Getting Rid of Fruit Flies Organically

August 30th, 2008 Posted in Flies & Gnats

Your bananas are ruined and your drain is an endless pit of pests. Every time you throw something away, it turns into a race to see how fast you can shut the lid.

If you have experienced any of these events, it is likely that you have new friends around the house that go by the name: fruit flies.

This article will teach you how to identify fruit flies and then teach you how to get rid of them.


What Do Fruit Flies Look Like?

Fruit flies are often found in the same area as drain flies, Sphaerocierid Flies, Phorid Flies and gnats, and are often confused with them.

Fruit flies have several traits specific to them that would help you recognize them (if you have a magnifying glass handy):

  • About 1/8 inch long

  • Bright, red eyes

  • Tan in the front and black in the back



How Long do Fruit Flies Live?

The fruit fly’s life cycle, from start to end, is completed in about a week. This gives you about seven days to locate their headquarters and destroy it before they multiply.

Major times of breeding and infestation are in late summer and fall, but fruit flies can be a nuisance year-round.

Breeding is no problem for these flies. When they find the right time and place, up to 500 hundred eggs can be laid.

The larvae are an off-white color and shaped like maggots.


Where do Fruit Flies Live?

To find these pests, you need to think like one. If you were a fruit fly, where would you want to live?

Your best chance of survival would be in somewhere:

  • Moist

  • Dark and hidden

  • Full of delicious treats

  • Full of dirty dishes

The trash closet is often a source of fruit flies because of what can be found in there. It’s dark, never cleaned out, and full of old food. But once in that closet, there is one more place fruit flies love to live.

The trashcan is something most of us ignore. It gets attention once a week when we change its bag. However, under that bag is where our problems lie. Leaks, crumbs, and spilled leftovers will attract fruit flies and their hundreds of eggs.


What Do Fruit Flies Eat?

Fruit flies love to eat and live off of your food. The most popular food for fruit flies is anything with a sweet aroma. Anything lying around can be their next home and source of food.

Their favorite treats are:

  • Rotting food in a drain, trashcan, or underneath appliances

  • Fruits and vegetables stored outside the refrigerator

  • Any bottle or can left open

  • Pieces of food left or forgotten in a closet or cupboard

  • Damp rags and mops

  • Bottom of cups

  • Jars of fruits and vegetables canned at home

  • Homemade wine or beer

At the peak of the fruit’s ripeness, the flies are at their happiest. Over-ripened fruits or vegetables are an even better target for infestation, because you have probably already begun to ignore the food.

If you like to can your own fruits or vegetables or make your own wine and beer, make sure all supplies are cleaned after each use. Also, be sure to seal the cans or jars tightly. If a fruit fly finds the tiniest hole, you will soon have hundreds of them enjoying your fresh strawberries.



How Do You Get Rid of Fruit Flies?

The easiest and best way to get rid of fruit flies is to go straight to the source. Once you wipe out the breeding ground, their larvae will have no chance to live.

To help find the nest and to help prevent re-population, try these small steps in your house:

  • Seal all windows and screens

  • Clean under and around stove, dishwasher, and refrigerator

  • Wash mops and buckets

  • Remove damp clothes from sink or laundry room

  • Store trash in a covered bin and take it out regularly

  • Dispose of food in garbage disposal

  • Keep fruit in covered container and check regularly for rotting

  • Keep dishes and drain clean

  • Clean often with disinfecting spray



Methods for Fruit Fly Control

There are several do-it-yourself ways to get rid of these little pests. All are easy to make and will attract the flies easily:

Jar or Bottle Funnel Trap

  • Place a few ounces of cider vinegar at the bottom of the container.

  • Create a funnel with a piece of paper and put on top of container.

  • The flies will be attracted to the vinegar and die once they fly in.

Bowl Trap

  • Place a piece of old fruit and some wine or vinegar in a bowl.

  • Cover and seal the bowl tightly with plastic wrap.

  • Poke tiny holes in the plastic wrap. The flies will be able to go in, but not come back out.

Some more ways to kill fruit flies are:

  • Vacuum Suction- Use the hose tool when you find a nest or large amount of flies to suck the little bugs up.

