The fruit flies are really a challenge in my neck of the woods this year. They seem much more prevalent than in any years past that I remember. Fruit flies love, and I mean looove, kombucha and its cousin made with honey, Jun tea, also called kombucha champagne.
There’s something about the sweet and slightly sour smell and flavor that drives them absolutely nuts. Fruit flies also love to hang out or lay their eggs on the starter culture for these homebrews, popularly known by the acronym SCOBY (symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast).
If you brew either of these healthful and hydrating traditional beverages, you have no doubt noticed this too.
Half filled glasses of kombucha or Jun tea left anywhere in the house have the potential to cause the fruit flies to swarm as will leaving your homebrews uncovered even for a few minutes on the kitchen counter.
What do you do if you’ve only just discovered this and already have fruit flies doing laps in your fermentation vessel, or worse (ugh), fruit fly larvae that have taken up residence on your Jun tea or kombucha SCOBY?
The good news is that you don’t necessarily have to get a new culture. The bad news is that you are going to have to get over any deep-seated feelings of ewwww that arise during the recovery process and realize that everything is going to be ok and a few fruit flies and/or larva are not going to hurt you.
So take a deep breath. Inhale. Exhale.
Ready to move on? Ok, here we go.
Recovering a SCOBY from Fruit Flies
The excellent instructions below on how to recover a Jun tea or kombucha SCOBY from a fruit fly invasion come from my friend Hannah of Kombucha Kamp.
I highly recommend the Kombucha Kamp website that Hannah runs with her husband Alex for any and all your kombucha and Jun tea supplies. Hannah and Alex only sell the good stuff – never cultures that are dehydrated, refrigerated or cut down to a small size for mailing convenience. This type of culture has been weakened and can produce mold. Kombucha Kamp cultures are full strength only.
The first thing Hannah has to say about saving your kombucha SCOBY from the invaders is this: realize that the larvae and worms on the kombucha culture did NOT come from the brew. They came from the outside. This knowledge will hopefully help you prevent this problem from occurring again in the future.
If the worms are resting on top, and there are just a few of them, it might be a salvageable situation. Here are the steps to follow:
Mild SCOBY Infestation
A mild SCOBY infestation is defined as just a few eggs and/or larvae resting on top of the culture. To start the recovery process, carefully remove the infested SCOBY from your kombucha or Jun tea brew. Do this slowly so no eggs or larvae fall into the kombucha or Jun tea. Rinse off the culture in filtered water to remove all traces of the flies, eggs and/or larvae.
If needed, filter your kombucha or Jun tea brew to remove any fruit flies or eggs that may have fallen in. If the idea of doing this totally grosses you out, feel free to toss if desired. Start a new batch of kombucha or Jun tea.
Severe SCOBY Infestation
A severe fruit fly infestation is more than a few eggs, larvae or flies hanging out on your SCOBY. Let your internal definition of ewwww be your guide here.
In the case of a severe infestation, throw away the infested SCOBY in the garbage or better yet, use it for compost. Pour out the kombucha or Jun tea, ideally in the garden as the probiotics will really get the worms going and improve the soil. Scrub the fermentation container in warm water and mild soap to remove any residue of the fruit fly eggs/larvae. It is best to avoid the use of the dishwasher and never use toxic dishwasher powder for any glass container that will hold a ferment! Restart the brewing process with a fresh starter and a new culture.
How to Prevent a Fruit Fly Infestation
Prevention is always the best policy when it comes to fruit flies. Here are some tips that Hannah suggests so you never have to deal with fruit flies, eggs, larvae, or worms on your kombucha or Jun tea SCOBY in the first place:
Secure the cloth that covers your fermentation vessel with a rubber band (not tape) or use a brewer cap. Clear the area of any flies that are nearby whenever you remove the cloth from the top of your fermentation vessel. It is a good policy to never leave your fermentation vessel uncovered, even for just a moment.
Take a good look at the fermentation cover you are using and make sure it has a small enough weave to prevent fruit flies from wriggling through. Note in the picture above that the cheesecloth cover is likely too porous to prevent fruit flies from getting through.
