The Pantry Staples That Help You Get Rid Of Pesky Kitchen Fruit Flies

There's nothing worse than walking into your kitchen only to find fruit flies buzzing around. All it takes are some past ripe fruits or vegetables on your countertop or in your trash can for these pesky insects to set up shop in the last place you want them, where you prepare and store your food. The good news is that you can use fruit flies' attraction to the smell of fermenting fruit against them and set up a trap that will get them out of your kitchen for good. (Or at least until the next time you leave overripe bananas out in the open too long.)

You likely have everything you need to get rid of fruit flies in your kitchen already. Despite the expression "you can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar," vinegar is, in fact, irresistible to fruit flies. The acetic acid found in apple cider vinegar is also present in rotting fruit, so you can use it to draw in the flies. Once the pests land in your jar of apple cider vinegar, you'll need something to trap them there. Which is where some other kitchen staples — dish soap and plastic wrap — come in.

To get rid of fruit flies, simply pour some apple cider vinegar into a jar or cup and then add a few drops of dish soap. While the vinegar serves to attract the flies, the dish soap traps them once they're there. It might sound morbid, but the weight of the soap drags the flies down so they can't escape from the vinegar. For even more insurance that the insects won't go anywhere, cover the jar in plastic wrap and poke a few holes in the top. Make sure the holes are big enough so the fruit flies can fit through them, but small enough so they won't be able to make it back out.

If you don't have apple cider vinegar on hand, another option is to use the rotting fruit that attracted the flies in the first place. Place a small amount of the fermenting material in a jar or bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Poke some holes in the plastic and wait for the flies to come feast on the fruit. You don't need store-bought traps or an exterminator to fix your fruit fly problem; simply enlist the help of some items you already have in your kitchen.