All across the country, summer is slowly turning into fall. Kids are back in school, temperatures are starting to drop, and fruit flies are invading our homes. Luckily, one Instagram user has shared a clever hack for keeping those pesky fruit flies away.
The scoop
In a recent video, Instagram user Secret Wine Door (@secretwinedoor) explained a simple way to ward off irritating fruit flies.
"Using a cork in a fruit basket is a popular home remedy to help repel fruit flies! The idea behind this method is that fruit flies are attracted to the scent of ripe or decaying fruits," the user wrote in their caption. "By placing a cork in the fruit basket, the cork's natural scent may help mask or deter the fruity aroma, potentially making the area less appealing to fruit flies."
The user also explains that corks naturally absorb some of the moisture from the fruit that attracts fruit flies and other pests, which makes the cork strategy even more effective.
How it's helping
Keeping pests away from your produce helps ensure that you'll use everything that you purchase, rather than throwing out certain items that get ravaged by insects.
Food waste is an enormous problem around the world. In the United States alone, consumers waste 119 billion pounds of food per year, which means resources like water, land, fertilizer, and labor are dedicated toward 130 billion meals that are never eaten, according to Feeding America.
By keeping your food fresh and pest-free, you maximize the value of your grocery trips and reduce the amount of food you waste.
What everyone's saying
Commenters excitedly shared their positive experiences with the hack, indicating its undeniable effectiveness.
"I've done it for three months … UNBELIEVABLE," one person said.
"My husband's family is French and they all do this," another user wrote. "For some reason, white wine corks work better than red. Make sure the corks are clean and have no evidence of crystalization. For a bowl or basket of that size, I would use 3 corks."
"I've been doing this inadvertently as I've kept all the wine corks to do something 'craft-y'! I will say I have bananas this week and no fruit flies yet. Maybe this does work," a third user commented.
Meanwhile, some users jokingly pointed out the sacrifice they'd have to make to get more corks. "Sooo. I have to drink a lot of wine to keep fruit flies in check," one user said.
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