My wife is big into juicing, so we have a lot of fruit in the kitchen. Those attract fruit flies, even in this winter. The problem is the fruit flies are not just restricted to the kitchen, they fly all over the house through the various levels and the other day I was in a video call when one started bothering me.

How does one get rid of them? I cannot ask her to get rid of the fruits, I believe that helps keep us healthy and she enjoys doing it.

I tried Youtube traps of using dish soap with apple cider vinegar, but the flies are too smart for it, They still would prefer the fruit and I didn't find a single fly trapped in the liquid.

Any ideas? This is very annoying. One just went into my nose....

I'm not sure what the solution would be, but it seems a different storage method for the fruit instead of just sitting in a bowl on the counter would help. Either that or just keep a smaller supply around, maybe just enough for a day or two.

Put a small piece of fruit in a mason jar. Make a cone with a sheet of paper, and leave the apex of the cone with about a half inch opening. Use tape to keep it in this shape. Put the cone in the jar.

The flies can get IN, but can't get OUT. This worked for us several years ago when we had a small swarm of them one summer.

An L of an Ag said:

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Put a small piece of fruit in a mason jar. Make a cone with a sheet of paper, and leave the apex of the cone with about a half inch opening. Use tape to keep it in this shape. Put the cone in the jar.

The flies can get IN, but can't get OUT. This worked for us several years ago when we had a small swarm of them one summer.

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Thank you! I have a mason jar, will try this today! I like the cone trick, I had used plastic with holes punched in but it did not work.

Your wife is making them.

No. Sorry. I only know how to make complicated ones.

The Terro Fruit Fly Trap should work.

So, you're saying fruit flys are simple?

If you catch any regular flies, use them for the raisin bread.

I don't know, but here are some car hacks!

Smart car emergency fixes simple daily hacks pic.twitter.com/SOkOtCdmgn

— Tips2Home 🏡 (@Tips2Home) February 6, 2026

I never had the OP pegged as a individual with a filthy home. Its a great example of "you can never be too sure"

What does your wife juice?

91_Aggie said:

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Apple cider vinegar mixed with dawn soap in a little bowl

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This is what I tried, it didn't work. Not sure why...

infinity ag said:

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91_Aggie said:

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Apple cider vinegar mixed with dawn soap in a little bowl

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This is what I tried, it didn't work. Not sure why...

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You could torch the entire place down to the slab assuming this isn't a double wide

Get cheap whiskey and leave some out in a glass on the counter.

JobSecurity said:

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What does your wife juice?

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Oranges, pineapple, carrots, some purple stuff... this... and that....

Ranger26 said:

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Use red wine with soap, take kitchen trash can out of house, cover sink drains when not in use, eco plug in sticky trap, and clean counter tops religiously. Also if you have a house plant that is moist take it out also. It will take a week or two of this to eliminate them.

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I've never tried red wine, so I will keep that in mind.
During the summer, I was growing cauliflower and cabbage in pots inside the house. It started attracting house-flies! The house was buzzing with it for some weeks until I realized it was because of this and I put the pots outside and it slowly stopped. I guess they lay eggs on the leaves and they explode in growth.

I have some plants like red chilli, ghost pepper etc that I brought inside for the winter, maybe they are contributing.

Thyme flies when you're having fun.

Also flush your toilet more often

Ranger26 said:

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Use red wine with soap, take kitchen trash can out of house, cover sink drains when not in use, eco plug in sticky trap, and clean counter tops religiously. Also if you have a house plant that is moist take it out also. It will take a week or two of this to eliminate them.

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+1 for this. I have done this and there were dozens dead in the bowl within a day.

My wife bought a new pot for a plant that didn't have drain holes and she kept pouring water in. We got over run by them until we figured it out. It took us weeks to hit rid of them.

We figured out the red wine trick because my wife has a glass every night and they kept buzzing her the whole time she drank it.

Burdizzo said:

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Also flush your toilet more often

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You're a sit down commodian.

Get some of those Zevo plug-ins. Its basically a blacklight with a sticky strip on it.

No luck on fruit flies but more life hacks:

Hard to believe but these life hacks will ease your cleaning problems pic.twitter.com/f0NvPnJrB6

— Tips2Home 🏡 (@Tips2Home) February 6, 2026

A glass of chardonnay works. Maybe a 1/2 inch to start.

Also Aunt Fanny's Trap

Ranger26 said:

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My wife bought a new pot for a plant that didn't have drain holes and she kept pouring water in. We got over run by them until we figured it out. It took us weeks to hit rid of them.

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House plants may be an issue. I brought my chili plant in for the winter to protect from snow and it's got spider mites on it. Maybe I need to get rid of the plants.

Cromagnum said:

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Get some of those Zevo plug-ins. Its basically a blacklight with a sticky strip on it.

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Thanks! Didn't know about these, I found some on Amazon. Will try the free ways if they don't work, will get these.

Venus fly trap. A bunch of them.