With all this fresh fruit in my house, we are under attack by fruit flies. How do you control them in your house? There are so many!

Kim

What causes fruit flies is fruit that is overripe that is either rotting or has breaks in the skin/flesh. Also, any compost that is left unsealed is an excellent breeding ground for fruit flies. To control fruit flies, I do the following:

I keep all my compost in a 5 gallon sealed bucket, the kind you get at the hardware store. The fruit flies are unable to get to the compost unless they are lucky enough to get in when I open the bucket. Even if they get in, it gets hot enough in the bucket that any fruit flies are killed.

I check all my fruit that is not in the refrigerator for holes and tear in the skin. If I see some fruit flies around my fruit, I know that their is at least one piece that is broken/overripe/rotting, and I put that in my compost.

Most often my kitchen is fruit fly-less, unless I don't fully seal my compost bucket, at which point I have a proliferation. But once I reseal the bucket, they go away.

I think having spiders helps also.

Fruit fly eggs will often be ON the peels of things like bananas. The bananas get too ripe......eggs hatch....bam.

Suggestions: Keep produce that doesn't need to ripen in the refrigerator. Keep produce that does need to ripen in a paper bag. Keep the area clean....and as Bryan suggested: Keep garbage and compost securely sealed.

-David Mason

I need another refrigerator!

Two easy ways to rid the fruit flies.

First put all your fruit away in plastic bags in cabinets of the fridge.

Next pour a glass of wine and leave it out overnight. Most of the flies will drown in the wine.

OR set a trap. Take a garbage bag and throw a couple of banana peels in the bag. Leave the bag partially open. The flies eventually settle down into the bag. Quietly sneak up on the bag and close it very quickly. You will catch nearly all of the flies. You may have to repeat to get the all.

Also, sometimes the source of the fruit flies will be in a place least expected. We had an abundance of fruit in the house and with it came a whole lot of fruit flies. They just wouldn't go away and I discovered that the source of the problem was a cooler hiding behind a shelf with a banana in it forgotten from the last beach episode. Sometimes it pays to look for a hidden dwelling place. This may not be you but perhaps someone else reading this.
Love, Melissa Halsted