Although not dangerous, fruit flies are annoying and with the end of summer here, fruit flies are harboring and harvesting in overripe fruit like never before. For safe natural alternatives pick up a few simple items at your local health food store to rid your kitchen of their invastion.
With the end of summer, fruit flies are invading kitchens, garbage container areas, and fresh fruits and vegetables. Their natural attraction is overripe fruit and rotting vegetables. Fruit flies are the smallest type of home flies, characterized by a yellow body and red eyes. Although the fruit fly does not carry diseases, it is a pest, traveling in swarms and harvesting and breeding in overripe fruit.
Natural remedies to eliminate fruit flies are not only safe; they are as effective. With a little knowledge and a few simple ingredients that you can purchase at your health food store, making your own solution is simple.
These items can be purchased at your local health food store:
- Lemongrass Oil
- Basil Leaves
- Basil Plants
- Cedar Strips
Keep your kitchen free of overripe fruit. Close your kitchen drains if you can; fruit flies love to multiply in the kitchen drains.
Keep your windows open for fresh air circulation. Fruit flies do not like cold and wind.
Keep your kitchen clean of garbage.
Mix ten drops of lemongrass oil in two ounces of hot water and spray.
Fruit flies do not like basil. Sprinkle basil leafs in your fruit bowl and keeps basil plants in your kitchen and near your fruit bowl.
Fruit flies do not like cedar wood. Have plenty of cedar wood strips in your kitchen and between your fruit.
Make a wine trap. In a bowl, pour a small amount of wine. Put dishsoap on your finger tip and gently touch the center of the wine. This will break the surface of the wine, drowning the fruit flies when they land. Put the bowl in the infected area and in the morning wash the contents of the bowl down the drain.
Never forget to get rid of the source. If you are harboring overripe or rotting fruit, get rid of it.