From buzzing around bowls of fruit to lingering near trash, it can feel impossible to get rid of fruit flies—which are especially prevalent during the summer months.
As with many pests, prevention is the best cure. But if you’ve noticed a swarm of tiny gnats invading your home or apartment recently, one content creator recently shared a tip for how to get rid of them.
Kelsey Meyers (@kelsey.meyers) said she noticed that dead fruit flies had made it inside an open container of vinegar she kept on her countertop. That’s when she realized that this common household ingredient might be the perfect fix for getting rid of the pests. As of Tuesday afternoon, her video documenting his fruit fly-killing hack had amassed more than 84,900 views.
When did the homeowner first notice the fruit flies?
In her nearly minute-long video, Kelsey said that she “didn’t realize” fruit flies flocked to vinegar. She said she kept both white and balsamic vinegar on the counter—in open containers—and noticed that the flies were attracted to the scent.
“I need to make a very important announcement because I must not be the only person that didn’t realize this could happen,” she said.
Kelsey spotted the flies before accidentally eating them. But she said she noticed, firstly, that dead gnats were floating in her partially opened balsamic vinegar container.
“I was looking at it and it looked like there were little fruit flies floating,” she said. “This is, like, the perfect trap for them.”
That’s when she hatched a plan. Kelsey told viewers that, in order to catch the flies, she dumped her white vinegar into a Pyrex measuring cup. And it worked: she showed viewers that her trap had caught dozens of flies, all of which were now dead.
“Are you [expletive] kidding me? I feel so stupid right now,” Kelsey said. She then implored viewers. “Did you all know this?”
Kelsey said this finding left her feeling “disgusted,” but she took solace in the fact that she likely didn’t eat any of the dead flies before noticing they were in her vinegar.
“Was this coming out into my food? I think I would’ve noticed that,” she said. “I think I would’ve noticed bugs coming into my food. Am I the only person that didn’t know this?”
Does vinegar really get rid of fruit flies?
Vinegar is one of the most common pantry staples that can be used for getting rid of fruit flies. But according to Bon Appétit, some vinegars work better than others.
In a 2022 write-up, the website recommended trapping the flies with a mixture of apple cider vinegar and dish soap. Apple cider vinegar, it noted, “works better than white vinegar for fruit flies because it smells like fermenting fruit.” For what it’s worth, it said that red wine vinegar will work, too, but that it’s more expensive.
Bon Appétit recommended microwaving the mixture of dish soap and vinegar for 20 seconds to “enhance the smell of the vinegar.” Then, it said to put the bowl in a place where there are a lot of flies. “The scent will draw the bugs in, and because the dish soap reduces the surface tension of the liquid, they’ll get stuck and drown,” the write-up read. “You’ll start to see results in just a few hours. Dump and refresh the solution when it starts to get saturated with dead flies.”
And in the comments of Kelsey’s video, viewers shared other hacks to prevent the proliferation of gnats.
“I’ve been keeping cinnamon sticks in my fruit bowls and it has really been helping,” one woman said.
“We make fruit fly traps all the time with vinegar, dish soap, and water with like a little funnel going in to catch them,” another wrote.
@kelsey.meyers But why are there so many???? 🤢#vinager #vinagerbottle #fruitflies #kitchen ♬ original sound – Kelsey ✨
“I pour vinegar down my drain when I have fruit flies,” a third person added. “Works like a charm!”
The Daily Dot has reached out to Kelsey via TikTok comment.
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