Medically Reviewed by Neha Pathak, MD on September 15, 2021 Those tiny "gnats" you see circling an overripe banana on your kitchen counter? They aren’t gnats at all. They're fruit flies. Not only are they annoying, they can also be bad for your health. But there are plenty of ways to make them go away for good. No matter where in the U.S. you live, fruit flies can show up on your kitchen counters or inside your trash can. They can turn up any time of year but are most common in the late summer and early fall. That's because they're attracted to ripe and rotting food. Fruits and vegetables -- especially bananas, melon, tomatoes, squash, and apples -- are their favorites. Rotten onions and potatoes are also a big draw for these tiny, 1/8-inch-long creatures. An adult female fruit fly can lay up to 2,000 eggs on the surface of anything that's moist and rotting. Within 30 hours, tiny maggots hatch and start to eat the decayed food. Within 2 days, they're all grown up and ready to mate, too. While that transition may seem quick, a fruit fly only lives 8 to 15 days. Research shows that fruit flies can transfer germs from a dirty surface onto a clean one. Some of the bacteria they may carry include salmonella, E. coli, and listeria. These three germs each cause food poisoning. Severe cases may put you in the hospital and can even be life-threatening. If you have a fruit fly problem, insect sprays will kill the adult insects but won't stop eggs from hatching. To get rid of all the fruit files in your home, you'll need to: To prevent fruit flies from getting too comfortable in your house again:
Fruit flies are the worst. One day, you have a perfectly lovely banana sitting on your counter, and the next, you’re hosting a bed and breakfast for a colony of vermin, and they are overstaying their welcome. Fruit flies can pop up at any time of year, but they are especially common in the summer months when there are generally more fruits and vegetables ripening. They lay eggs on rotting or fermenting food, which hatch into hundreds of larvae. Then those larvae lay eggs, and then those larvae lay eggs, and before you know it you have to move and surrender your home over to the flies. Luckily, before you give up your keys, there are a few things you can do to get rid of the little suckers. If you follow these steps, you’ll significantly reduce the numbers of these little tyrants and take back your kitchen. PreventionIt’s much easier to stop the fruit flies from settling down in your space if your kitchen is clean and tidy. Start by cleaning up any areas where food might collect and break down. That means keeping your garbage outside or in a container with a well-fitting lid. Throw your food scraps in a compost bag and keep that in the freezer, rather than letting it sit out at room temperature. Flush out the drains of your sink in case old food has collected there. If you normally keep fruits and veggies on the counter, try moving them to cooler spots or covering them, especially fruits with a high sugar content that ripen quickly. Try keeping your bananas and tomatoes in a cool drawer or under a dome. Yes, tomato drawers are a thing.  Photo by Catherine Powell/Shutterstock How to Trap Fruit FliesIf fruit flies do make your kitchen their hangout spot, there are ways to trap them. They like fermented fruit, so mix a bit of dish soap with old beer, wine or apple cider vinegar. Pour water into the mixture until it bubbles, and leave the glass or bowl on the counter where you spot the flies. They’ll come to the glass because of the fruit sugar, but get trapped in the soap bubbles. You can also fit plastic wrap over the top of a beer bottle or glass of vinegar, and poke a few holes in it. Fruit flies can get in, but they can’t fly out. If you’re looking for a solution with alcohol, there are commercial traps available, or you can make your own spray by mixing isopropyl alcohol and water. That should kill the flies on contact. If All Else Fails…Wait them out. Fruit flies only live for about two weeks, and when temperatures get cooler, they don’t survive long. You can have the sweet satisfaction of watching them drop off as summer turns to fall. Sip your pumpkin spice latte and grin, knowing you’ve outlasted the beasts for another season. Who’s in charge now, fly? The gross reality is that fruit flies are mostly just annoying, but they do pose slight health risks. They can transport bacteria or germs as they land on food and surfaces in your home, which can occasionally lead to health issues. If you clean up an area with a lot of flies, you should wash your hands well afterwards, and wash any fruits and vegetables that are still on your counters before eating them.
Fruit flies can be a menace in the home, getting into food and multiplying quickly. But getting rid of fruit flies is easier than you might think with this simple homemade trap. It only takes minutes to put together, and you might already have the necessary ingredients in your cupboard. Here's how to make this basic yet effective fruit fly trap.
Although vinegar is the main ingredient and it is considered safe for consumption, liquid dish soap is not. Keep this solution out of the reach of children.
Before you begin, toss out any overripe fruit that might be attracting fruit flies.
Vinegar is a natural, versatile, environmentally friendly kitchen product. In addition to its cooking uses, it is an inexpensive ingredient in many cleaning DIYs. Plus, unlike many commercial products, vinegar does not emit harmful, harsh fumes. Fruit flies are attracted to the smell of the cider vinegar and will attempt to land on its surface. However, they will pass through the dish soap on the surface, not be able to get back up through it, and drown.
If you don't have any vinegar on hand, you can also trap fruit flies by placing a piece of overripe fruit in an open plastic bag. Wait for the fruit flies to congregate on the fruit, and then carefully seal the bag, trapping them inside. If you'd like to try more than making a trap, here are some good solutions:
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How to capture and kill fruit flies
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