Fruit Flies in Bathroom-Why and How to Get Rid & Prevent

Fruit flies are minuscule brown flies with large eyes that can make their way into the bathroom any time of the day. Damp organic matter and surfaces in your bathroom are what attract them.

To get rid of fruit flies, you can use vinegar, set up DIY Traps, or use insecticides. Read on to get more details including how to prevent them.

What are Fruit Flies?

Fruit flies are small brown flies that have large red googly red eyes, although some can have dark-colored eyes. Their thorax is tan, and their abdomen is black with a gray underbelly, fruit flies, however, tend to have an overall tan appearance.

Their antenna has feathery bristles coming off it. They love feeding on rotten fruits and vegetables and often make their way into the bathroom, mainly because they are attracted to water and damp places and the bathroom is one of the places.

Why do I have Fruit Flies in my Bathroom?

Fruit flies are common in bathrooms because they love moisture. A bathroom drain is full of moist organic matter, making it the perfect place for these fruit flies to reproduce.

Since female flies can lay dozens of eggs each day, what started out as a few flies can quickly become hundreds of flies. This leads to an influx of fruit flies in your bathroom drain.

Plumbing facilities that collect moisture, particularly sinks and shower drains, attract fruit flies.  The warm, moist environment encourages the flies to settle and breed.

Since the bathroom drains aren’t easily accessible by homeowners, the eggs and larvae often remain undisturbed. The fruit flies will only keep multiplying until you contact professional drain cleaning services.

What Attracts Fruit Flies to the Bathroom?

Decay, debris and decomposing matter within the bathroom sinks and drains is what attracts fruit flies. Bathroom sink drains are notorious breeding grounds for fruit flies. When you have a clogged sink with build-up, it creates a dirty, damp environment for the fruit flies to prosper.

A lack of plumbing maintenance may increase the likelihood of fruit flies appearing in your bathroom. Leaky faucets, broken pipes, and clogged drains are all common causes of fruit flies.

If you notice an inexplicable puddle of water under the sink, you probably have a leak somewhere in your plumbing.

Food and fruit remnants left on the bathroom floor or trash can be a cause of fruit flies in the bathroom. Maybe you left your glass of wine in the bathroom or spilled some wine and forgot to wash it off, this smell attracts them.

Or perhaps you were eating an orange when you were taking a bath in the bathtub and forgot the orange peels on the floor, then the scent may attract them.

In case you have hot showers then the warmth from the steaming water might be the cause of fruit flies in your bathroom. They like warmth and it attracts them.

Where do Fruit Flies come from in the Bathroom?

Because these insects are so tiny, they can get in through window screens or crevices around windows or doors.

Fruit flies can also be introduced into your home by purchasing fruit, vegetables, or poorly sealed jarred or bottled goods that are already infested with fruit flies or their larvae.

They are attracted to fruits, hence may stick on them as they are in the house and then move into the bathroom as it has better conditions for their breeding.

How to Get Rid of Fruit Flies in the Bathroom

Fruit flies can be a nuisance in the bathroom since they fly and the buzz can be very irritating. They can also cause and spread bacteria which is a health hazard and for this is why they should be dealt with immediately they are seen.

There are several ways of getting rid of fruit flies in your bathroom. They include the following:

DIY Traps

Making DIY Fly Traps is a great way to get rid of fruit flies in the bathroom.

They work by trapping the flies in a sticky substance, which prevents them from escaping. As the flies try to escape, they become stuck in the trap.

Vinegar Trap

The most popular fruit flies trap is a vinegar trap, which is simple and cost-effective to create.

To make this trap follow the following steps:

1. Place a few tablespoons of apple – cider vinegar in a bowl
2. Add a few drops of dish soap to the bowl with vinegar in it
3. Add a tablespoon of sugar to the bowl
4. Stir the mixture gently.
5. Set your bowl in an area where fruit flies are prevalent, in your bathroom like near the bathtub or even the sink.
6. The sugar and apple-cider vinegar combination is responsible for attracting the fruit flies, and the dish soap is for trapping the fruit flies and eventually causes them to drown.

