How to Get Rid Of Pesky Outdoor Fruit Flies

Fruit flies have a short life cycle of only ten days. This is plenty of time for them to lay thousands of eggs in your yard. Thousands of eggs will result in thousands of fruit flies. In order to eliminate the problem you will start by eliminating these pesky flies.

Begin the elimination by getting rid of any breeding and egg laying grounds. Be sure your outdoor trash bins are covered with lids. If there is any sticky residue on the outside of your trash bins, wash it off with a hose. Any yards that have fruit trees are a big attraction to flies so be sure to pick off any over ripe fruit. You also need to pick up any fruit that falls to the ground. Fruit is an extremely popular spot for fruit flies to breed and lay there eggs. Most gardeners fertilize there plants with manure. If you want to get rid of your fly problem you need to stop using manure as a fertilizer if you garden because it attracts fruit flies like crazy. Outdoor animals tend to go to the bathroom allot. So if you have any outdoor animals, be sure to pick up there poop as often as possible. If you don't clean it up on a regular basis, your fly problem will most likely triple in the amount of flies within a few weeks.

There are many traps you can create that will get rid of your fly problem fast. A few of the best include the bowl trap, zip lock bag trap, soda bottle trap, and the funnel trap. These traps are easy to create and many people already have the supplies to make them lying around their home. This will save you money and they work just as good as fly traps found at stores. Although, if you aren't up to making your own traps you can purchase good ones at home improvement stores such as Home Depot or Lowe's.

The bowl trap is simple and easy to make. Simply put a piece of skinless fruit and some wine or vinegar into a bowl. Then cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap leaving no wrinkles or holes on the edges for flies to escape. Then take a fork and poke many small holes through the plastic. Don't make the holes to large or else the flies will be able to get back out. How this works is, the flies enter the bowl through the large holes and cant fly back out.

Zip lock bags also make a great fly trap. Put a few pieces of skinless fruit inside the zip lock bag. Lay the bag outside near a fly infested area with about an inch of the bag open so they can enter. Sit and watch as the flies gather into the bag. Hundreds will enter in just a few minutes. While they are feasting on the fruit, you can simply walk up to the bag and zip it shut.

Many people find using a soda bottle as a fly trap very efficient. Begin by removing the label from a clean and empty plastic two liter soda bottle. Then carefully remove the upper third portion of the bottle. You will do this by cutting around its circumference at approximately where the top of the label used to be. Fill the bottom half of the bottle with a fly attracting liquid such as orange juice. Then take your upper portion, remove the cap, and turn it upside down placing it in the lower portion of your bottle. Fruit flies always find there way in the bottle but can never get back out.

The funnel trap is very efficient and super easy to create. Make a funnel shape with a plain piece of paper and tape the sides of it so it stays in place. Look in your kitchen for a glass vase or cup that the funnel will sit into snugly. Be sure to cut off the tip of the paper funnel so you truly have a funnel, not a cone. This way the flies have a small hole to enter. Pour a small amount of vinegar into the glass vase or cup to attract the flies. Make sure when you place your funnel inside it that it doesn't touch the liquid. This trap is sure to capture many flies and you don't have to worry about them getting back out.

If you spot a swarm of flies you can also get rid of them fast by killing them with hair spray. You don't need to go to the store and spend money on over priced bug spray, hair spray actually works just as well. Grab a bottle of hair spray and spray it directly on the swarm of flies. Just one spray will cause the flies to fall to the ground. Remember this is hair spray so it will lock there wings together within just a few seconds. Now all you have to do is sweep away there carcases.

Using the methods listed above are sure to get rid of your fly problem quick. It may not get rid of every single fly, but at least you wont have so many buzzing around your