They're small and easily work their way up to your ripe fruits and veggies at home! And once there, they lay their eggs! And they reproduce so quickly! It also happens that the eggs are already in the fruit at the supermarket and without knowing it... Well, we bring them home!
And we don't always have what it takes to get rid of it easily. That's why we've put together a list of tricks here to give you more choices! You're sure to find a recipe among these with ingredients you already have at home to chase away those nasty little critters.
TO MAKE A TRAP:
Choose a deep bowl and choose a recipe of your choice from the list below. Then, you can cover this bowl with plastic wrap, OR, roll up a paper towel and make a cone that you will place at the mouth of the pot. This kind of trap works very well with an olive or jam jar, for example. This type of trap is effective because you can make a very small opening in the paper towel. Absorb some of the trap liquid on the paper, so the flies will stick to the paper.
YOU WILL HAVE THE CHOICE BETWEEN:
THE RED WINE :
Fruit flies and gnats are provided by red wine because of its smell. Mix 126 ml (1/2 cup) of red wine with 375 ml (1 1/2 cups of water) in a bowl and cover it with plastic wrap that you will pierce with a toothpick or a cone made from a paper towel. Flies will get in but will be unable to get out. Leave the jar on the kitchen counter where you see the most fruit flies. And change the mixture after a week or when it contains too many dead flies. It takes about 2 weeks to eliminate all the fruit flies, because they lay eggs at breakneck speed.
APPLE CIDER VINEGAR:
This trick is the best known for getting rid of fruit flies and it's cheap. Heat 125 ml (1/2 cup) of apple cider vinegar for a few minutes in the microwave or in a saucepan to increase its power. Adding few drops of dish soap & mixing well. Then add this potion to a trap and follow the directions of the red wine trap. The salad dressing attracts flies and the soap kills them.
ROTTEN FOOD:
As strange as it may seem, this is actually what defined these little critters in the first place, maybe not at your house, but at the Supermarket and were transported in your fruits and vegetables afterwards... Replace the liquids by rotten food in a trap. A fruit or vegetable will work just as well. Submerge the pot under water once it is full of insects.
MILK, PEPPER AND SUGAR:
Heat 500 ml (2 cups) of milk, dial 8 tbsp. tablespoons of white sugar, and accompanied by 4 c. black pepper. Let simmer for 10 minutes. Then leave this potion in a deep bowl covered like the previous rods. Flies are supplied by the sweet smell. They will stay there.
LEMON SCENT SPRAY:
Mix 500 ml (2 cups) of warm water and 10-15 drops of lemongrass oil in a clean bottle and spray your kitchen surfaces. If the problem persists. Mix 1000 ml (4 cups) of hot water and 2 tbsp. lemon-scented dish soap and spray your fly-infested plants.
TIP: Keep in mind that it takes more than a week, almost 2 weeks to get rid of fruit flies entirely because they reproduce at breakneck speed by laying eggs. Keep your kitchen, counters and fridge clean at all times. Especially when it's very hot.
TWO TYPES OF TRAPS:
With pierced plastic wrap:
Or with a funnel made of a paper towel soaked in the potion and placed on a high pot, with a very small opening.
