Fruit flies can be a real nuisance in summer, especially when ripe fruit is left out on the counter
With temperatures soaring to 29C today, fruit flies will be popping up seemingly from thin air. One moment your kitchen looks spotless, the next you’re faced with tiny flies buzzing around your fruit bowl and work surfaces.
They may be tiny, but these pests can quickly become a real pain, particularly if you’ve got ripening fruit left out on display. While some folk reach for traps and chemical sprays, others are opting for something far simpler – an item that’ll set you back just 1p.
It might sound rather peculiar, but it’s thought that popping a 1p coin in your fruit bowl could help ward off fruit flies.
Glen Peskett, a DIY expert from Saxton Blades Multi Tools, reckons the humble penny could be your home’s saviour this summer.
“Fruit flies love ripe fruit, so if you’ve got bananas, apples or anything sitting out on the counter, they’re going to take an interest pretty quickly,” Glen said.
He continued: “The idea behind the 1p trick is that the copper might help put them off a little, although it is not something that is guaranteed to work every time. Still, it is a simple one to try if you’ve got a few of them hanging around.”
Fortunately, setting it up takes mere seconds and won’t cost you a penny if you’ve already got one knocking about.
How to try the 1p coin fruit fly hack
If you fancy giving it a try, simply pop a clean 1p coin in your fruit bowl amongst your fruit.
That’s literally all you need to do. Some people reckon it helps cut down the number of fruit flies loitering about, while others say they haven’t noticed much of a change.
Naturally, the trick is far more likely to be effective if you’re also tackling the root causes that draw fruit flies in the first place.
Getting rid of overripe fruit, cleaning up sugary spills, regularly emptying food bins and keeping kitchen worktops spotless can all go a long way in making your home far less appealing to them.
Glen added: “A lot of the time, fruit flies are only there because they’ve found an easy food source.
“You can try different tricks, but if you’ve got overripe fruit sitting out or food waste building up, they’ll keep coming back. Keeping things clean and getting rid of anything that’s attracting them will make the biggest difference.”