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Sunday, October 2, 2011

How to Get Rid of Fruit Flies



                                              
I  love bananas, but I don't love the pesky little fruit flies that frequently accompany them. 
Have you ever had those tiny little flies invade your kitchen? They can be very difficult to eliminate. However, I have found a natural way!

Where do these little tiny flies come from? 
I am probably bringing the potential pests into my kitchen as larvae which has already been laid on the fruit in the store.

Adult fruit flies have a very short life span and will usually die in about a day. 
However, they do lay eggs on fruit. Especially on soft fruit like bananas, peaches, tomatoes, pineapple, berries, and cherry tomatoes. 

How can you get rid of them naturally? 
You  need to eliminate the breeding grounds in order to eliminate the fruit flies or you will have a continuous problem.

They are ready for slicing and freezing for smoothies

I keep a large bowl of  bananas on my kitchen counter. Sometimes, we forget to eat them, and they get overly ripe. ( When fruit becomes overly ripe,  I then peel, slice, and freeze them to use in smoothies or just mash them and use them in baking)  

Lately, I've noticed that I've been getting invaded with fruit flies. They have been driving me crazy, and I decided it's war.

Do they do any harm? 
'
Don't think that those little buggers are harmless. 
Fruit flies multiply quickly, and they actually lay their precious little eggs all over your ripened fruit that you intend to eat. Unfortunately, they can carry disease and bacteria that can make you sick. I know- gross !! 

Therefore if you have fruit flies buzzing around, be sure to wash you fruit very well and if some of the fruit is cracked or open, consider discarding it

Here are two solutions that I found to help get rid of them 

1. How to Prevent larvae from hatching
When you get home from the store with your fruit, soak your bananas or other fruit in a bowl or tub full of water and 2 TBSP vinegar or liquid soap for about 5 minutes. Rinse well and towel dry. This helps remove any larvae that might already be on your fruit and thus prevent eggs from hatching and producing the adult fruit flies. ( don't buy any cracked or bruised fruit)

2.  How to Trap the ones you already have. 
I found this amazing little trap on Pinterest. This is genius.
You can read how to make it at  The Idea Room


Delicious Recipes to use up ripe bananas

Oatmeal Raisin Breakfast Cookies  ( made with mashed ripe banana, no sugar)


Banana Peanut Butter Spread ( Delicious whipped spread to use on pancakes, crackers, etc.)


Banana Loaf with Coconut Flour ( my favorite- a moist grain free sliceable loaf)


13 Convincing Reasons to Eat Bananas  




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50 comments:

  1. I too found a wine to attrack fruit flies and have them die....by accident. Poured my self a great glass of chianti and then the dog needed to go out. Walked the dog. Came back and there were a slew of dead fruit flies in my glass of wine. They died happy I guess but I lost a glass of wine!

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    1. I tried wine, but they didn't go for it. They love the apple cider vinegar!

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  2. What a great idea! Funny, we used to be plagued by fruit flies when we lived in Florida but here in the Southwest, we rarely see one. Now I know what to do if they return. Thanks for the great post!

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  3. These are two amazing tips!! Thank you so much for sharing this Judee, extremely helpful.

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  4. saw this on pinterest too, haven't tried it but need to! thanks for posting it and reminding me. I just tossed the nasty black bananas. I always want them but only like them slightly green, then they go to waste and I really get tired of banana bread!

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    1. When they begin to get speckled, peel , slice and freeze in a baggie..
      Add to smoothie as needed from the freezer .. It will sweeten up any smoothie and is .. DELICIOUS...

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  5. I'm starting to brew Kefir and Kombucha and the flies are LOVING them. No matter how clever I think I am hiding them, the flies find them. So I made a trap of plastic wrap on a small bowl with some kombucha in the base with small holes poked in the plastic wrap.

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  6. We have a billion of them. I had a pineapple sitting to ripen and when I picked it up they all few off and I think I respirated half of them! Eww!! They enjoy baby food too.. I am going to try that method you have on here. I'm desperate!

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  7. It works! I have one on my worktable right now. It sure isn't as pretty as that one though!

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  8. Margaret,
    They do seem to like wine, too bad about the chianti

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  9. Shannon,
    I understand about the banana bread. How much banana bread do you want to eat? If you peel the bananas, slice them and freeze them in small baggies, they are fabulous added to smoothies or we even like to eat them frozen.

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  10. Victoria,
    The method works great. Good luck

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  11. Melinda,
    I'm so glad you tried it and it worked for you. It is so difficult to get rid of those little flies otherwise.

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  12. Thanks for the tips! There are some clever things on pinterest...like the saying goes, I learn something new everyday. Well, almost everyday.

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  13. Thanks for joining the Frugal Tuesday Tip! Great tip and just in time for me, too. http://juliecache.com/2011/10/03/coupon-meetup-success/.html

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  14. (found ya on a link party)
    What a great idea.. thanks for the tip!

