How to Get Rid of Fruit Flies and Gnats Naturally

Those little fruit flies or gnats that you get in the summer or that like to hover around over ripe fruit are just plain annoying. We have all had them so you know what I am talking about. In this article I will share some ways you can safely get rid of fruit flies and gnats.

First, it might be helpful know what type of bug you are dealing with. Below is a general guide to help you decipher the type of bug you have.

• Drain flies: Drain Flies breed in drains, sewers, septic tanks and soil that has been contaminated with sewage.
• Fruit flies: Fruit Flies can be spotted around fresh fruits/vegetables, rotting fruits and vegetables, drains, garbage and damp organic materials.
• Phorid Flies: Phorid Flies are found in sewage contaminated soil, garbage, drains, human cadavers, rotting vegetables and fruit, garbage as well as damp organic materials.
• Sphaerocerid Flies: These flies may be found in manure, damp organic material, drains, rotting fruits and vegetables and garbage.

One of the reasons these insects become a problem so quickly is that they reproduce prolifically, usually with a 7-10 day life cycle. So you want to get a handle on this quickly before they reproduce.

Below are some tips for keeping fruit flies and gnats from invading your home. 

Get rid of the odor source

In most cases food that has been left out is causing the gnat or fruit fly invasion. Old food starts giving off whiffs of smells to those annoying little insects. They have super-sonic smelling, so they’ll always smell it long before you do.

Correctly store fruits and vegetables.
Refrigerate what you can, make sure none is overripe in the bin you have for storage, don’t let bananas get too overly ripe on your counter and go unattended. Consider storing your fruit in paper bags to ripen, then use quickly or preserve.

Clean out your trashcan regularly.
Not only do the flies like ripening fruit, they like the gunk that is wet in the bottom of a trashcan from a spill.

Clean out your sink regularly. 
Run some baking soda and vinegar every few days. Run hot water through, chomp up a lemon in your disposal, run some ice cubes through your disposal to sharpen the blades (so that they do a better job of cutting up the foods you put down it). Some say that the little fly creatures you get that hang in your drain are a whole different insect than a fruit fly, but this trick works no matter what tiny winged creature is wreaking havoc with your kitchen.

Check your food storage often.
Look for spills and produce which may have escaped and is trying to play hide and seek.

Clean your counter tops and floors. 
This seems a no brainer, really, but little spill that collect on the floor and on your counter tops can also be attracting the creatures even when you think you’ve gotten the fruit put away and the sink cleaned up.

Clean your fruit/vegetables. 
Many times, you bring those little gnats in from the store. If it is produce you want to wash immediately, have a sink full of vinegar wash and wash those vegetables and fruit. Consider it a routine to pull out your fruit and veg first, put the in the sink, then put the rest of your groceries away.

Cover your produce. 
You might find that covering your counter top produce might be necessary. Putting it in a large bowl with a tight fitting lid on top might be good. However, this may force fruit to ripen quickly and make a mess if you aren’t quick on rotating through it.

Dehydrate your food.
Dehydrating fruits and vegetables is an option if you notice they are becoming over ripe. Often we are hesitant to waste food since that means wasting money. But, if you see your fruits or veggies getting to the point of no return, get them dehydrated. It will ward off fruit flies and gnats, save you money and help with your food storage efforts. There are a few options you can try for dehydrating food if you do not have a dehydrator. 

How to kill fruit flies or gnats safely

Skip the toxic chemicals and opt for an all-natural option to getting rid of fruit flies and gnats. 

1. Fill a small glass or bowl with about 1″ of Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) – if you don’t have ACV you can use regular vinegar with a teaspoon of sugar.
2. Squirt a little dish soap into the bowl.
3. Cover with some plastic wrap and secure with an elastic band. This traps the pests and helps prevent evaporation.
4. Poke a few holes in the plastic.
5. Set bowl out on kitchen counter placing it close to the insect source.
6. Once the population has exhausted itself, wash out the cups/bowls well and sterilize.

Why does this work? ACV attracts insects, while the soap helps bind them to the surface of the bowl mixture. They will have a hard time getting out of the mixture allowing you to dispose of them. 

If you are infested by these little flying minions, make sure to put a bowl/glass in your bathroom as well. That is another location that they seem to love. If they are already in your home, adding a few extra bowls around the house can help remove them quicker. 

I have also used this when we were camping. On our longer trips we usually deal with some level of gnats and using the above has helped minimize the annoyance. We usually place a small bowl near our food sources and just outside our tent doors. 

One of our readers, Mark, added another option that you can try. He said it worked for him, but use caution with this around the kids and pets.

“Completely by accident I found another excellent way to catch and kill those pests. I left a small dish with some gel type Limeaway sitting out when I left for work in the morning. When I arrived home that evening the dish had several expired critters in it. I live alone so there was no danger of kids getting into the cleaner. I use it regularly to make sure I have no more unwanted guests. Every now and then one or two will show up in the dish, but I never see them around even if I leave something out to test for their presence.”

Another reader named DC left this comment.

“I’ve found wine to be a wonderful attractant.. As for the container, I cut the top off a plastic water bottle and invert it into the bottom portion (fish-trap style).. The fly’s get in, but can’t get out.”

Ariel also added a great suggestion if you have soda in the house.

“We use Pepsi and dish soap, which seems to work a lot better than vinegar (although you have to give it a day or two to get extra syrupy).”

Clearly there are many ways to remove fruit flies from your home. How do you fight these insects? Let us know in the comments below.