Hazards of Healthy Eating…fruit flies

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Anyone else out there finding that your stash of fruit is attracting unwelcome fruit flies? I am and it’s driving me mad so I did some fruit fly research.

A few seriously gross facts:

• -Phew. No, the fruit flies don’t come FROM the fruit (not at first)
•  They get in your home because they are so tiny; if there is even slightly rotting fruit, they smell it from miles away and beeline for your home
• Fruit flies start to lay eggs on your fruit (gestation period is 5-7 days) or will colonize in any damp spot (a drain, a forgotten cup of water…)

So basically once you HAVE them, you need to stop them from breeding to get rid of them permanently. Thankfully, this is fairly easy to do with some simple household items:

What You Need:

• Apple cider vinegar
• Dish soap
• A jar or small bowl
• A plastic baggie and a rubber band

What You Do:

1. Pour a cup of apple cider vinegar into a jar or small bowl.

2. Add a couple drops of dish soap to the jar.

3. Cover with the baggie, secure with elastic and poke a few small toothpick-sized holes near the center of the jar

3. Place in the area where you’ve seen the fruit flies, and wait for the trap to do its job.

Why It Works:

Fruit flies are attracted to the sweet smell of the vinegar, and will attempt to land on its surface. Dish soap breaks the surface tension of the vinegar, so when the fruit flies land, they will fall in.