The life of a fruit fly is manageable and yet exciting. Upon closer inspection, the annoying insects turn out to be small specialists that have adapted to a life on fermented fruit. To get rid of the pests, simple tricks help.
What to do against fruit flies?
The vacuum cleaner is an effective way to eliminate fruit flies. This requires a steady and at the same time quick hand. Once the insects have been flushed out, sucking them in becomes an endless game of catch. Patience is required until the flies settle again. It's a little easier with various food and household items.
Home remedies for fruit flies
You can quickly build a fruit fly trap yourself
The question “What helps against fruit flies?” can be answered easily: with fermented or vinegar-containing substances. Do not use chemical agents against fruit flies. Home remedies prove to be not only ecological but also cost-effective and gentle on your he alth. Take advantage of the insects' preferences by attracting the annoying pests with the help of smells. Many of these substances are present in every household.
Home recipe for the fruit fly cocktail:
- a sip of fruit juice
- a few splashes of vinegar, for example apple cider vinegar
- some sugar
- a few drops of dishwashing liquid
The trick is that the dishwashing liquid reduces surface tension. As soon as the fruit flies start to land, they sink into the liquid and drown. Since yellow is particularly attractive to insects, you should use light-colored fruit juices. To further enhance the effect, you can pour the fruit fly mixture into a yellow container.
Fruit fly trap: gentle version
If the fruit flies have not yet become a nuisance, a live trap made of a glass and a piece of paper will help. Shape the paper into a funnel that fits snugly into the jar opening. For more stability, you can fix the funnel with a strip of adhesive tape. Such a fly trap has proven to be the best way to catch fruit flies without killing them.
Place fermenting fruit slices or old banana peels in the jar and place the structure next to the fruit plate. The insects are attracted by the smell and fly into the trap from which they can no longer find their way out. If necessary, empty the trap next to the compost in the garden. Here the insects find an optimal habitat and can take on useful functions in recycling leftovers.
Beste Falle gegen Obstfliegen und Fruchtfliegen [VEGAN]
![Beste Falle gegen Obstfliegen und Fruchtfliegen [VEGAN]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/UEPfloiWVKY/hqdefault.jpg "Beste Falle gegen Obstfliegen und Fruchtfliegen [VEGAN]")
Fruit fly trap: radical variant
If the expansion of the fruit fly population can no longer be stopped, several fly traps can help. Fill a bowl with fruit fly cocktail and cover the container with cling film. Poke a few holes in the foil. These serve as entry openings. Once the fruit flies get into the trap, they can no longer find their way out. An old screw-top jar provides a more stable version that you can use on the balcony and terrace. Drill several holes in the lid using a nail.
Carnivorous plants
A supportive solution to keep the fruit fly plague at bay are carnivorous plants. These exotic plants have developed special mechanisms with which they hunt insects. Sweet smells and seductive colors also attract fruit flies. If they fall into the trap, there is no way out. Digestive enzymes slowly break down and kill the prey.
| scientific name | Catch structure | Care effort | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Venus flytrap | Dionaea muscipula | Two-flap catch blade | medium |
| Fedwort | Pinguicula spec. | leaves covered in glands that secrete a sticky secretion | easy |
| Sundew | Drosera spec. | Leaves with tentacle-like glands that produce sticky drops | medium |
| Pitcher Plant | Nephentes spec. | leaf tips formed into jugs filled with digestive juices | easy to medium |
You should avoid this
Vinegar flies can be particularly annoying during the summer months. Many affected people seek help and rely on tips from like-minded people. Much of this advice should be treated with caution as it is harmful or dangerous to he alth and often does not bring any visible results. If you want to get rid of fruit flies, you should take gentler measures.
Chemistry club
Various sprays use the active ingredient pyrethrin to destroy fruit flies and other insects. Such agents act as a contact poison. If the dipterans are sprayed, the nervous system will be excited, coordination problems and ultimately death. The effect sets in within a few minutes, meaning that such exterminators effectively and quickly eliminate the plague. However, the active ingredient remains in the room air for up to six weeks. If food comes into contact with the poison, consumption can cause he alth problems.
Deodorant
Spraying the insects with deodorant spray does not lead to any visible results. At most, the measure causes the wings to stick together or some animals to suffocate if they have inhaled sufficient amounts of spray. Due to its low efficiency, you should avoid this measure. In great desperation, attempts are made to eliminate the insects with a burning deodorant spray flame. This method is not only ineffective but also dangerous.