If you cannot access apple-cider vinegar presently, you can use a combination of red wine and dish soap to create a similar fruit flies trap. If your fruit flies infestation is particularly intense, you may want to set out a few bowls of this wine trap mixture around the house.

Yellow Food Coloring Traps

To make the trap, do the following:

1. Mix some apple – cider vinegar with a few drops of dishwashing detergent and yellow food coloring in a cup. Apple cider smells like fruit, hence will attract the fruit flies.
2. Place a layer of cling film across the top of your container, keeping it in place with an elastic band. Make a few small holes in the film.
3. The yellow coloring and the acidic scent of the apple-cider vinegar which mimics rotting vegetation attracts the fruit flies, and then they get trapped inside the container.

Fruit Trap

This method also works well. For this method, do the following:

1. cover a jar of overripe fruit with plastic wrap and poke small holes into the wrap’s surface.
2. The fruit flies may smell a food source and enter the jar, becoming trapped.

There is also another way to make a fruit trap. For this, do the following:

1. place some fruit skins in a disposable container, or you can also use a few tablespoons of beer or wine to attract the fruit flies.
2. Wrap the container with a cling film layer, sealing it with an elastic band.
3. Poke a few small access holes and then set it up in your bathroom.
4. If you do not have a beer, you can add a few teaspoons of sugar, yeast, and water, as this may mimic the fermentation process that attracts fruit flies.

Candle Trap

Light also attracts fruit flies just like other insects, and hence a candle trap can be used to get rid of them.

Using this method, follow the steps given below

1. Place a candle in a candlestick and fill the holder partially with water.
2. Light the candle and turn off the lights.
3. The fruit flies flock to the flame and be burned or may fall into the water and drown. 
4. When using this method, make sure you put out the candle flame before going to bed to prevent a fire outbreak.

Use Sticky Traps

Another way to get rid of fruit flies is by using sticky traps.

You can purchase the sticky traps available at retail nurseries and garden centers.

To set up these traps followed the steps below:

1. Cut the yellow sticky traps into smaller squares, stick the small squares over the areas infested by the fruit flies such as the bathtub, sinks, and drains.
2. Fruit flies sit over them and get stuck.

Using  Fruit Flies Spray

Since fruit flies are a type of fruit flies, then you can use a fruit flies spray to get rid of them.

You can make a homemade fruit flies repellent spray.

To make this spray follow the procedure

1. Make a mixture of dish soap, water baking soda and vinegar
2. The mixture should contain a few drops of dish soap, a tablespoon of vinegar, and baking soda per cup of water.
3. Fill it into a spray bottle.
4. Use this to spray on the fruit flies. A few sprays of this mixture are an effective fruit flies repellent. They may be sprayed in areas where fruit flies are common in the bathroom, such as the sink.

Bleach Your Drains

You can get rid of fruit flies around your bathroom sink or bathtub or even the drain by pouring a cup of diluted bleach down the drain to kill the fruit flies. Ensure you pour the bleach down the drain slowly until there are no more fruit flies.

Use Gnatrol

Gnatrol is a naturally occurring fungus found in the soil that is toxic to fruit flies larvae. It contains spores that produce toxins that target and specifically harm the larvae of mosquitoes, blackfly, and fungus fruit flies.

This can be applied over your potted plants repeatedly for fruit flies control. It is non-toxic to humans and available in most local gardening stores.

Use Baking Soda and Vinegar Solution

You can also use baking soda and vinegar to kill fruit flies in the bathroom.

1. Pour baking soda down the bathroom sink and then add vinegar. The mixture fizzes and bubbles may come out of the drain pipe.
2. Let the mixture remain in the drain for one hour. Next, you should pour boiling water down to kill the fruit flies once and for all.
3. A baking soda and vinegar solution instantly kills the fruit flies, including eggs and larvae.
4. It may also loosen the organic material inside the drain pipes that gets rid of the food source of the flies.

