This tip for getting rid of fruit flies is probably something you’ve come across before – but, perhaps never tried… That was me at least, until recently when my fruit fly situation went from occasionally annoying to seriously, they’re starting to swarm! If you keep a lot fresh fruit and veg out, you know how it can get! 
I remembered hearing about using apple cider vinegar, so I set out a jar to see if I could trap a few. My husband’s watching me pour in the vinegar and says “doesn’t the phrase say: you catch more flies with honey?” this of course sparks a big debate and sets in motion… The Great Fruit Fly Experiment! 
We set three trap jars side by side: honey, fruit and apple cider vinegar. The next morning, it was immediately obvious who had won (not the flies for sure)! These little guys had zero interest in the sweet smell of honey. Maybe the fruit wasn’t rotten enough for them, but I really don’t want to keep a jar of rotting fruit on my counter … In the end, it was all about the apple cider vinegar. They couldn’t resist it! 
Here’s the thing, it’s almost too effective. I kept the jar out all day and watching them wriggling around in the vinegar started to get depressing, so I added an onion skin to act like a life raft. That way I can release them outside… and most likely have them all fly back in again 🙂 But at least I won’t need to use a bug spray in the house… so we all win. If you have fruit flies pestering you, give this one a try and see if it works for you too! 
Apple Cider Vinegar Fruit Fly Trap
Materials:
- glass jar
- 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
- onion skin peel (totally optional)
- Cling wrap
- rubber band
- toothpick
Directions:
- pour the vinegar in the jar (with or without the onion skin life raft )
- Place the cling wrap over the jar
- Hold it down with a rubber band
- poke two or three holes through the cling wrap with a toothpick. They’ll get in, but can’t make their way out.
- set the jars anywhere you see fruit flies
- Every few days, pour out the vinegar, release the flies and wave to the neighbours as they wonder what you’re up to
- Replenish with a new batch until the problem subsides. For me, two jars did the trick!
11 responses to “How to Get Rid of Fruit Flies, naturally!”
Hi
I”m curious why you release the flies? Isn’t the whole idea to trap them and KILL them? No seriously, is there a good reason?
I heard of this but never tried. Time to do so, but really release them ah?
Evelyn
Hi Evelyn! LOL – I’ll show you how to catch them, but what you do with them is entirely up to you! :))
hihi! I tried this and placed a few around the kitchen, dining room and even the bathroom, and it really works! I’m super happy! 😀
Hi Pamela! Fantastic! So happy to hear it 🙂
Thanks for the great tips! I have tried using apple cider vinegar against fruit flies and it really works like a charm.
Thanks again 🙂
Hi Danniel!It’s great huh! I love the simple things that work! 🙂
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Very nice tips, i should try on my kitchen, where flies always around fruits, and i should get rid of them
Thanks Alysia! Let us know how it works for you! 🙂
Finally something that works….now anything for ants? 😉
Hi Justine!! Ha – ants and I have a long history of learning how to co-exist. I’ve noticed that the only thing that truly works (if you want to go natural) is prevention, obsessively wiping down the honey bottle, making sure there’s no food scraps on the counter…
Funny, I just moved to Bali and not only do we have ants – but like 20 species of them all over the place – from big to small, black to red. I asked a local what they use to get rid of them and he looked at me like I was crazy. It’s a losing battle here 🙂