  • Drain Cleaner – If you suspect the flies are coming from your drain, try using a drain cleaner every day for a few days. Dumping bleach down will not help.

  • Peppermint Oil – Dab a rag or paper towel in this oil and leave it near the suspected source of fruit flies. The scent will kill the flies and also leave a nice smell.



Products for Fruit Fly Control

Many products in stores are made for flying insects such as flies and gnats.

These products come in different forms such as:

Aerosol (Example: Pyrethrin Aerosol Spray)

The Good:

  • Fast and powerful enough to kill any living bug

  • Easy for use in commercial or industrial areas.

The Bad:

  • Contains potentially harmful toxins and ingredients you can’t even pronounce

  • Very dangerous to pets and to humans if consumed

Fogger/Fumigator (Example: Raid® Max Concentrated FoggerRaid®; Home Fumigator)

The Good:

  • Covers large areas at one time

  • Targets small insects and nests with smoke penetration

The Bad:

Automatic Dispenser (Example: V Tech Mist Flying Insect Killer)

The Good:

  • Conveniently sprays at set time intervals

The Bad:

  • Expensive to buy system and refills

  • Not ideal for living areas with heavy traffic

Professional Fly Trap (Example: 960 Vector Fruit Fly Trap)

The Good:

  • Easy to catch and hide flies

  • Good for public places such as restaurants

The Bad:

  • Does not target the nest

  • Does not make for a nice home decoration

Fly Tape (Example: Victor’s Fly Ribbon Paper)

The Good:

  • Cheaper compared to other products

  • Easy to use and replace

The Bad:

  • Could attract other things, such as your hair

  • Catches only the flies large enough to fly



Keeping Your Home Safe

The most important thing to keep in mind is your home’s safety. While getting rid of the fruit flies plaguing your kitchen, you need to consider the product chosen to use. There are several areas in your home that could be affected:

  • Food preparation area

  • Food storage area

  • Your pet’s food and water

  • Low surfaces accessible to small children

Many products used to treat fruit fly infestations contain synthetic chemicals that can be harmful to humans and animals. One of the easiest and safest solutions is peppermint oil.

In the organic insecticide EcoSMART, peppermint oil can be found teamed up with cinnamon oil, sesame oil, and wintergreen oil. With this synergistic blend oils, fruit flies don’t stand a chance.

EcoSMART is safe to use in the home around children and pets, taking away one more worry besides those annoying, little bugs.


Kacey Wherley





organic pest control



  1. 32 Comments | The First 1,000 to Comment (Starting 12/21/2009) Will Become EcoSMART Product Testers!

  2. By Lexie Countertop on Sep 30, 2008

    Although, sometimes the fruit goes bad, and then there are those pesky fruit flies. Lexie Countertop

  3. By Tara on Nov 6, 2008

    Hi. I’ve been reading on the internet on how to get rid of fruit flies. I have been using red wine (and have almost gone through a whole bottle) with the cone in the glass. While it’s been working really well I seem to have a second wave of the little buggers. We are clean people and I don’t understand where they could be coming from. We have cleaned out our cupboards, stove, fridge, drains, garbage cans, etc. Where could they be hiding and what would their nests look like? I’m going crazy. Any suggestions?

  4. By Stephie on Jan 15, 2009

    We have a real problem with fruit flies and mosquitoes in our kitchen. I’m constantly cleaning and trying to swat them. They even sneak into the fridge if I’m not quick enough. Please, HELP! I have an inside toy poodle, also. I put away any uneaten food between his 2 meals a day. We use the sticky tape, to no avail. Only caught a few fruit flies. And mosquitoes are like dive-bombers here, so close to the water. The ladybugs have invaded my bedroom, and I keep catching them and putting them outside. Is this good? Any and all advice is very welcome, at this point. And, I would LOVE to try EcoSMART!!!

  5. By Mary Evans on Mar 27, 2009

    Thank you for the info! I actually thought gnats and fruit flies were the same. We try to save our veggie and fruit scraps for our compost bins, but every summer eventually we get a bunch of gnats who are attracted to the scraps, so we have to stop saving scraps during that time unless we take them out into our compost bin immediately. I love that a product like EcoSmart is available. Soon it will be spider season around here and then gnat season, and I always dread spraying unhealthy chemicals to our home as much as I dread those bugs and spiders.

