Fruit Fly 101: How to get rid of fruit flies.

Fruit flies….they are irritating, a nuisance and sometimes a pain to get rid of, but they are not! Fruit flies are common in homes, restaurants, supermarkets and wherever else food is allowed to rot and ferment.

What do fruit flies look like?

Adults are about 1/8 inch long and usually have red eyes. The front portion of the body is tan and the rear portion is black. Fruit flies lay their eggs near the surface of fermenting foods or other moist, organic materials. Upon emerging, the tiny larvae continue to feed near the surface of the fermenting mass.

Fruit Flies have a life cycle of about 10 days and it doesn’t seem like much time to do any damage but they can. Fruit flies like regular flies breed bacteria. Anything they hang around long enough is going to become infected. For example, if you are having a party and you leave an open bowl of chips on a table outside, the fruit flies are going to come. As they land on the chips they are leaving behind bacteria and who knows what else.

How to get rid of fruit flies:

• Find the source. Identify the source of the problem and remove. Inspect fruit and vegetables for any bruises or slimy feel and throw away.
• Remove Garbage. Garbage cans are a breeding ground for fruit flies as there is plenty of food for them to choose from. Remove the garbage and place in an outside receptacle and clean the garbage can with a combination of lysol and water.
• Dirty Dishes? Make sure there are not dishes lying around and there are not dishes in the sink. Fruit flies will find the remaining food on the plates as a source of food. As a rule of them, wash your dishes in a timely manner or place in the dishwasher to remove a potential fruit fly source.
• Drinks. Soda bottles/can, wine bottles, juice bottles and other sweet drinks can attract fruit flies. When done with a drink container, rinse out and place in an outdoor receptacle.
• Look beyond the kitchen. Fruit flies can breed in drains, garbage disposals, empty bottles and cans, trash containers, mops and cleaning rags.

Needed Supplies:

• You will need a bottle of apple cider vinegar.
• A couple glass jars or cups.
• Saran Wrap.
• Something to make holes in the plastic (a knife will do the job, as long as its not too big)
• Some house-hold dish washing liquid.

Once you have all these items, it’s time to make your very own traps. All that you need to do is pour about a cup of the apple cider vinegar into your glass jar and add a tablespoon of dishwashing liquid into the mixture. Give it a single shake to mix the soap into the vinegar and then fit the plastic sheet over it. Then keep it in place by strapping the elastic band around the top. Once this has been done, simply punch a few holes into the plastic with your knife, making sure that each hole is no larger than the width of a pencil. Then you just need to repeat this process to make about 4-5 of these fruit fly killers and then place them in any problem area in your home or office.

Unfortunately fruit flies may win the battle...if they do, give Thomas Pest Services a call. Thomas Pest Services, your Albany pest control provider can certainty assist with your fruit fly problem. With third generation experience, Thomas Pest Services is a local, family owned company protecting homes in Chatham, East Greenbush, Colonie, Schenectady, Clifton Park, Saratoga and beyond! Please contact us today for a free pest control evaluation available!

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