Little, tiny gnats swarmed my head, arms, and legs. They were EVERYWHERE. I had dared to walk into the woods on a hot and humid day because the woods are the place where my soul finds peace.
But on this day, the woods were not super friendly to this lone human.
I’m not a big fan of bugs swarming me. Not in the woods, and not at home. At home the biggest problems we tend to have are with fruit flies and ants.
Here’s exactly how to get rid of fruit flies if they have inhabited your garbage disposal.
How to Get Rid of Fruit Flies with White Vinegar
Contents
White vinegar is an extremely useful ingredient for a lot of home remedies. Some important household uses of vinegar include cleaning of window blinds, removing water rings from furniture, and burnishing of scissors. In addition to all that, vinegar can be used to get rid of fruit flies from your garbage disposal.
Materials Needed:
- Vinegar
- Water (Optional)
- Soap
- A Clear Jar
- A Piece of Paper
- Tape
Directions:
- Pour some vinegar into the jar. In order to reduce the smell of the vinegar, you can add some water. Warning: It may also reduce the efficiency a bit.
- Now, put a few drops of soap into the vinegar. This is done to break the surface tension of the liquid so that fruit flies sink into the mixture.
- Make a funnel of paper. You can use some tape to secure your funnel. While doing so, make sure that you leave a small hole at the bottom so that flies could reach the vinegar.
- Place the funnel in the jar to complete your trap.
- Lastly, set the jar in your garbage disposal to catch some flies.
In order to increase the efficiency of the trap, you can use a cider version of white vinegar (it is discussed in detail in the dish soap section). Apple cider vinegar is the most commonly used variety for this purpose.
How to Get Rid of Fruit Flies with Lemon?
Despite the fact that white vinegar is an effective method to eliminate fruit flies, it has an awful odor. Due to this reason, lemon serves as a perfect alternative to vinegar because of its refreshing scent.
Materials Needed:
- A small plastic container with a lid
- A Lemon
Directions:
- Cut an edge of the lemon and slice it in half.
- Squeeze some of the lemon’s juice into the container to provide the necessary citrus.
- Drop the rest of the lemon slice into the container.
- Now, make a small hole into the lid of the container. You can either punch or burn the hole in the lid. The hole should just be big enough for the fruit flies to enter the container.
- Snap the lid back onto the container and place the flytrap into your garbage disposal. In extreme cases, you can use multiple traps.
- This is a reusable trap that can be used again and again. All you need to do is to wash the container and add fresh lemon to reuse it.
How to Get Rid of Fruit Flies with Dish Soap
The composition of dish soap enables it to break the surface tension of different liquids, including water. Using this information about dish soap, we can use it to make an effective trap for fruit flies.
Materials Needed:
- A Disposable Cup
- Apple Cider Vinegar
- Dish Soap
- A Wrapping Sheet
- Tape
- A Toothpick
Directions:
- Pour some apple cider vinegar (about an inch or so) into the cup.
- After that, add a little dish soap (a teaspoon) to the vinegar. Using a little too much dish soap can make the trap ineffective because it will overcome the scent of vinegar which draws the flies towards it.
- Tape a wrapping sheet around the top of the cup to ensure that the flies don’t come out. Despite the addition of soap, it is possible (very difficult though) for fruit flies to fly out of the cup. In order to make sure that they stay there, we will add an extra layer of protection.
- Once you have done that, make some holes in the wrapping sheet with a toothpick. These holes should at least be big enough for the flies to pass through them.
- Place the trap in your garbage disposal to get rid of fruit flies.
How to Get Rid of Fruit Flies with Beer
A lot of people believe that wine (expensive) is the only type of alcohol that can catch fruit flies. As a matter of fact, that’s not true. Fruit flies are attracted to all kinds of fermented liquids and beer is also one of them. Therefore, it can be used to catch irritating fruit flies at an optimal cost.
Materials Needed:
- Beer
- A Clear Jar (Version 1)
- Paper (Version 1)
- A Mason Jar (Version 2)
- A Hammer and a Nail (Version 2)
Directions:
Version 1
- Pour an inch of beer into the jar to set up bait. If you want to make a non-lethal trap, you should add only a few drops of beer.
- Use a notebook paper to make a cone and place it inside the jar. Keep the narrow side of the cone down. This will guide the fruit flies straight into the beer.
- Place the trap in your garbage disposal to catch the annoying fruit flies in your kitchen.
Version 2
- Fill a mason jar halfway with beer.
- Unscrew the lid and make some holes (3-5) in it with the help of a hammer and nail. The holes should be big enough for the flies to go through.
- Screw the lid back onto the jar.
- Place the mason jar in the garbage disposal to clean the appliance.
The Bottom Line on Getting Rid of Fruit Flies in a Garbage Disposal
Garbage disposal is one of the favorite places of fruit flies and cleaning this appliance can give you massive relief from these tiny creatures. Although these flies don’t bite, they can still cause some serious harm by transferring disease-causing microorganisms. Hence, they must not be allowed to roam around your kitchen.