  6. By Lina on Jul 4, 2009

    Ok, I’ve looked online and found out that these bold little beasts are fruit flies. They look like gnats to me, or maybe it’s just that they’re all the same…completely annoying! I found the idea about the jar & plastic covering, well, it really does work! They get in and aren’t smart enough to get out. But, they take forever to die. It’s been about 4-5 days and still they’re flying around inside the jar. What am I supposed to do, wait for them to die or take it outside and release the swarm? Also, the second jar (we have this problem in the laundry rm, dining rm and kitchen) in the laundry rm seems to have little maggots slithering in it. I made all 3 jars at the same time, yet, in DR there’s a few that prefer to swarm when we eat and know somehow to stay away from the jar (though this number has diminished). The kitchen collects them all it would seem, but they just aren’t dying. And the ones in the laundry room are reproducing! I truly don’t understand.

    This problem began last summer and I started keeping our fruits in tupperware. This year, before we saw the 1st one, we did the same. It’s been over a week and it’s so much worst than before…they’re bolder and have increased in numbers. It’s like some horrible B-rated movie. They aren’t around our drains…just around. We only see them when preping to cook or attempting to eat. We have cleaned all possible places, as reccommended by every site I’ve checked out and well, my jars keep filling up.

    We would definitely love to try anything that would rid our homes of these things w/o leaving a harmful residue because w/have 4 babies. I should mention that these fruit flies aren’t our only invaders, but were told that because we’re renovating our home, that we’d have to just deal…..AGHHHHHHHHHHH!

    Any and all advice on how to identify and naturally (or EcoSMARTly) destroy their nests would be greatly appreciated.

  7. By Nikki on Jul 9, 2009

    I am definitely going to try the trap using vinegar. I always leave bananas on my counter and fruit flys seem to show up with in a day. I have never been able to locate a nest. When I don’t have bananas I don’t see them around. Great tip!

  8. By Lawrence on Jul 9, 2009

    Fruit flies are in the kitchen mainly in the summer but other times of the year as well. If I’m not careful, I’ve noticed that they can even hide out in the fridge cause sometimes I see one fly out when I open it. I need help. Constantly cleaning the counters and cupboards. Will try your suggestion of making sure the garbage disposal and waste bins are cleaned properly.

  9. By Lisa on Jul 9, 2009

    Tell me, why do yo all of a sudden get them? We will not have any for days and then the kitchen will be filled. I seem to always see them when I get bananas. I remember when my Mom was training me about how to have your kitchen, she always said that they come with the fresh produce, like the eggs are transported in with, say the bananas, or the pears. Is that so? I would think that the wax coating that most fruit has on it anymore takes care of that.

    All I know is that when I do berries, (make jam) and when I have those darn fresh bananas around, the flies are dangerously full in my little kitchen. HELP ME PLEASE! Thanks for your great work! It’s great information and even better products to buy to get rid of common household problems!

  10. By Marianne R on Jul 9, 2009

    Help!!! These bugs come in from the fruit and veggies at the store, and then nest in my plants. Is there a way to pick “safe fruit and veggies”? They are everywhere.

  11. By Liz on Jul 9, 2009

    I guess I’m lucky this year. Just started noticing the annual summer invasion in the past week. Every time I think I have killed them all, I turn around and there’s one more!

  12. By Angela P on Jul 9, 2009

    Living in the woods is a problem. There are soo many insects. Recently, our septic system started backing up all the drains in the house. Unfortunately, we don’t have a dishwasher, so all the dishes pile up, until one of us cleans them. Now all of a sudden, we have fruit flies EVERYWHERE. I tried the bleach myth to no avail. Thankfully I found this website. I have a 5 month old daughter at home, and her health is our number one priority. With EcoSMART products, I can get rid of the problem, and keep my daughter safe. Thank you for making such a safe way of killing these pesky pesks. I will post back when I have tried it to share my success story

  13. By Debbie W. on Jul 10, 2009

    So far so good for me as well. I haven’t had too much of a problem this year. Not like some years. Honestly, I haven’t done anything different.

  14. By Tina C. on Jul 13, 2009

    I am so glad I cam aross this as every year in the Summer time I have a bad case of fruit flies. I clean constanly in my kitchen but still get them and they are a pain in the butt to get rid of also. I will defently try the vingear and see it it works.

  15. By Susan West on Jul 17, 2009

    I hate fruit flys and sometimes we get them bad so I am glad to learn more about them.

  16. By Stefanie Schmidt on Jul 18, 2009

    Thanks so much for the great advice on how to control fruit flies. I can now enjoy the fruits of summer without the pests.

  17. By Sharon on Aug 11, 2009

    I have a problem with fruit flies also. I may stop buying bananas because the problem gets worse whenever I have bananas in the house. I believe that we bring these insects into our homes from the store and the infestation begins over time. This year, the problem with fruit flies wasn’t that bad until I bought a watermelon and left it on the counter for a couple of weeks. Juice started seeping out and I started seeing fruit flies. The problem seems out of control at this point. I did get rid of the watermelon and cleaned all surfaces, but whenever I try to eat or cook something, they start attacking. Ive never seen anything like this before. It’s kind of scary because I can’t seem to control the situation. I will try some of the ideas with the funnel cup and apple cider vinegar and hope that it works. I’m willing to try anything at this point because this has been a problem for me for quite some time. Please help!!!!!!!

  18. By Dawn on Aug 19, 2009

    I am tired of the fruit flies in my kitchen! I haven’t had any fruit for a few weeks and there are a ton1 I tried the vinegar with dishwashing soap and that caught some. Now I am fumigating my place with Raid. I am traveling for the next couple of days so I hope these things will be gone!

  19. By Fruit flys in my wine has got me down on Aug 31, 2009

    Hi, I have a really gross question about fruit flies. I make homemade wine, and have used many different methods, but one of the easiest is to put all the ingredients into a large 5 gallon bucket covered with cheese cloth for a week or so until you rack it into a new air tight container. I was working on step two and found the entire surface area covered with fruit fly larvae and was wondering if I removed them and strained the wine if it would effect the quality. I don’t want to get sick from drinking it. I know that is so gross, but I just thought I’d ask.

  20. By Gail aka Fathertime13 on Sep 9, 2009

    My apartment was INUNDATED with fruit flies! OMG! Even my cat was crying. Obviously, I didn’t want to use pesticides because of the toxicity and the harmful effects to the environment. On the other hand, the fruit flies HAD TO GO!

    After reading the remedies on this site, I decided to try peppermint oil. For $4.99 + tax for a 1-oz bottle at the health food store, I happily poured 15 drops into a clean spray bottle (from the local dollar store) and added about 1/2-inch of tap water, swishing it around to blend. I went to town on those buggers – chasing the swarm everywhere, while careful to keep the cat out of the way and avoiding her feeding area.

    Last night, I started attacking 3 angry swarms of fruit flies. This morning, I found about 12 fruit flies! Whoa! Tonight will be the true test when I get home to survey the homestead.

    BTW – the side benefit to using the peppermint oil mixture is that my home smells really nice, like a candy cane and my 15-yr young cat is behaving like a kitten again! If I didn’t know any better, I’d think she got into a tub of catnip!

    I definitely would also like to become an EcoSMART Product Tester. Why not? I’d rather deal with pests organically than screw up the planet anymore than it already is!

  21. By Marie on Sep 11, 2009

    I’m having a problem with fruit flies in my apartment. It’s an older complex so the attitude is more matter-of-fact and unconcerned about their presence. However, it bothers me because these flies are both an embarrassment and a nuisance. I try to be a healthy eater and that means eating fruit, but this would only fuel the fire where this issue is concerned.
    To further complicate things, I have a cat who is epileptic so I want to be careful about which pesticide product I use. I’d like it to not interfere with her condition by causing more seizures than necessary. She needs soft food for her medicines, which means there is organic material on hand at any given time for fruit flies to feed from.
    I’ve tried numerous methods for mitigating the problem, but they have not worked. I’ve purchased a pedal-operated, lid-closure trash can, tried emptying my trash can more frequently (every couple days now in the kitchen), and finally called the exterminator. The exterminator company told me to flush my drains with hot water and bleach, so I have tried this as well for the last couple weeks. Every now and then I wipe out the refrigerator, which is dotted with dead flies along the bottom shelf of the fridge and freezer.
    What else can I do? Might your product help? How about a flytrap plant? Any insights on that possibility?

