my kitchen is swarming with fruitflys, where/why are they multiplying? how do I get rid of them, thanks?

Answer 1

The best way to get rid of fruit flies is to put an old banana or piece of banana in a jar or container, cover it with plastic wrap, take a pin and poke some holes in the top of the container. The fruit flies will be attracted to the rotting banana and they can get in the holes to it but can't find their way back out. It's a cool trap.
Their source? See all the other answers - it only takes a small piece of something for them to breed extremely fast. I don't know how many generations they can produce in a couple of days but it is a lot.
Good Luck - we have problems every year because we keep a kitchen waste bucket in the kitchen. We try to keep it covered but aren't always succesful. So we know how irritating it can be.
Oh yeah, another trap is some fruity wine in a glass. They are attacted to the sweet smell and end up drowning in the wine. Not an unpleasant way to go. (-:

Answer 2

We had this same problem, and it lasted 2-3 weeks. We tried washing everything - counters, trash can, under the fridge and the oven, under the sink, everywhere. I hung up flypaper, and put out saucers of water with cider vinegar in them - someone said that this would attract them, and they would drown. I got to the point where I would use the hose on the vacuum cleaner to chase them down and vacuum them up out of the air, off the window, sink, etc. Still they came back.

We finally found a rotted piece of fruit in a trash can in the basement. For some reason the flies would migrate upstairs and congregate in the kitchen. Once we got rid of that, the flies left in a few days. So if you don't find the source of food in the kitchen, keep looking in other places in the house.

Answer 3

The most common causes of fruit fly infestation are leaving your garbage in the open, and having over-ripe fruit out. Remove any garbage and fruit from your kitchen. You might have to wash down the floors (including under the fridge) and interior of your cabinets with vinegar.

Answer 4

Do you leave any food on the counters? If so, there is your problem. Make sure you put everything away at night, and wipe down the counters every evening with Lysol wipes. Sounds like they have migrated somewhere...you should try to locate the spot, then raid it out.

Answer 5

My mothers and fathers used to fill a shallow bowl with pink vinegar, stretch extremely saran wrap tightly over the coolest, and poke small holes interior the saran wrap. The flies might circulate by the holes and drown interior the vinegar. It worked incredibly nicely. additionally, merely be sure you at the instant are not leaving previous fruit around (rather obvious).

Answer 6

Something else to check; do you have any potted plants? The little "darlings" love the moist soil. Most houseplants can be safely sprayed with insecticide (like Raid). Best of luck!

Answer 7

My mom always had a piece of fruit in a bowl filled with vinegar. Leave the bowl on the counter. Apparently, they will land on the fruit and the vinegar will kill them. Try it.... it's inexpensive and not harmful to you, your pets or children.

Answer 8

If you have a garbage disposal, you might want to dump some vinegar down there also.