Fruit Fly Control: Find the Source and Get Rid of Fruit Flies for Good

A cloud of tiny flies lifts off the fruit bowl every time you walk past, and a few more hover over the sink and the trash. Fruit flies are mostly a nuisance, but they multiply fast and can carry bacteria onto food. Once you find where they are breeding, they disappear fairly quickly. This guide shows you where to look, how to clean up and how to trap the adults that are left.

How to identify fruit flies

Fruit flies are about 1/8 inch long, with red eyes, a tan front half and a darker rear. They hover around ripe fruit, open drinks, the trash and the sink. Several tiny flies look similar, and each one points to a different source.

If the flies are fuzzy and hang around the bathroom, see the drain fly section of our fly control guide. If they stay near houseplants, they are probably fungus gnats, which breed in overwatered potting soil. Letting the soil surface dry out between waterings is the main fix for those. For anything else, our household insect identification guide can help.

Signs of fruit flies

• Small flies hovering over fruit, vegetables, the trash can or recycling bin.
• Flies collecting around the kitchen sink or garbage disposal.
• Flies around open wine, beer, juice or soda bottles and cans.
• More flies in late summer and fall, when ripe produce is in the house.

Why fruit flies show up

Fruit flies lay their eggs at the surface of fermenting, moist organic material, and the larvae feed right there. A female can lay around 500 eggs, and the whole cycle from egg to adult takes about a week. One forgotten potato can start a large problem in a short time.

They get into the house two ways. Some hitch a ride on produce that was already ripe or damaged. Others fly in from outside, and they are small enough to slip through ordinary window screens.

Common breeding spots include:

• Overripe or damaged fruit and vegetables, including tomatoes, bananas, melons, grapes, potatoes and onions.
• The bottom of the trash can, where juice and liquids collect.
• Recycling bins with unrinsed bottles and cans.
• Sink drains and garbage disposals with slime buildup.
• Damp mops and cleaning rags.
• Wet areas under dripping pipes or the refrigerator.
• Home canning jars, or homemade wine, cider or beer that is not well sealed.

How to get rid of fruit flies, step by step

Traps alone will not end the problem. Find the source first.

1. Check every piece of produce. Eat, throw out or refrigerate anything ripe. Cut away bruised or damaged spots. Look in the pantry for forgotten potatoes and onions, which can rot out of sight.
2. Clean the trash and recycling. Empty the can, wash the inside and bottom, and rinse bottles and cans before they go in the bin.
3. Find hidden sources. For drains and garbage disposals you cannot see into, tape a clear plastic food bag over the opening overnight. If flies are breeding there, you will find adults trapped in the bag the next morning.
4. Clean any drain that tests positive. Scrub the inside of the pipe with a stiff brush to remove the slime. For drains you cannot scrub, slowly pour boiling water down the sides of the pipe, or use a bacterial drain treatment made to break down organic buildup. Read and follow the label. Bleach and ammonia do not solve drain problems.
5. Replace or wash mops and cleaning rags, and let them dry between uses.
6. Fix leaks and wipe up spills, including under the refrigerator and sink.
7. Trap the remaining adults (see below).

The source is the fix. Every breeding spot has to be found and removed. Until then, traps and sprays only knock down the adults for a while.

Because the life cycle is so short, numbers drop quickly once the breeding sites are gone. If you still have plenty of flies after a week, there is a source you missed.

How to make a fruit fly trap

Traps catch adults while you clean up and tell you whether the problem is going away.

Jar and funnel trap: Pour a few ounces of cider vinegar into a jar. Roll a sheet of paper into a cone with a small opening at the tip and set it in the jar mouth, point down, so it does not touch the liquid. Flies follow the smell in and have trouble finding their way out. A slice of banana also works as bait.

Bowl trap: Fill a small bowl with cider vinegar or wine and add a few drops of dish soap. The soap breaks the surface so flies that land sink and drown.

Put traps wherever you see flies. Commercial traps with funnels or small entry holes work the same way.

Should you spray?

Usually not. After you have removed the breeding sources, a pyrethrum-based aerosol can kill adults that are left. It does nothing to eggs and larvae, so without cleanup the relief is temporary. If you do spray, keep it off food and dishes, and read and follow the label. Our guide to integrated pest management explains why sanitation comes before chemicals for problems like this.

How to keep fruit flies from coming back

• Refrigerate ripe produce in late summer and fall, when fruit flies peak.
• Rinse recyclables before they go in the bin, and empty the bin often.
• Take the trash out regularly and wash the can now and then.
• Clean drains and the disposal every so often with a brush.
• Dry mops and rags after use.
• Seal home canning, wine and cider containers well.
• Keep screens tight. Use tight-fitting 16-mesh screens on windows and doors.

When to call a professional

Fruit flies are a DIY job in nearly every home. Cleanup and a vinegar trap solve the problem without a service call. Consider professional help if:

• You run a restaurant, bar, grocery or other food business, where fruit flies can breed in floor drains, behind equipment and in places a homeowner never has to check.
• Flies keep coming after a thorough cleanup and the plastic bag test on every drain, which can point to a hidden source such as spills trapped in floor cracks or a slow leak under a sink or appliance.

A good technician will inspect drains, equipment and storage areas to find the breeding sites before treating anything. If you do hire someone, our guide to choosing a pest control company covers what to ask. Small beetles or moths in pantry food are a different problem; see our weevil and pantry pest guide.

Fruit fly questions

Where did fruit flies come from when I have no fruit out? Check the bottom of the trash can, the recycling bin, drains, the disposal, mops and the pantry for a rotting potato or onion. Any moist, fermenting residue can support them.

Are fruit flies harmful? They are mainly a nuisance, but they can carry bacteria and other germs onto food. Throw out produce they have been breeding in, or cut away the damaged part, since the larvae feed near the surface.