How To Get Rid of Fruit Flies

Fruit flies are really stupid. With the exception of that one in the movie "Fruit Fly to Harvard", they are all very dumb and easy to kill.

Lately, I've had a fruit fly problem around my indoor herb garden that I keep in the kitchen. I have 80 zillion tiny flies hovering around my plants! Fruit flies are annoying, but they can also carry disease and bacteria, so I definitely don't want them hanging around my kitchen. Here's how I got rid of them:

My first plan of action was the all-natural (and most fun) plan. I have a collection of carnivorous plants in my living room- a pitcher plant, a venus fly trap, and a sundew. Every once in a while these plants trap a tiny bug, though I had hoped this would be a daily event and that the plants would have Little Shop of Horrors personalities. Alas, they are just pretty plants that have sticky stuff on their leaves and stupid bugs are attracted to the stickies and get caught and die, much like the way a spider web works.

Anyway, I moved my sundew plant (which is growing in a vintage coffee mug, don't judge me!) to the herb windowsill in hopes that it's sticky nectar would attract and trap the fruit flies.

I poured a glass of wine for myself (a 2002 Waverly Estate Gallant Grey vintage port, in case you were wondering) and sat at the windowsill to watch the massacre. It was brutal! Within seconds, the dumb dumb fruit flies were all like, "Oh cool! Free sticky dinner! Hey this is yummy! Oh wait... I can't move... Hey Merv, can you come get me out of this sticky stuff? Oh no, Merv, you're stuck too! Hey Chuck, can you come help us out of this sticky stuff? Oh no, Chuck!" It was awesome.

Although this was working great, it didn't seem like a long-term solution. The sundew plant is pretty tiny and it has only so much sticky nectar to trap flies. I decided to use a backup trap, the old "Overlook Hotel" method- you can check in, but you will never really check out...

This is an easy way to get rid of fruit flies anywhere. First, put something yummy in a jar or bowl, such as beer, wine, a banana slice, or even just sugar water. Next, cover the jar with saran wrap. Poke one small hole in the middle of the saran wrap. The flies will enter through the hole attracted by the food, but when they try to get out, they will follow the sides of the jar up to the top and won't find an exit. Stupid flies, they don't remember that they came in from the middle!

So now I'm double-timing the little suckers, and hopefully the population will disappear in a few days. Man, fruit flies are so dumb!

Comments

[heather]

Cool! I'm going to try this today. Thanks!

[Madlena]

Dear Farmtina,
Thank you for the very informative post on fruit flies! I hate them too. Can you please post an entry on how I might stop murdering my carnivorous plants? I can't keep one alive :(
-Madlena

[Martina Fugazzotto]

Actually, yes Madlena, I do have some info on that! I've noticed a common mistake that people make in caring for their carnivorous plants, maybe this is the same problem you're having:

Carnivorous plants, especially Venus Fly Traps, need to have a dormant winter period or they can't survive. Just like humans need sleep, many plants need to go dormant! When these plants are in the wild, this happens naturally with the cold seasons. But if you keep them as houseplants, you'll need to simulate dormancy by putting the plant in the fridge for 2-3 months. Yep- put your Venus Fly Trap in the fridge.

Put the whole pot in a tupperware, or pull it carefully out of it's soil and put the plant in a ziploc bag. Do it during winter to keep up the plant's natural cycle, and then pull it out in spring to wake up!

Hope that helps!

[Lina]

Couldn't you just put the plant outside during the winter so that it goes dormant?

[Martina Fugazzotto]

Lina, good question- you really don't want to put your delicate carnivorous plants outside to go dormant if you live in New England (like I do). The plants won't survive the freezing temperatures mixed with snow, wind, predators, etc.

But, if you live in a more mild climate, you could indeed put them outdoors. Where carnivorous plants grow in the wild, their habitat during dormancy would be dry and cool (but not cold).

[Rosa]

Greetings from a fellow urban gardener in London.
Just bumped into your website looking for tips on fruit-flies, absolutely LOVE IT, super useful and inspirational, great design as well!. I've been growing my food for a while and just started to write about it myself.
Thank you so much, your posts, pics and video really made me smile. I'm not alone!
Rosa.

[Steven]

I have recently moved to the Chiriqui pnovirce (the Potrerillos area) in Panama and have photos of some plants I can't identify. How can I send these photos to someone to help me with identification and information about the birds, butterflies, etc that may be attracted to these plants. Also, we want to replant the farm we purchased with native trees and plants for the birds, monkeys, and other wildlife. I have done a lot of research on what Panamanian trees and plants would serve this purpose but now I can't locate a place to buy them. I have checked viveros and MIDA in Conception. Any advice on where to find local fruiting trees specifically for attracting birds, etc.?

[barry irving]

I didn't get rid of them but I killed dozens of them hundreds of them just by spraying my counter tops with something like cleaning solutions which made them run from the smell right into the solution and die. I also sprayed alcohol based house scents around my planters which made them go scurrying.I put small bowls of water around my plants and around the house.That drowned the most of them especially at night.