Prevent fruit fly plague
Tomato plants keep fruit flies away
A few measures are enough to stop the spread of fruit flies. The insects are often brought into the home with the fruit. Design the environment so that it is hostile to vinegar flies. If their livelihood is deprived, they can no longer reproduce en masse.
Distribute with plants
There are some smells that fruit flies don't like. These include the essential oils of plants and aromas of various spices. These scents keep flies away from refrigerators, trash cans and fruit plates. Once the smell is gone, the effect is lost. Therefore, you should also set up traps.
Tips for scaring people away:
- Tomatoes: lay out fresh leaves in the kitchen
- Basil: Grind leaves to release essential oils
- Cloves: crumble lightly and sprinkle over the fruit plate
- Eucalyptus oil: evaporate a few drops in an aroma lamp
- Laurel oil: spray on organic waste with a water sprayer
Take hygiene measures
In addition to regular ventilation, it is important to clean dirty dishes immediately so that fruit flies do not have a place to live. The dipterans not only nest in drains but also find optimal conditions in a full dishwasher. Be careful and remove any remaining food and drink immediately.
How to prevent fruit flies:
- Check fruit for bruises and use these fruits immediately
- Store fruits in a cool place and cover
- Do not leave organic waste standing for longer than two days
- Clean trash cans thoroughly after emptying
- Clean and disinfect drains
How do fruit flies form?
Fruit flies reproduce surprisingly quickly
Fruit flies can multiply explosively when the conditions in their environment are optimal. Warm temperatures, increased humidity and organic waste ensure an ideal basis for life.
Multi-stage courtship
The courtship display of many fruit fly species can be divided into several phases. In the first phase, the male feels the potential partner with his forefeet. The females secrete a sexual attractant that makes them recognizable. If the male identifies an alien female, he retreats.
If chemical recognition is successful, optical orientation occurs in the second phase. The male circles his partner. Nocturnal species skip this step and immediately move on to the third phase. Both sexes open and close their wings slowly.
In the fourth step, the male vibrates with his wings facing the female. It continues to circle around the partner, creating a current of air. Females can sense these air movements and respond by vibrating their wings. The male quickly starts his first attempt at mating. This courtship ritual is repeated several times if the female resists mating.
Egg laying and larval nutrition
After successful mating, a female lays up to 400 eggs. It prefers fermenting plant materials or substrates as a place to lay its eggs, which serve as food for the larvae. The food spectrum of fruit flies is broad. The diet of many larvae consists of bacteria and yeasts, which decompose the fruits. These species are considered to be cultural followers and occur close to humans.
Larvae of other species feed on plant tissue in leaves and stems or on fungi. Some fruit fly larvae show predatory behavior and prey on plant-sucking insects or prey on bees' nectar and pollen supplies.
Development
We know the larvae of fruit flies as maggots
The newly hatched larvae of the common black-bellied fruit fly have a pointed front end that they can extend and retract. This chitinous pen contains vestigial mouthparts. The maggots crawl around in the pulp and eat the food. Over the next few days they shed their skin twice before pupating. The pupa is reminiscent of a dried maggot because the shell is formed when the larval skin dries out. It takes less than a week for the lid to burst and the adult fruit fly to crawl outside.
Lifespan and overwintering
Fruit flies have a life expectancy of two to eight weeks, with males dying after ten days. The aging process of insects is hormonally controlled. Adult insects do not survive the cold season. Fruit flies overwinter in the pupal stage in protected niches. The fact that flies appear in the kitchen even in winter is due to the favorable living conditions. Here vinegar flies can reproduce continuously and produce masses of eggs.
What are fruit flies?
Fruit flies get their name from their preference for rotting and overripe fruit. Other common names include fruit or vinegar fly and fermentation or must fly. To avoid confusion with species of drill flies, which are also called fruit flies, the term fruit fly was introduced. The insects represent a family and belong to the order Diptera. There are 50 different species in Germany that are between two and six millimeters in size.
Excursus
Interesting Behaviors
The fruit flies' main activity time is in the morning and evening hours when dew settles. Researchers have discovered that females exhibit special behavior when their offspring are in danger. Their eggs are parasitized by certain wasp larvae. When the female fruit flies sense the presence of these larvae, they lay their eggs in heavily fermented fruit. The alcohol content serves as protection because the wasp larvae are sensitive to it and avoid these fruits.
Where do fruit flies occur?
