How to Eliminate Fruit Flies from Your Apartment

Fruit flies are one of the most annoying pests that you can have in an apartment. Even when you do everything right, another tenant might leave conditions in their home that cause these insects to visit. The question is How to Eliminate Fruit Flies from Your Apartment.

You may want to report the conditions to your landlord, especially if you know for sure that your activities haven’t caused the arrival of these pests.

How do you get fruit flies in an apartment? These insects love over-ripened fruit and items with high fructose. The female can lay up to 500 eggs at once, which means you must act quickly when one gets discovered.

How Can I Tell If I Have Fruit Flies in My Apartment?

Fruit flies appear when a food source is available. You may not keep sugary substances out for them to use, but your kitchen drain might have leftover organic particles acting as an attractant.

Since these insects hate sanitary surfaces, your best preventative option is to keep every countertop, table, and windowsill as clean as possible.

Fruit flies tend to be a brown color, ranging toward reddish-orange. If you see bugs that are black or gray, you may have fungus gnats instead.

The gnats live on plants or in soils, attracted to surfaces that retain too much water.

How to Eliminate Fruit Flies from Your Apartment Naturally

After you clean the apartment thoroughly, the fruit fly population should reduce significantly. It helps to remove all possible food sources from their access. Keeping everything in your refrigerator or a sealed container is helpful.

You can set out a glass or bowl with apple cider vinegar to attract the fruit flies. Cover the container with plastic wrap, use a rubber band to seal it, and poke a handful of small holes in the tensioned surface. Once the insects get inside this trap, they cannot escape.

If you don’t have any plastic wrap, try mixing a couple of drops of dish soap in a bowl filled with apple cider vinegar. Adding the detergent to the liquid lowers the surface tension, causing the insects to become immediately immersed.

You can always leave out an old bottle of beer or wine with a little left in it for the same reason. The natural funnel of the container reduces the ability of the fruit flies to escape.

What About Chemical Remedies for Fruit Flies?

Your lease dictates what chemicals you can apply inside of your apartment to quell a fruit fly invasion. You may need to contact an authorized pest control agency to complete this work or contact your landlord to make that request on your behalf.

Most apartments require a non-toxic approach to removing fruit flies. Anything safe for children and pets is generally usable in an apartment.

You can also purchase fruit fly traps that use glue, liquid, or essential oils to reduce population levels.

Once you see a significant reduction of insects, continue with your cleaning habits. That will be your best defense against a future invasion. Contact Ann Arbor Apartments.