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  15. The downside of composting is that we forget to take the canister out to the bin, so we get flies sometimes. This funnel idea looks like something we should try. Thanks for sharing it!

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  16. This was great information. My mom soaks her fruit in Shaklee's Basic H. I think it is a surfactant type cleaner. I wonder if it would keep the flies away? I will tell her your idea. Also, sometimes I wonder if it is OK that I join so many blog parties. It is hard to spend much time at each party looking at the recipes but I try to get around. I am glad to see someone else that does too. Anyway, thanks for sharing on Tuesday's Tasty Tidbits

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  17. I also saw that trap on Pinterest and made it yesterday! It works so well. I hate fruit flies! Thanks for sharing.

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  18. Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU! My mother-in-law has been filling our house with fruit for canning and I swear every time I turn around, I get a cloud of fruit flies in my face!

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  19. I leave a dixie cup of wine or something sweet on my window sill when I have fruit around or else this buggars go right for my hot tea in the morning~

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  20. I leave a dixie cup with wine or something sweet on my window sill if I have fruit around~or else these buggars go right after my hot tea in the morning.

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  21. Great post! Thanks for the helpful information :)

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  22. That picture of all the fruit flies makes me itchy. LOL

    Thanks for linking up at A Little Nosh!

    Amy @ A Little Nosh

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  23. Oh, I'm having flashbacks to 11th grade science class when we had to put our flies to sleep with ether, sex them, then breed them...lol.

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  24. This is a great post with very good information. Thank you so much for sharing with Full Plate Thursday. Hope you had a great week end and come back soon!
    Miz Helen

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  25. Great ideas! Another one is to use an empty plastic bottle or jar. Fill it with about an inch of vinegar and set near problem area. Those suckers will disappear in a heartbeat! Thanks for linking to SSS! http://www.homesandbabies.com
    http://notyourordinaryrecipes.blogspot.com
    http://cleangal.blogspot.com

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  26. Interesting info. Thank you for sharing it at Joy of Desserts.

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  27. Genius fruit fly tips!! I've been run crazy with the little devils this Fall! Found you via Not Your Ordinary

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  28. What a great tip we all can use, thanks for sharing with the Hearth and Soul.

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  29. You are featured at New Nostalgia's Anti-Procrastination Tuesday! Thanks for linking up!

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  30. Well we got a problem now...little pests! Lol Thanks for the tip! I featured your idea in Terrific Under Ten Tuesday this week!
    http://athomewithk.blogspot.com/2011/09/terrific-under-ten-tuesday-33.html

    I'm also a new follower. We are gluten free at our house, so your blog is right up my alley!

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  31. Amy,
    Wow! Thanks for featuring my post,
    "How to Get Rid of fruit flies" on Anti-Procrastination Tuesday!
    Judee

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  32. Kindra-At Home With K said :"I featured your idea in Terrific Under Ten Tuesday this week!"

    Wow! Thanks so much for featuring me this week on your Terrific Ten Tuesday ..

    Judee

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  33. I will have to try this. I can't wait. I am your newest follower. come follow me.

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  34. Thanks for the great tips! I can't stand having fruit flies around and now I know how to get rid of them the next time they appear!

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  35. Those pesky buggers can make quite a nuisance of themselves. Thank you for this informative post!

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  36. We are going to try this out TODAY!!! THey are driving us bananas...pardon the pun.

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  37. Great ideas! I love the trap, and as I wash my fruit before we eat it anyway, why not just do it when I get home from the store instead of waiting? Thank you so much for sharing this post with the Gallery of Favorites.

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  38. Apple cider vinegar is the best solution for fruit flies if you are looking for organic solutions.

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  39. The way we get rid of them is by putting a ramekin out with kombucha and a drop or two of dish soap. They fly in and get stuck in the soap. Works great, the only bad part is seeing all the dead fruit flies in your ramekin - small price to pay : )

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  40. Excellent post! I really like the snare, and as I clean my fruit before we eat it anyway. Thank you so much for discussing this publishes with the Collection of Most favorite.

    how to get rid of fruit flies..

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  42. Good ideas. I have soaked my fruit basket occasionally in a mixture of vinegar and water, but never thought to do it to my fruit. Thanks, Judee.

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  43. I always thought they were harmless! I'm glad I read this! Thank you!

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  44. Thank you I needed this. We are invaded with those little pests! Thanks for sharing at vegetarianmamma.com's #glutenfreefridays link up!

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  45. These are not something I have been infested with but will bear this blog post in mind if they do turn up! #WasteLEssWednesday

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  46. My favorite thing to do with old bananas is to freeze them and then put them in the food processor with a little bit of vanilla to make an ice cream of sorts. Thanks for sharing on the #WasteLessWednesday Blog hop!

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