Wondering the best way to get rid of fruit flies? This easy DIY fruit fly trap will help you rid the kitchen of fruit flies and gnats quickly and easily, with just 2 ingredients!
The Best Way To Get Rid of Fruit Flies and Gnats
Once a banana goes bad in the warm months it seems like within minutes the fruit flies appear out of thin air. There is not much more annoying and gross than gnats or fruit flies swarming around the kitchen. Yuck.
To get rid of these pesky bugs quickly we’re going to make an easy DIY fruit fly trap! There is no better way to kick these things out of the kitchen than this. Trust me, I’ve tried them all.
The best part about this fruit fly trap is that there are no chemicals involved, just dish soap and apple cider vinegar! It can be whipped up in seconds and within a few hours, you’ll likely want to dump it out and make a new one!
Just note that in addition to making this magic trap, you still need to find the source of the problem. Usually, it’s something pretty obvious, like a banana or an old bag of potatoes. If you don’t get rid of it, more fruit flies will keep showing up, regardless of how many traps you set.
What Are Fruit Flies and What Attracts Them?
Fruit flies are just tiny little flies or gnats that tend to congregate in the kitchen in the summer months. They’re harmless and don’t bite but extremely annoying! They also reproduce incredibly quickly, which can make it seem as if they appear out of nowhere.
Fruit flies, as the name implies, are attracted to ripened fruit and sometimes vegetables. I usually notice them as soon as a banana gets a little too ripe in the summer!
Other things that can attract fruit flies include garbage, especially if it includes organic waste, mops and cleaning rags, empty bottles and cans, and fermented beverages like beer, wine, and liquor.
What You’ll Need
You really need just 2 ingredients to make your fruit fly trap.
- Apple cider vinegar – The smell attracts the flies.
- Dish soap – The bugs get stuck in the soap and it also attracts them.
- Small bowl – Any size bowl really works but small ones are easier to leave discretely throughout the kitchen.
- Plastic wrap – To cover the bowl and really ensure no flies escape.
How To Get Rid of Fruit Flies Fast
There are just a few simple steps to making this DIY fly trap!
- Combine the vinegar and dish soap. Cover the bottom of your bowl with apple cider vinegar, then add in a few pumps of dish soap.
- Cover with plastic. Tightly cover with plastic wrap. Use a toothpick or skewers to poke holes in the top.
- Place it on the counter. Place the bowl in the area where you are seeing the most gnats. Let it sit overnight.
- Dump & replace. Then next day you’ll be shocked to see how many fruit flies are in there! Dump it out and make another. (No one wants to look at a dead bug graveyard all day.)
To be honest, I’ve done this so many times that I often skip over the plastic wrap part and the trap still works great. You may, however, not get them all because they have an escape if you don’t wrap it.
How Long Will This Take To Work?
You should see a difference within hours, and definitely overnight, if you place your fly trap in the area where the flies are. Remember, however, that fruit flies breed quickly so you need to make sure you’re getting rid of the problem, whether that’s tossing the too-ripe bananas or taking the trash out. Otherwise, you’ll need to keep setting these traps regularly as new flies will continue hatching.
More DIY Home Solutions:
How to Get Rid of Fruit Flies
Ingredients
- apple cider vinegar
- dish soap
- small bowl
- plastic wrap
Instructions
- Grab a small, shallow bowl and pour in a few tablespoons of ACV. Then add put a couple pumps of dish soap. Make sure you at least cover the entire bottom of the bowl, so the bigger the bowl the more ACV you’ll need.
- Place some plastic wrap tightly over the bowl and poke holes in it with a toothpick or a skewer.
- Put the bowl in the area of the hotspot where you are seeing the most bugs and let it sit overnight. The smell will draw them in and they can’t get out.
Equipment
- 1 bowl
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22 comments on “How To Get Rid of Fruit Flies”
Put ACV in the kitchen drain overnight. Gone by the morning. Then pour dish soap in drain in the morning .
It worked!!!
It didn’t work. Ironically, the fruit flies congregated around the dish soap bottle itself, or anything that was far away from the soap/vinegar mix.
It worked and within minutes. Suffered for a week before finding this. All I can say is thank goodness, I won’t be with out this trick again!
This works! Had my bowl out less then a minute and they were going right for it. I’m afraid not to put the plastic wrap on .. I can see how they are trying to get back out. Little buggers
Tried this, but it didn’t work.
I ended up buying a product on Amazon that took care of the problem.
Good luck
This works really well by using a coffee mug instead of a bowl!
Works great
I tried this. It didn’t work for me. I live here 10 years and can’t open my kitchen window.
I keep it dry and there is no fruit sitting in the area♀️
Maybe coming from your drain? I just learned that this was a source as well.
It really works!
Fruit flies and gnats are completely different insects. This “recipe” would only work for fruit flies.
Tell me how to do roaches
FANTASTIC – It works. I put my ingredients into a used mashed potato bowl and was amazed at how many gnats I had. There were more than I expected. I kept the plastic off and watch those little suckers work their way down to the “juice”. Thank you for your help!!!
This works!! I don’t put plastic wrap over mine since I watched a few go in and never com out! I put about 6 drops of soap all around the bowl. Was amazed at how fast it works!!
This really does work, I’ve used it for years. To help attract them, I set under a lamp which I leave on overnight. The light also attracts them. I’ve never covered with plastic wrap but plan to try this.
trying this now! Good pointer to check around for the root of the problem! I had already tossed the problem out but it made me think to go around and see if there was anything in the fruit bowl also, and there was!
No need to cover! They won’t get out as long as you have the dish soap!
Every winter my front white screen door gets brown and rusty, looks ugly, is there or some solution to get the rust out easily.
A fella captioned this post and I LOL Gotta share: Whisky in a small bowl surrounded by sand works well!!! They drink the whisky get drunk and throw rocks at each other
I use the ACV, it works
Im trying this today n I hope it works. Ty for this.