How to Get Rid of Fruit Flies in Your House or Office

Short answer: Fruit flies come from something in your space that is rotting or fermenting, such as ripe produce, a drain, a trash can or a spill. To get rid of them, remove that source first, then trap the adults with a simple vinegar trap. A small problem usually clears up in one to two weeks. If the flies keep coming back, the source is hidden, and that is the time to call a professional.

How to tell fruit flies from other small flies

Not every tiny fly is a fruit fly, and the fix depends on which one you have.

• Fruit flies: tan, about 1/8 inch long, with red eyes. They hover around fruit, drinks and trash.
• Drain flies: fuzzy, moth-like, and found around sink and shower drains.
• Phorid flies: small, humpbacked, and they run in quick darting bursts instead of flying away. They breed in drains and rotting matter.
• Fungus gnats: dark and slow, found around houseplant soil.

Small moths in the pantry are a different problem. See our guide to pantry moths.

Why fruit flies keep coming back

Fruit flies are drawn to the smell of fermenting sugar. A female lays her eggs on ripe or rotting food, and in a warm kitchen a new generation can grow up in roughly 8 to 10 days. That is why a few flies turn into a swarm so quickly, and why swatting them does not work. You have to remove the place they breed.

How to get rid of fruit flies in your house, step by step

1. Find the source. Check the fruit bowl, onions and potatoes, the trash and recycling, empty bottles and cans, the mop head, and under the refrigerator.
2. Remove or refrigerate ripe produce. Throw away anything that is overripe or leaking.
3. Clean the drains. A film of food buildup inside a drain is a common breeding spot. Scrub the pipe with a brush, then use an enzyme drain cleaner. Never mix bleach with other cleaners.
4. Wipe up and take out the trash. Clean counters and the floor near the sink, rinse cans and bottles before recycling, and empty the bins.
5. Set a trap. Pour about an inch of apple cider vinegar into a jar, add a few drops of dish soap, and stir. The soap keeps the flies from escaping. Replace it every few days.
6. Keep going for one to two weeks. The goal is to break the life cycle, so keep the source clean until you stop seeing new flies.

How to get rid of fruit flies in an office or break room

Offices have the same causes, with a few extras that are easy to overlook:

• Shared refrigerators with forgotten food.
• Trash and recycling bins that sit over a weekend.
• Drip trays on coffee and soda machines.
• Sink drains in the break room and nearby restrooms.
• Soda cans and bottles left in recycling, and produce left on a counter.

Empty bins at the end of each day, rinse cans, clean the drip trays, and clear out the refrigerator each week. For a business that deals with this regularly, see our commercial pest control page.

What does not work

Spraying flying adults can reduce the number you see, but it does nothing to the eggs and larvae in the drain or the food. If you spray without removing the source, the flies return within days.

When to call a professional

• You have cleaned and trapped for two weeks and still see new flies.
• The flies seem to come from a drain you cannot clear, a wall, or a crawl space.
• You run a kitchen, restaurant or other food business where flies affect your inspections or customers.
• You cannot find the source.

If that sounds like your situation, call ApolloX Pest Control at (203) 256-1200 and tell us what you are seeing. We are a veteran-owned family business serving Fairfield County since 1987. See all our pest control services.