How can I get rid of tiny black flies indoors?

[Sidebeforeself]

I need a foolproof method for getting rid of those tiny annoying black flies! We have an open plan kitchen/living area and they are driving me crazy. Ive tried peppermint ( just makes the place stink of mint!) and the cloves in lemon method you see on Instagram. Nothing works. My bins are clean and emptied regularly. We do have a fruit bowl but Im not sure where else I can store fruit, and it’s usually only bananas and lemons. Any tips gratefully recieved!

Apple cider vinegar in a bowl with a couple of drops of washing up liquid.

Do you have indoor plants? The flies might be laying eggs in the soil. I found nematodes worked. Order from loads of places online.

Exactly what I do. Doesn't get rid of all of them but does keep the numbers down.

If they are tiny black ones, it sounds like they could be sciarid flies (fungus gnats) - they typically come from pot plants, they live in the soil. I tried all kinds of things to get rid of mine until I one day heard about nematodes - it’s basically a kind of living organism that you can buy on Amazon, water into all of your prop plants, and within a few days – hey Presto, flies all gone!

Nematodes for any plants, and sticky traps in all plant pots and near the fruit bowl.

Was about to say the same. Nematodes work brilliantly for me.

Fruit fly ninja from Amazon. Brilliant.

Are they fungus gnats breeding in your houseplant pots? If so, change all the soil and wash the planters / saucers. Only water your plants from the base. You can also get little sticky traps from amazon which you can pole into the soil.

Another vote for apple cider vinegar in a bowl though it does stink out your kitchen.

This works

No I dont have any indoor plants. I did try white vinegar and dish soap but that didnt work…is apple cider vinegar more effective?

Fruit flies lay eggs in drains. You need to treat the source of them. There are specialist products to get rid

Do you mean the sink drain? They dont seem to go near there. It’s just in the lounge area and near the kitchen bin and fruit bowl

Just looked up one of those fruit fly ninjas ..turned my stomach. Not sure I want a jar of dead flies on display either!

Another vote for deep cleaning your sink drain, even unscrewing the plug area. The flies go for the fruit, especially bananas, but lay eggs in the drain.
Also try bringing fruit to ripeness outside and then keep it in the fridge. Bananas don’t like it but nobody died from eating a brown-skinned ripe banana.

Fruit fly ninja near your bin / food waste canister. Fungus gnats have a very short life cycle and even if you empty the bins once a day it can be very hard to get rid of them once they have found you. I find a ninja, close to the bin will clear the problem in a couple of weeks.

Do you have a reptile that lives on coir? Sometimes, fly eggs have been laid in the coir. I have heard that you can bake the coir first, to kill them.

I have fly screens, keep all fruit in the fridge, and have tried the fruit fly ninjas and cans of fly spray to deter the persistent ones (and ones hatched in coir). I don't mind the spiders that tend to feast on them.

Do you buy herb pots from the supermarket? They are usually hoatching with flies. I started buying precut herbs which is annoying as it obviously costs more than a plant that lasts 6 months.

I also had a fruit fly issue last year from Nectarines, basically had to wait it out and they soon died off. Zoflora'd the kitchen and kitchen bin to within an inch of its life too 😆.

Apple cider vinegar smells much sweeter so will attract them more.

No reptiles or herb pots! Sounds like I will have to try the cider vinegar ( I never knew you had to put a lid on it with holes in so maybe that where i went wrong with the white vinegar. I’ll keep the lemons in the fridge and move the fruit bowl too I think.

Even better than the Fruit Fly Ninja are the bad boys below (photo) from Amazon. Whilst it’s not pleasant seeing a jar of flies on your worktop, they really do work!

Handy hint : put red wine AND mashed up banana in them. I did a mini experiment with one where I just put red wine in with no banana and that one hardly caught any but the one with red wine & banana in did the trick. The fruit fly infestation had gone by the end of the week. Keep everywhere clean, keep plugs in sinks, don’t leave any dishes ‘soaking’ in the sink, empty bins every day and hide all fruit!

Thanks @chunkychoos but 😱at the thought of them being reuseable!

We’ve had an infestation recently. Got some of these and within 24 hours they’ve all gone!

A pack of four bottles was about £18 and worth every penny as everything else I tried didn’t work.

I know! Safe to say we threw ours away after use!

Put all your fruit in the fridge and don’t leave any out and keep bins closed and empty them daily. (assuming they are fruit flies) this happens every summer in my house as soon as the fruit is in the fridge they dissapear within a day