Dealing with fruit flies in the kitchen

One problem every home chef faces at some point or another is a fruit fly infestation. The more you try to cook for yourself and eat fresh, wholesome ingredients, the more likely that you will end up with a fruit fly problem eventually.

The main issue with a fruit fly infestation is that people tend to look at the fruit flies at the problem. I am here to tell you, they are not the problem. They are merely the symptom of the problem.

I'm going to slap some Tough Love on you at this point. The problem is not the fruit flies. The problem is you. I have spoken to a lot of people who have stared in puzzlement at their clouds of fruit flies and said "I don't understand where they are coming from!" When it is in fact perfectly obvious to any outside observer where they are coming from. (The last time this happened, I was standing in someone's kitchen staring at a stew pot on the counter full of vegetable matter for the compost pail which had clearly been accumulating for weeks.)

You can trap and kill as many fruit flies as you want, but it won't make a difference. The only way to win this war is to fix the source of the problem.

So that's the first step. I know you say your kitchen is clean. But trust me, it could be cleaner. (This is true of everyone, even me.) Pretend that you're going to perform surgery in your kitchen. Spend a weekend getting it, and everything in it, absolutely clean. Wash any bottles of sauce that sit out on the counters, wipe out any bowls that hold fresh fruit, clean the inside of your trash can, the whole nine yards.

Here's an easy test: when the fruit flies settle, where do they land? Clean that thing, because it's probably the problem. (Are they coming from your drain? It could be drain flies.)

While you're cleaning, be looking for any source of vegetable matter or moisture, because that's what fruit flies love best. It could be a slice of potato under the dish drainer, or a banana peel that fell behind the microwave. Seek out, destroy, and clean all the things and boom: your fruit fly problem will be solved.

Image courtesy Flickr/(matt)