Get Rid Of Your Fruit Fly Infestation

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Fruit fly infestations are annoying. The fruit flies seem to appear out of nowhere, but really they invade your home through your window screens, the drains in your sink, and the crevices surrounding your doors and windows. The little buggers also reproduce really fast, so once they arrive, it won't be long before you have a full-fledged infestation on your hands. While it isn't always easy to rid your home of fruit flies by yourself, it is possible. So before calling your local pest control company, use these tips to banish the fruit flies in your house for good.

Get Rid of Possible Fruit Fly Breeding Grounds

Sugary, organic materials attract fruit flies. Removing these items from your home or storing them properly, helps you find the fruit flies' current breeding ground and helps prevent future infestations. You need to:

• Keep vegetables and fruits stored in the refrigerator.
• After eating, scrape remaining food from the plate into the trash. Take your trash out at least once every day.
• After cooking, put leftovers away immediately and rinse pots and pans thoroughly.
• Wash any used dishes as soon as you're finished using them. At the very least, rinse the used dishes off and place them in the dishwasher.
• Occasionally pour bacterial digester down your drains. It kills fruit flies and eggs that could be living in your drain pipes.

Make and Use Fruit Fly Traps

Once you've eliminated any potential breeding grounds for the fruit flies, it's time to trap them. Simply make fruit fly traps to set on each sink in your home and check them every day. To make your fruit fly traps:

1. Pour approximately ½-cup of apple cider vinegar into an empty, clean jar with a lid.
2. Squeeze a couple of drops of dish soap into the partially full jar. The addition of the dish soap breaks the surface tension. This means, instead of sitting on top of the apple cider vinegar, the fruit flies will drown.
3. With a knife, carefully poke holes in the jar lid.
4. Close the lid, and set the jar on the counter close to your drains.
5. Check the jar each day to make sure the fruit flies in the jar have drowned. If you have fruit flies in the jar that haven't drowned, put your jar in the freezer to kill them.
6. Dump and replace the apple cider vinegar and dish soap as needed.

While the process of making fruit fly traps and placing them near your drains is simple, it does take awhile to completely get rid of fruit fly infestations. If you have a large infestation or you don't want to wait for the fruit flies to find the traps you laid, contact a local pest control company such as Alta Sierra Pest Control.

14 June 2017