 

We hope this article helps with your fruit fly problem! Check out more of our articles to find helpful tips!