Is Dish Soap The Best Way To Kill Fruit Flies In Your Home? What You Should Know

If you suspect you have fruit flies in your home, you're certainly not alone. These insects are most common in the summer and fall months, but they can be problems throughout the year. These 1/8-inch long insects can thrive anywhere fruits and veggies are overripe or rotting. This can include your garden, as well as inside your home. Preventive measures are key to avoiding infestations, and you'll also want to avoid common mistakes everyone makes when trying to get rid of fruit flies. Dish soap is one possible tool you can use to get rid of fruit flies, but it should be used in conjunction with other ingredients to create traps and is not considered a standalone solution.

Dish soap is commonly used in homemade fruit fly traps along with a sweet ingredient, such as apple cider vinegar. First, the trap will allow any fruit flies to enter and access the sweetness of the apple cider vinegar. The dish soap will then prevent their escape by creating a surfactant effect so the flies cannot swim out of the vinegar solution. Dish soap is indeed an important ingredient to create these traps, but you will not be able to kill any fruit flies without the help of the sweet apple cider vinegar that attracts them in the first place. Alternatively, you can use fruit juice, wine, or rotting fruit in place of the apple cider vinegar. These traps may be one of the techniques to help you get rid of fruit flies once and for all.

While you can buy commercial fruit fly traps, you may be able to save money and make your own at home with a bit of dish soap and a few other ingredients. To do the latter, simply take a glass mason jar and pour 2 ounces of apple cider vinegar on the bottom. Add up to two drops of dish soap over the vinegar and then cover the mixture with plastic wrap or a small sandwich bag. Make sure the plastic covering is secure, and then poke small holes in the middle.

To address a fruit fly infestation, know that creating dish soap-containing traps is best when used in conjunction with preventive measures. This helps ensure that fruit flies are less likely to get inside your home in the first place while also helping to trap any that do access your indoor spaces. First, make sure you do not leave out any ripe fruit or vegetables that may attract these insects. It's best to seal or refrigerate these items if possible, or discard them if they are starting to rot. Check less obvious areas of possible infestations, such as spills underneath your refrigerator or scraps that are stuck in your kitchen sink drain. Be sure to use liners in trash cans and recycling bins, and to clean these items in the event of spills. Another possible deterrent is to keep screens on your windows to keep pests out. Just be sure the screens are the 16-mesh kind so adult fruit flies cannot fit through them.