Fruit flies are a nuisance. Imagine yourself enjoying a meal and then suddenly, you are being swarmed by tiny insects trying to have a taste of your food.
Not only are they an annoyance, they also pose threats to you and your family as they carry diseases by contaminating food with E. Coli and Coliform bacteria that are both very harmful to the health.
A pregnant female fruit fly may lay up to 500 eggs in just about a week so getting rid of them completely poses a great deal of challenge.
Expect an abundance of these pests during the summer months although they can pretty much be present all throughout the year.
Here, we have a few tips on how to keep these pesky little insects at bay the natural way:
Honey Trap – Mix 1 cup water, 1 cup honey, 1 cup sugar and 2 teaspoons glue in a pan. Heat the mixture until all the ingredients have blended evenly. Apply the mixture on a yellow stiff paper. Hang the paper in the kitchen, garden, or wherever there are many fruit flies. They will fly towards your sweet bait and get stuck.
Yeast Trap – The best thing about this remedy is that yeast is cheap and easy to come by. In a transparent glass jar, just add ½ cup warm water, 1 cup activated yeast and 1 teaspoon sugar. Stir until mixed well. Then, tightly cover the jar with plastic bag and poke holes on top of the cover using a toothpick. Put the jar beside the trash can or your fruit basket and leave it for 24 hours. Flies will be drawn to the smell of fermentation. Once the jar is full of flies, empty it in a sink.
The Basil Bait – Basil provides remarkable benefits to health. Dubbed as the “King of Herbs”, basil has an array of uses and one of which is for getting rid of fruit flies. This herb has a component called ‘eugenol’ which is an aromatic oil that attracts fruit flies.
Soda Trap – It is a known fact that fruit flies are drawn to anything sweet and fermented. To make this trap, simply fill ⅓ part of a plastic soda bottle with soda then make a paper cone, leaving a small hole at the bottom that will serve as a one-way entrance for the flies.
The Banana Trap – If there is any scent that can surely lure fruit flies in, it’s the scent of ripe banana. To prepare this trap, slice a banana into 4 pieces and put it in a transparent container. Cover the container with a polythene sheet and poke holes on the top big enough for flies to fit in.
For a more serious fly infestation or if none of the natural remedies mentioned above work, we at Defence Pest Management offer a fast-response pest management service to help you rid of these unwanted guests.
