Homes across the country are waging war against fruit flies in their kitchens around this time of year.
Thankfully, the solution might be as simple as changing how you store your food. In TikTok video, an expert from JP McHale Pest Management pinpointed where the responsibility often lies: “Fruit flies don’t just come out of nowhere. If you have fruit flies in your home, chances are you brought them in with you.”
The specialist added: “In my experience, the worst foods for fruit flies are bananas and onions. But you can bring them in on potatoes, or anything else.”
Fruit flies seem to materialise from thin air due their remarkably swift life cycle. A single female is capable of laying up to 500 eggs, which then evolve into maggots within just 30 hours. Before a week passes, those larvae mature into adult fruit flies.
Proper storage of onions, bananas, and other fruits as well as vegetables can break this cycle. The pest control expert added: “The best way to prevent getting fruit flies is to keep your food in airtight containers!”
It should be noted that, for bananas specifically, storing them in airtight containers will speed up the ripening process. JP McHale Pest Management added in the comments that the fridge is another option for bananas if you have a bad fruit fly problem. And it’s always recommended that you wash your fruit when you first bring it into your home.
And if altering the way you store your fruit and vegetables doesn’t eliminate all the flies, there’s a simple kitchen staple that can help you get rid of them permanently. People often recommend using products like apple cider vinegar to ensnare and drown the pests, but a cleaning aficionado on Reddit recently suggested that soy sauce is more effective.
They shared: “The best thing I’ve ever used is soy sauce. They love fermented stuff. I put soy sauce in a shallow dish, cover it with [cling film], and poke pencil-sized holes [in the film]. Works a treat.”