Set up fruit fly traps to minimize the amount of flies present. This video below from Kombucha Kamp will show you how to use a small container of kombucha or Jun tea to function as a trap for fruit flies to prevent an infestation of your fermentation vessels themselves:
Happy fruit fly-less brewing 🙂
More Information on Kombucha and Jun Tea
Fluoride in Kombucha: Should You Be Concerned?
Can Candida Sufferers Drink Kombucha?
Does Kombucha Prevent Grey Hair?
Batch vs Continuous Brew Kombucha
Safe Traveling with Kombucha
Kombucha: Drink It and Wear It?
Maple Kombucha Salad Dressing
Are all scobys white and sort of look like wax? I have some that are brown and lumpy.
New SCOBYs are white, but as you use them over and over for multiple batches, they get a bit brown from the tannins in the tea. Lumps indicate a fluctuation in temperature during brewing but isn’t a problem.
I dont have a fruit fly problem, and am not worried about getting them, as I’m using coffee filters to cover my jar so there’s no way they could get in – BUT my housemates are worried that my kombucha will attract fruit flies and lead to a problem in the kitchen. To keep everyone in the kitchen happy, I’ve placed my coffee-filter covered jar inside a large ziplock bag to try to stop the smell from attracting flies. I know that the kombucha needs to be open to air, so I open the bag and aerate it every day – will this affect the fermentation? Another concern I have by doing this is that it seems to be somewhat humid inside the jar – is this okay?
This will not work and will cause the fermentation not to take and possibly kill the SCOBY.
This is a good article, I had to throw out several batches of kombucha and scobys due to fruit flies. I ended up switching to water kefir and have never gone back to kombucha. Water kefir is infinitely easier and faster – it is done in 2 days then another 2 for second ferment. This summer the fruit flies were back and I caught them on my water kefir (I use a double folded paper towel wrapped with a rubber band on top). I just changed the cover and eventually the fruit flies disappeared, no eggs or flies in my kefir water! My kids love kefir water!
I had a SCOBY hotel going in my Kombucha. Loved the quick turn-around and how healthy everything looked. Threw some watermelon rinds in the trash. (Learned my lesson–now, EVERYTHING that can be compost IS, and on that very day.) Anyway, when I opened my Kombucha, about 10 FF flew out. I scraped off the top scoby–the baby? Another one was below it. I let it continue for 4 more days. So hope the 2nd fermentation is ok!
You know how they usually look white? Once I took the FF-infested white scoby off, the underlying colony was a bit murky and bubbly. Is that okay?
My fermentation is close to my liking so I’ve been tasting every 12 hours or so (I know, I’m obsessed.) Yesterday I pulled off my coffee filter + rubber band and two fruit flies flew out. I think they got in under a lip of the jar that I hadn’t quite secured from last time.
They were in there about 12 hours max, certainly enough time to reproduce. If they had, at what point would I start seeing eggs/larvae? My SCOBY still looks pretty smooth and healthy and my kombucha still tastes great. I’d like to keep it going another couple of days and then continue on to bottling.
What should I be on the lookout for, and how long will it take to see something happen?
Same! What happened?
The easiest way to prevent this from happening is not to use cheese cloth in the first place. Just use an unbleached paper coffee filter instead. It works just as well. Or a piece of unbleached muslin is great too.
awesome Im using this for my pickling crock, thinking I will buy cotton fabric for quilting or muslin and sew the elastic right around it to fit crock. no more taking top 2″ off my sour kuart bcus of fruit flies. what waste!
Please, What on Earth is a SCOBY?
The definition is at the beginning of the post 🙂
Yeah, fruit flies in kombucha is kinda gross, but a reality in warmer weather. I just try not to think about it as I continue to enjoy the beverage. When the infestation gets severe, I’ll wave my vacuum cleaner wand over the jugs and suck out the fruit flies. If I do this everyday for a week or so, that seems to keep the numbers down.
I can vouch for the fruit fly traps you mentioned…they work really well. I also wanted to give a thumbs up to Hannah at Kombucha Kamp as well. She’s been a HUGE help for me and my home brew several times. And I agree….anything I’ve ordered from her has been great. My last big Tip from Hannah has helped me get the best reliable/repeatabl fizz in my KT that I’ve ever had. She is such a blessing! Also, if you’re looking for a handy-dandy heater to help your brew, they have a great one that for me was the difference between having KT or not. Thanks for the article!
Hey, what was the tip to get things extra fizzy?????