An unseasonably warm fall creates the ideal breeding ground for fruit flies, leaving many kitchens suddenly overrun long after pest season usually winds down. While classic apple cider vinegar traps tend to be the standard recommendation, they are frustratingly slow, taking days to lure flies in while dozens continue to buzz around your fresh produce and countertops.

If you want to clear your kitchen immediately rather than waiting for flies to drown in a cup, a simple two-ingredient spray wipes them out on contact. Here is how to mix it and stop an infestation in its tracks.

Fruit flies rely on a thin, water-repellent coating on their bodies that allows them to glide through standard water sprays. Liquid dish soap breaks down this surface tension instantly, suffocating the flies the second the mist hits them.

To make the spray, fill a standard spray bottle with warm water, add two tablespoons of liquid dish soap, and shake the bottle gently to mix.

If your bottle permits, set the nozzle to the mist setting, though it doesn't really matter if you don't have one, and spray any fruit flies directly whenever you see them hovering over counters, trash cans, or sinks. They will drop immediately.

Killing adult flies in the air only solves half the problem, as fruit flies frequently lay their eggs inside the moist, organic buildup hidden inside kitchen sink drains. While running standard tap water isn't quite hot enough to dislodge larvae, steer clear of boiling water.

As we've covered in our guide on why you shouldn't pour boiling water down the drain , extreme temperatures can cause thermal shock to standard waste pipes, causing them to expand rapidly and risk cracking or splitting.

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