Drosophila melanogaster is common in our country
Their original distribution area is moist deciduous forests and forest edges. There are some wild species that are strongly tied to woody plants. Other members of this family turn out to be cultural followers and colonize habitats in human environments. This includes Drosophila melanogaster, which is a widespread fruit fly in the home. If you see small fruit flies everywhere, it is this species.
Fruit flies prefer:
- Compost heap
- fermenting fruit juices and beverage leftovers
- overripe fruit and rotting fruit
Tip
Don't throw away leftover wine, champagne and beer from the last celebration if you already have fruit flies in the kitchen. The bottles are perfect as a trap for fruit flies. If there are enough dead fruit flies in the traps, discard the bottles.
Fruit flies without fruit? Beware of confusion
Many fruit flies in the apartment cause disgust and despair. If the control methods do not help against the small flies in the kitchen, they are probably not fruit flies. Fruit flies are often confused with similar insects whose origins lie in completely different directions. It is therefore important that you identify the species before control.
Fruit flies are attached to leftover food. If these are not available, other types of flies come into question.
Flies in the flowerpot
If there are numerous flies in the potting soil, they are not fruit flies. Behind the black insects are fungus gnats, whose females lay eggs on the bare substrate. As soon as the larvae hatch, they burrow into the protected soil. A moist and warm environment offers these pests optimal conditions. Their larval stages eat plant roots, while adult fungus gnats prefer to stay in plants and only consume fluids.
Tip
Cover the substrate of your houseplants with gravel. As a result, fungus gnats find no place to lay their eggs.
Supposed fruit flies in the bathroom
It is entirely possible for fruit flies to settle in the bathroom. The insects lay their eggs in drains that have not been thoroughly cleaned. If such nesting opportunities have been eliminated without the flies disappearing, they are probably butterfly flies. These very hairy insects resemble tiny butterflies in shape. Psychoda phalaenoides is a species known as the cesspit mosquito. She is attracted by feces and urine and places her eggs near such odor sources. Butterfly mosquitoes can enter the bathroom from dry drains or through air ducts.
Drilling flies and fruit flies
The borer fly causes great damage to fruit growing
Drilling flies are also called fruit flies, but have little in common with fruit flies. They have an ovipositor with which they can lay their eggs in plant parts and fruit. Adult flies are significantly larger than vinegar flies and are characterized by strikingly patterned wings. While they can cause damage in agriculture and horticulture, they are of no importance as a pest in the home.
Frequently asked questions
How do I get rid of fruit flies?
Fruit flies can easily be baited with fermented fruit or leftover drinks. Use these tools to build a fly trap from which the insects can no longer escape. A foil-covered bowl or screw-top jar are ideal containers. Poke holes in the cover and fill the container with an attractant such as apple cider vinegar or juice and dish soap. If you want to get rid of annoying insects permanently, you should not store waste in the kitchen.
Where do fruit flies come from?
Fruit flies are carried into the home through purchased fruit or collected fruit from the garden. Their eggs are usually already on damaged fruit, so fruit flies hatch after a few days. Therefore, check fruit and vegetables for bruises and damage. Store such foods under a plastic cover. As soon as the first insects are visible underneath, you can take the plate outside and open the hood outdoors. Use up the fruit as quickly as possible.
How do fruit flies reproduce?
The mating of fruit flies follows an elaborate courtship ritual that consists of several steps. The male tries to find out whether the female is ready to mate. It approaches its partner and tries to get her attention. It happens more often that the females run away. Then the male has to do his best again and the process starts all over again. Only when the female has been convinced will the male make his first attempt at mating.
How quickly do fruit flies reproduce?
Once the female has been mated, she lays her eggs after just 24 hours. A clutch can contain up to 400 eggs, from which larvae hatch after a short time. These go through several stages over the next few days until they pupate. After four to five more days, the adult fruit fly emerges and can mate after 24 hours.
Are fruit flies harmful or dangerous?
Fruit flies are not dangerous to humans because they cannot bite or transmit diseases. However, your appetite quickly disappears when there are lots of flies in the kitchen. Drosophila species feed on yeast fungi and bacteria, which are involved in the rotting processes of fruit. The insects are able to transmit these microorganisms to fruits and vegetables.
How long do fruit flies live?
Vine flies have a life expectancy of between two and eight weeks. The purpose of males is to mate with female partners and ensure the continued existence of the species. They usually don't live longer than ten days, while the females can reproduce several times in their life.
