Post by @simonakeroydgardener

Fruit flies can be a real problem in the home particularly in the kitchen as we start to harvest our crops and bring them indoors for storage. Fruit flies are attracted to fermenting gases, sweet scented odours and fruit as it ripens. The obvious solution would be to store all these things somewhere else such as a garage or a shed. However, many of us are not so lucky to have all this place to store our harvest and so have to bring them into the house. There are products that you can buy that contain synthetic chemical that will kill fruit flies. However you might not be comfortable spraying these in your home. Instead, I like to make an aromatic mint spray to mask the aromas attracting fruit flies. It costs practically nothing and won’t kill the flies. Instead it masks the aroma of your harvested food crops which should help reduce fruit fly infestations. To make this aromatic mint spray, tear up some sprigs of mint and infuse it with the equivalent amount of boiling water. Filter this into a spray bottle. Spray areas infested with fruit flies. You don’t need to spray the actual food. Instead, just spray in the vicinity or area, or just above the ripening food. Hopefully the strong aromatic aroma of the mint will mask the smells that are attracting the fruit flies. Another bonus is that it makes your house smell absolutely wonderful. It’s a great air freshener. Of course the mint aroma doesn’t last forever. For it to be really effective, I would suggest spraying areas infested with fruit flies, two or three times a day until the problem goes. Good luck and happy gardening