Summer is often a time of year when we keep more fresh fruit and vegetables out in our kitchen, as they come into their peak ripeness. But we’re not the only ones who enjoy a bowl of ripe strawberries or tomatoes, and fruit flies are notorious during the warmer months, attracted to the smell of ripe produce. Often appearing out of nowhere, they can quickly ruin food, with milder temperatures making for an ideal breeding ground for the tiny pests too.
Lingering in kitchens, they can also be found nesting in drains and bins, and once they lay eggs, you might find you’re suddenly infested with them. Making sure to chuck out leftover fruits and vegetables can prevent them from finding a home in your kitchen, but they’re notorious for sticking around and being difficult to get rid of. While some experts recommend keeping herbs like basil and mint near kitchen windows to mask any smells that fruit flies might follow, other methods include filling a jar with apple cider vinegar and dish soap to create a homemade trap.
You can even try sacrificing a bowl of food they’re attracted to, and covering this with cling film to keep them in here, but if you’d rather not waste produce, you might want to stick to this natural repellent.
In a video shared by Julia Hunt on Instagram, the content creator revealed a homemade repellent you can easily make using two ingredients you probably already have lying around.
Plus, repelling fruit flies instead of creating a trap or using a spray, which often contains chemicals that can leave a strong scent behind, means you don’t have to worry about disposing of them.
In the video, the creator who shares home and lifestyle tips said that you’ll “forget that fruit flies even exist if you do this” and that the “natural hack works like a charm”.
The homemade hack only requires half a lemon and some cloves, the aromatic spice often used in baking. To make the repellent, simply grab half a lemon and stick some cloves in it, and place it next to the fruit.
Cloves contain eugenol, an oil that disrupts fruit flies’ sense of smell, making it harder for them to find their way to food in your kitchen, while the citrus in lemon masks the smell of any ripening fruit.
Together, they make for a powerful repellent that requires little effort to make, and will ensure your kitchen and food are free of pesky flies. Cloves are available for just £1.10 in Sainsbury’s, and a single lemon can also be bought for 30p here.