  22. By Terry Ryan on Sep 19, 2009

    We have fruit flies in the house and can’t get rid of them. I am canning tomatoes and making concord wine so they are really attracted to my kitchen. I clean up after canning and have gotten rid of fruit on the counter but they are still here. Help!

  23. By Jennifer Megill on Oct 14, 2009

    I have a fruit fly infestation1 My neighbor who lives in the same two family house as me says he has them really bad too! They sit on the wall, ceiling and cabinets waiting till a speck of food is available. They are mostly in the kitchen and I tried the vinegar with no luck. I’m now trying the bannanas in jars idea, they seem to sit ontop but very few inside the jars if at all. It’s disgusting and out of my control!

  24. By Angel on Oct 18, 2009

    My problem is my neighbor’s dumpster at the back of my house. They just get in my house from there. Anything that i could use in my house to take care of the indoor problem would be great!!!!!

  25. By Amanda on Oct 25, 2009

    We get little black flies now and then from the sink, I always thought they were differnt than fruit flies?

  26. By beth and ron on Oct 25, 2009

    Now that its fall, and cooler and the plants are inside the fruit flies are warming their bodies on the tv and computer screens, YIkes, please help . Need to try out your healthy smart eco products,, Please.Help.

  27. By Mary on Oct 26, 2009

    I use the vinegar in a cup with plastic wrap and small holes. This does work but they multiply so quickly that you can’t get them all and seems like you usually have maybe one or two that like to hang around for too long and can be real pesty!

  28. By Elizabeth on Oct 26, 2009

    We recently had a leak from our neighbors upstairs, which resulted in wet, dripping walls and nasty mold. As our community maintenance has decided to “let it dry completely” before doing repairs, the fruit flies have attacked us mercilessly! I am afraid to get rid of them with normal pesticides because I have a 10 month old and a small dog. I saw your products featured on another blog, but have not seen them in stores around me yet; are they available in Atlanta?

  29. By Delia Weitting on Oct 27, 2009

    I too have been having a time with fruit flies this year. I try to keep everything clean, and cider vinegar with a drop of dish soap seems to kill off quite a few flies but couldn’t seem to find the source. Today I was preparing to clean the automatic kitty box when I believe I found the source of my troubles. I have had the auto kitty box for quite some time so do not understand what makes this year different (but guess it doesn’t really matter). I am going to order some Ecosmart spray and also will get some peppermint oil for the kitty box. I would love to be an Ecosmart tester!! I have cats so must be careful of toxins. I also have numerous allergies so try to go organic whenever possible. PLEASE PICK ME!!!
    Will post again when I find how this works out.

  30. By Kevin on Nov 2, 2009

    WOW, peppermint oils and other organic items reallly do the trick. Like anything in life its how you use the products and do some research. EcoSMART products do work and are great for our home garden (herbs, tomatoes and pumpkins) we are in the process of making all our product organic, the next step is to plant organic seeds.

  31. By Dee on May 18, 2010

    I am battling fruit flies now. My apartment is covered in them. I have tried the vinegar traps and didn’t find them to be effective. I am spraying with EcoSMART every night and it slows them but in the morning I am almost back to where I started. I poured bleach down all drains. I will try that again tonight, as well as, wiping down the walls with a bleach/water solution. I will also try peppermint oil.

  32. By Jocelyn Richmond on Aug 29, 2010

    OMG! I am sorry and yet strangely relieved to find that I am not the only one BATTLING these darn fruit flies. Now I know that others will understand when I describe the disgust and frustration of finding these nuisances everywhere. I thought I was inadvertently allowing them into the fridge when I would open the door. But later I found tons of them dead under the bottom crisper! How is this happening? Are they actually BREEDING and eventually dying in the fridge? I will try anything to be rid of these pests. They are making me crazy and desperate.

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32 Comments | The First 1,000 to Comment (Starting 12/21/2009) Will Become EcoSMART Product Testers! (details)