Kitchen Hip Tip: A Kitchen Towel Keeps Fruit Flies Away

^{Photo by Olga Massov}

It's the height of fruit season, something we look forward to all year. Cherries and nectarines and peaches and plums, oh my! But just as every yin has a yang, we are also at the height of the dreaded fruit fly season.

But despite their buzzing insistence on feeding off my ripening apricots, I will not give in and just stick the fruit bowl in the fridge. Refrigeration can dry out even the most juicy seasonal bounty, and also impedes ripening. And, I think, dulls the flavors even if you let the fruit comes back up to room temperature before partaking.  So what's a fruit lover/fruit fly hater to do?

Believe me, I've tried everything, from fancy prchased fruit fly traps to homemade improvised versions using the likes of paper cones, leftover wine, and cherry pits. And none of them has really worked for me.

The best and easiest solution I've ever found is to keep my fruit in a bowl on the countertop covered by a tea towel. For really fragile fruit and tomatoes, I leave them in a single layer on the counter covered with another towel (that way they are not stacked in the bowl, which could damage them).  The towel discourages fruit fly invasion while still letting the fruit ripen at room temperature, not one bit of juiciness sacrificed to the refrigerator's chill.

Simple, but it works. And since it took me years of icky fruit fly infestations to figure out, I thought I'd pass it on. Plus a pretty tea towels looks so much nicer on the counter than a fruit fly trap.

Comments

[Olga @ MangoTomato]

sometimes the best solutions are the simplest! will have to definitely keep it in mind.

[Kathryn * Dramatic Pancake]

Fruit flies have been popping up in our kitchen all over the place. Thanks for the great, simple trick!

[Randi]

I've been bothered by fruit flies for years as well, and I refuse to put the fruit in the fridge as it absolutely ruins the taste for me. I've been using the tea towel trick for quite a while now and although a few sneaky flies get in, it's much better than the alternatives.