Fruit flies are annoying, but once you find where they’re coming from they’re easy to beat.

Quick answer Find and remove where they breed: overripe produce, the trash and recycling bins, sticky spills, damp mops and rags, and gunky drains. Then catch the leftover adults with a cider-vinegar trap: a little vinegar, a drop of dish soap, and plastic wrap with small holes poked in it.
How to Get Rid of Fruit Flies
Photo: Downtowngal / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
Tools & materials

  • Apple cider vinegar
  • Dish soap
  • Small jar or glass, plastic wrap, rubber band
  • Stiff drain brush
  • Clear plastic bag or wrap (to test drains)

Steps

  1. Refrigerate ripe fruit, or toss anything overripe or damaged. Check potatoes and onions for a soft one.
  2. Empty and rinse the trash, compost and recycling (bottles and cans especially). Wipe up spills under appliances.
  3. Wash or replace damp mops, sponges and rags.
  4. Test the drains: tape clear plastic over each drain overnight. Flies stuck underneath in the morning mean that drain is a breeding spot.
  5. Scrub the inside of that drain with a stiff brush, then flush with hot water to clear the film they breed in.
  6. Trap the adults: pour about 1/2 inch of cider vinegar in a jar with a drop of dish soap. Cover with plastic wrap, poke a few small holes, and set it where they gather. Empty and refresh it every few days.
  7. Keep at it for a week or two. The point is to break their breeding cycle.

Bug spray won’t solve this. As long as the breeding spot is there, new flies keep hatching.