Use Fingernail Polish

The chemical acetone which is found in nail polish can effectively kill fruit flies, and hence you can use nail polish or nail polish remover to get rid of fruit flies in your bathroom.

Procedure

1. Takes a see-through glass
2. Stick some cotton in it using glue
3. Put some nail polish remover on the cloth and cover it over the drain.
4. The nail polish remover attracts the fruit flies when they come out of the drain, and once they get in contact with the cotton they may sit on it, and they shall die instantly.

Use Baking Soda Paste

Baking soda solution does not just kill the fruit flies but can also clean the pipes and drains.

For this method follow the following steps:

1. Put half a cup of baking soda in a bowl.
2. Add one cup of water to the bowl.
3. Mix the baking soda until you get a paste consistency.
4. Then coat the surface of the tiles and bathtub with the paste. Make sure that you wear gloves when applying the paste.
5. Let the mixture sit there until it turns dry. It may take about six minutes for the baking soda to dry.
6. Turn on the water and use a rubbing brush to wash the tile and bathtub.
7. You should clean the area thoroughly to remove fruit flies eggs on the tile and bathtub surface.

Use Ammonia Solution

Using ammonia is also effective to curb fruit flies in your bathroom. For this, you can follow the following procedure:

1. Add about 3 cups (ca. 710 cubic centimeters) of ammonia in a gallon of steaming hot water to create a mixture for killing fruit flies in the bathroom.
2. Use this liquid mixture to clean the drain and bathtub and any other area infested by the fruit flies.
3. Leave the liquid for about five minutes and then flush or wash it clean
4. You can also use a scrubber to apply ammonia solution at the base of the toilet.
5. Next, you should add boiling water to kill the fruit flies eggs.
6. Make sure that you wait about 3 minutes before pouring the hot water around the toilet base. Lastly, you should wipe the area using a dry cloth to remove dampness.
7. Fruit flies that come into contact with ammonia cannot be able to mate. This effectively gets rid of fruit flies infestation from the bathroom.

Note: When using this method, you need to open the doors and windows of the bathroom, as the fumes of the mixture can be toxic and harmful to you and even pets around.

Moreover, you should cover your eyes and ears when pouring ammonia into the water.

How to Prevent Fruit Flies in the Bathroom

Prevention is more effective in keeping fruit flies out of the bathroom, and it’s better to keep them away as early as possible than having to deal with getting rid of them.

Here are some tips to prevent a fruit flies infestation in your bathroom.

• Dispose of damp organic matter properly. Ensure the disposal containers have fitting covers.
• Keep the bathroom clean – You may most likely stumble upon fruit flies around the shower, bathtub, and sink area in the bathroom. To avoid a fruit flies infestation, keep these areas dry and free from any kind of dirt and filth.
• Keep the shower curtains dry and clean – This is because fruit flies can lay their eggs on the curtains if they remain wet most of the day.
• Cleaning the drains – Dirty drains are one of the main reasons that fruit flies infest the kitchen. Use baking soda and an ammonia solution to clean the drain pipes each week. You can also use a metal pipe brush to clean the drains.
• Avoid excess watering of potted plants in the bathroom – Moist soil attracts fruit flies, hence excess watering of the plants in the bathroom can attract them.
• Fix leaky pipes – Leaks create a puddle of water that creates an ideal breeding spot for fruit flies and when they are fixed this prevents the breeding. Check the pipes regularly for a leak in case there’s any ensure it is fixed instantly.
• Store towels in a lidded hamper – Fruit flies can lay eggs in wet towels. You must store towels in a lidded hamper to prevent female fruit flies from laying eggs.
• In addition, you should keep the curtains and blinds open to let sunlight inside. Sunlight can dry wet towels, thereby preventing a fruit flies infestation.

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