How to Get Rid of Fruit Flies in Your Kitchen the Frugal Way

Get Rid of Fruit Flies in Your Kitchen the Frugal Way

By Bailey Landon,
Those pesky little fruit flies arrive in your home, unnoticed as they grab a free ride in on the bananas or other fresh fruit. Within a couple of days, a couple have multiplied into a tiny swarm. Soon you have your own village of fruit flies. But how do you get rid of them without spending a load of money on pesticides that will only smell up your house?

Some homeowners pour vinegar or bleach down their kitchen sink drains. Unfortunately this tactic doesn't get rid of the fruit flies. It might drown a few, bleach a few, or make a few smell like a pickled fruit fly. Otherwise, the fruit flies are still in your home.

There is an easy and very inexpensive way to rid of your home of fruit flies. Simply build a fruit fly trap and trap the fruit flies in the traps. All you need to build a fruit fly trap is a banana or two, a knife, some cling wrap or similar plastic wrap, a few rubber bands, and old plastic jars or bowls that can be thrown away after use. Using an empty mayonnaise jar, plastic butter bowl, or plastic lunch meat container will work. Don't use any container that you want to keep. Be sure the container is deep enough to hold a few slices of banana.

After you have your necessary supplies together, simply slice up the bananas and divide the slices into several containers. Place the cling wrap or other plastic wrapping tightly over the opening of the jar or bowl, and place a rubber band around it to hold it snuggly in place. Using the knife's point, poke a few tiny holes into the plastic wrap. Make them very tiny. The fruit flies can get in, but once in, they can't get out. You now have fruit fly traps that will trap the fruit flies and remove them from your home.

The more fruit flies you have, the more fruit fly trap containers you might wish to make. If the fruit flies have journeyed to other parts of the house, you will want to place a container in each room they are in. Don't remove the plastic covering from the trapping containers! Allow the fruit fly traps to sit for about three days or so, then simply toss the trapping containers into the trash. Remove the trash the same day.