How to get rid of fruit flies

By Food52

What's the only creature that loves fruit more than you do? Fruit flies. In the world of science, they're known as drosophila and have been crucial in the understanding of basic genetics. But in the world of your kitchen, they're known as annoying black specks—so small you wonder if you're hallucinating—that orbit around your face every time you try to eat.

Don't be embarrassed if you have a fruit fly problem—it happens to the best of us. The little buggers seem to come from nowhere and are practically impossible to get rid of.

But you have the power to do the impossible. Armed with a few basic tools, you can rid yourself of fruit flies and begin your new fruit fly-free life.

First, you must understand your enemy. Fruit flies live for 8 to 10 days and the females lay up to 500 eggs at a time. This translates into rapid multiplication: lots and lots of little fruit fly babies.

To rid your kitchen of fruit flies, the first step is to destroy their breeding ground. Fruit flies lay eggs on the surface of ripening fruit, so for the time being, move your produce into the fridge. Fruit flies also spawn in sink drains, garbage disposals, empty bottles, and damp sponges, so be extra vigilant with your kitchen clean-up.

Even when you've removed the surfaces fruit flies are attracted to, it's likely there are still fruit fly larvae lurking in the corners of your kitchen, ready to develop into adults. This is where traps come in.

Sadly, in order to break free of the fruit fly shackles, you must kill adult flies. You can purchase traps, but these DIY methods are as, if not more, effective.

Check out the slideshow below for 2 methods to get rid of fruit flies:

This article originally appeared on Food52: How to get rid of fruit flies

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