My low effort DIY hack will repel fruit flies from your kitchen – it only takes seconds to do
THERE’S nothing more unappealing than flies hovering around your food.
One woman shared the DIY hack she swears by for keeping the insects out of her kitchen.
In her viral video, TikTok user Kamana Bhaskaran (@kamanabhaskaran) explained how you can repurpose an item you would normally throw away for pest control.
She revealed that she previously had an issue with fruit flies in her home.
However, using a low-effort trick Kamana was able to banish them from her kitchen.
She revealed that she uses bottle corks to keep the insects away from her fruit.
“Fruit flies are attracted to moisture and sugar,” Kamana told her followers.
“The cork absorbs the moisture released from the ripening fruits and activates a natural compound that repels fruit flies.”
As their name suggests, fruit flies are mainly attracted to ripe and fermenting fruits and vegetables.
However, according to the experts at Arrow Exterminators, they have also been known to linger around other areas of the home.
“They are drawn to things such as drains, garbage disposals, empty bottles and cans, trash bags, cleaning rags and mops,” they said.
“Essentially, they are drawn to food waste and moist environments.”
Kamana demonstrated how she simply breaks a cork in half before placing several pieces throughout her fruit bowl.
Cork is naturally open to absorb and release moisture when the air becomes dryer.
As well as reducing the sweet scent in the air, cork produces a smell that fruit flies do not find pleasing when mixed with the fermenting fruit.
This makes it the optimal item to absorb the moisture produced by the ripened fruit.
TikTok users shared their thoughts on the hack in the comments section.
Common garden pests
Common pests in the garden don’t need to be a cause for alarm. If you can identify them, you can work on getting rid of them and preventing them from returning.
Aphids (Greenfly, Blackfly)
Aphids are extremely common and can impact plant growth. They have tiny soft pear-shaped bodies, and are usually green or black. You may spot them clustered on the stem of soft shoots – look under leaves in particular – or may find a sticky substance on your plants that gives away aphids have been there sucking at the sap.
Whitefly
These small white-winged insects are related to aphids, at just 1 or 2 mm in length, and look very much like white moths as adults. They can be found on the underside of leaves, preferring younger, fresher leaves. They fly in clusters when you disturb them. Their lifecycle is only three weeks long, which means an infestation can occur very rapidly.
Slugs
An unmissable, squashy-looking body plus small sensory tentacles on its head. Slugs move along on one muscular foot. They range in scale from surprisingly small to terrifyingly large; limax cinereoniger species can grow comfortably beyond 20 cm in length.
Cabbage Moth Caterpillar
Cabbage moth caterpillars happily make their way into the heart of the vegetables, The caterpillars are distinguished in shades of yellow or browny green with no hair.
Mealy Bug
Mealybugs are tiny oval-shaped insects that have a white, powdery wax coating. There are several different species, many of which have what looks like legs coming from their sides and back end. In their earliest stage of life, it’s entirely possible to mistake them for fungus and not recognise them as insects at all.
“I have to try this, thanks,” wrote one impressed follower.
“Thank you!!!! I have to try this!!” said another viewer.
A third person described the quick trick as “so cool” and added that they shared it with their family.
Another woman shared the budget buy she uses to keep flies from entering her home on hot days.
A pest control expert revealed the best DIY hacks for repelling flies from your space.