Fruit Flies Love When You Let This Fruit Sit Out — Here's How To Stop Them

A bowl of fresh fruit on the counter is a great way to keep healthy snacks ready and accessible, but unfortunately, this can bring an unwanted pest into the kitchen. Fruit flies are notoriously annoying, and if you love bananas, you're at an even higher risk of attracting them into your home.

It's not your imagination — fruit flies are inordinately attracted to bananas. This is because as bananas ripen, they emit ethylene gas at a higher rate than many other fruits, and this attracts fruit flies. It's also possible the fruit flies entered your home with the bananas straight from the store, which is why one critical step is to wash your bananas as soon as you unload your groceries. This should be done thoroughly by keeping your bananas under the tap for at least 30 seconds and paying particular attention to the stems. Then, dry the bananas carefully, and store them as usual, and wash the bowl itself in between new bushels of bananas. Unfortunately, that still won't put a complete stop to a rise in fruit flies — but there are things you can do to help.

If a rise in fruit flies has you wanting to store your bananas in the fridge instead, don't. It may help with the flies, but it'll worsen your bananas, because refrigeration causes them to go brown rather than ripen. 

On the other hand, if the fruit flies are ruining your love for bananas, you can instead store your bananas in the freezer. This isn't ideal if you love bananas as a quick and easy snack, but it's a great alternative if you primarily use them for baking or to add to your morning smoothies. Freezing your bananas is best done when the bananas are newly yellow, and they can keep for up to six months.

Otherwise, along with rinsing your bananas as soon as you get home, your best bet is to keep an eye on them as they ripen. If they start to brown, it might be time to bake them into banana bread or muffins, or, unfortunately, toss them completely. But note that once you do that, be sure to secure your rotten bananas in a tightly tied bag to help keep fruit flies from seeking them out before trash day.

Prevention is the best method to deterring fruit flies, but if you've done all you can and things have gotten completely out of hand, try luring the fruit flies with duct tape or attracting them to a trap with apple cider vinegar.