What are those tiny, little flies that come with some produce and seem to multiply before your eyes?

  The little flies that often appear near unrefrigerated produce in your kitchen are probably fruit flies, often also called vinegar flies.  You might have brought some home from the market and they’re extremely hard to get rid of, but if you use a multi-phase plan of attack, you should be able to do it.

Fruit flies can lay up to 500 eggs at a time near the surface of fermenting (ripening) foods or other organic materials. The entire life cycle from egg to adult takes only about a week to ten days so they multiply with great speed. They can also lay their eggs in sink drains, garbage disposals, empty bottles and cans, garbage bags, and even damp mops and sponges.

Grab a one-cup container. Pour in a half-cup of apple cider vinegar, squirt some liquid dish soap. Swish it around. Leave on the counter where you saw the fruit flies. They should be attracted to the mixture and drowned within a day.

But your first plan of attack should be removing their sources of attraction and breeding. Don’t leave ripened fruit or vegetables like onions, tomatoes, or potatoes exposed; store them in the refrigerator. Keep recycling bins clean, and wash the jars and cans that you toss into them  before discarding. Be sure the bottoms and the sides of garbage cans are clean too.