How To Get Rid Of Fruit Flies With Hydrogen Peroxide

When we think of summer, we think of picnics, beach days, and al fresco dining: bliss. However, one of the not-so-great things about summer is the return of pesky fruit flies.

Annoying as they may be, the good news is fruit flies are relatively easy to get rid of using products you already have in your kitchen cupboards, like hydrogen peroxide.

What Attracts Fruit Flies to your Home?

How do fruit flies even get inside your house? As temperatures rise, we tend to open doors and windows to cool our homes down. Fruit flies take advantage of the opportunity and make their way indoors.

Having fruit flies buzz around your kitchen is not ideal, but the real issue begins when the flies lay eggs in your home. Fruit flies will lay around 500 eggs when given the chance.

What Time of Year Do you See Fruit Flies?

It’s possible to spot fruit flies flying about your home all year round, but they are a particularly common occurrence in late summer and early fall. Why? When the warm weather comes, we’re more likely to have ripe fruit left out in our kitchens. Fruit flies are attracted to this ripe fruit, as well as vegetables, garbage disposals, trash cans, cleaning cloths, and empty cans and bottles.

Essentially, fruit flies are on the hunt for anything that has a moist layer of fermenting organic material that the flies can eat and breed near.

Fruit Flies vs. Gnats

Contrary to popular opinion, fruit flies and gnats are not the same creatures (although they are very similar). Fruit flies are a light orangey-red color with red eyes, while gnats are smaller and typically black, with grey or translucent wings.

Small bugs flying around your plants are most likely fungus gnats. However, if you spot swarms of bugs buzzing around fruit bowls, pantries, garbage disposal, trash cans, or other similar areas in your home, these are probably fruit flies.

How to Get Rid of Fruit Flies Once and For All

The first step in getting fruit flies out of your home is to get rid of anything that is attracting them. 

Try these tips:

• Don’t leave ripe fruit and vegetables sitting out, pop them in the fridge
• Rinse items (canned foods, beverages, etc.) thoroughly before tossing them in the trash
• Make sure the lids are properly placed on trash cans
• Clean up spills quickly to avoid attracting fruit flies
• Regularly clean hard-to-reach places like underneath the fridge, blenders, toasters, and other appliances where food residue can build up

Can Hydrogen Peroxide Get Rid of Fruit Flies?

Even if your home is spick and span, fruit flies can still make their way in. The good news is that you can wave goodbye to these pests with just a little hydrogen peroxide. Hydrogen peroxide kills not only fruit flies, but eggs and larvae. too, to make sure the flies don’t make a surprise return.

Final Thoughts

Fruit flies are an irritating pest in your home during the warmer summer months. The good news is that you can easily fight back a fruit fly infestation by cleaning problem areas with a hydrogen peroxide solution and storing ripe fruit and veggies in the fridge.