No, those tiny dots flying erratically in your kitchen are not hallucinations, but rather fruit flies. They don't bite, but they can carry bacteria from one source to another and they reproduce rapidly. One female can lay up to 50 eggs per day, each of which will grow from larvae to adult within a week. Eliminate them once and for all with these tips.
Fruit flies look like tiny reddish-brown flies. You’ll probably see them fluttering around your kitchen, possibly near the fruit bowl. Although fruit flies can come in from through your open windows, they’re typically brought in from the grocery store on fruit and vegetables. They lay their eggs in rotting produce and sugary surfaces, and they enter into fruit in the grocery store through any knicks or cuts on the fruit’s surface.
The first step of getting rid of fruit flies is banishing anything that they could lay their eggs on. Toss any ripe of fruit vegetables that are sitting out in your kitchen (after hatching, fruit fly larvae will tunnel their way into the food and begin feeding). Store new produce in the refrigerator until you’ve eliminated the infestation. Take out the garbage and clean all containers and surfaces — including the bottom of your trash can — of spills and food residue that could be nourishing these pests. Don't forget the drain: it's a moist environment that may contain fermenting waste. Finally, because fruit flies thrive in warm environments (they’ll usually infest during warmer months of the year), turn up your air conditioning to create unfavorable living conditions.
There are several effective ways to catch fruit flies, depending on your preferences and the supplies you have on hand.
- Place some bait inside a glass jar —overripe produce, ketchup or a fermented liquid like apple cider vinegar, beer or wine will all work.
- Then place a funnel over the opening of the jar with the spout pointing down to create a tiny entrance that is easy for the flies to get into but almost impossible for them to exit. (In place of the funnel you can also use a paper cone.)
- As the jar fills up, you can wait for the flies to expire before emptying it, or you can put the jar in the freezer to speed up the process.
- This method is ideal if you have a nearly empty bottle of vinegar, beer or wine. Cover the opening securely with plastic wrap and poke a hole or two in the plastic.
- As with the funnel method, the fruit flies will be able to make their way in through the holes but won't be able to get out. Wait until they’re no longer moving — floating on the surface of the liquid — before tossing the empty bottle (there’s no need to remove the plastic wrap).
- For extra-tough cases, this is the way to go. Fill a microwave-safe bowl with apple cider vinegar and a few drops of dish soap.
- Microwave the bowl so the mixture becomes even more aromatic.
- Leave the bowl out uncovered as fruit fly bait. The soap will reduce the surface tension, causing any fruit fly that lands on the surface to drown.
Prevent fruit flies by thoroughly checking the produce you buy to make sure there are not cracks or nicks where fruit flies could be hiding. Wash and dry unrefrigerated produce as soon as you bring it home to remove any eggs on the surface. Fruit flies lay their eggs on anything sugary or fermented, so make sure you regularly clean up spills, take the garbage out, and clean your sink drain.
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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: