Pest Control | Fruit Flies | It Was Once Widely Believed That They Spontaneously

Fruit flies are a very common kitchen pest.  Fruit flies are probably more common than ants, spiders and mice.  Fruit flies can come in on fruits and veggies from the local supermarket, farmers' market, farm or anywhere else you might get fruit!  Because fruit flies are so prevalent in produce, it is no wonder that it was once commonly believed that fruit flies spontaneously generated in overripe produce!  Another reason for this belief might be related to the amount of time fruit flies spend in various egg/larva/pupa stages vs the time they spend actually living as a fly.  The average fruit fly lives 12-15 days. Only 1 or so days of their lives are actually spent as a fly.

Fruit fly eggs/larva/pupa can be hidden in moist areas with ready food supply.  Pantries and kitchens boast plentiful places for fruit flies to breed, grow and infest.  There are a number of ways to prevent or minimize fruit fly infestations in your home or commercial kitchen and pantry.

• Wash fruits and veggies before bringing them into the kitchen.  A garage wash basin is a good place to do this.  At the very least wash produce in the kitchen before putting it away.
• Store produce in the refrigerator whenever possible.
• Keep fruit that is left out covered.
• Ripen unripe fruit in a paper bag on the counter.  This aids in the fruit ripening while also helping to prevent fruit flies.
• Compost or throw away overripe or rotten fruit immediately.
• Frequently take out the trash.  Also wash garbage cans and make sure not to leave moisture and or potential food sources in the bottom of the garbage can.
• A little household bleach (NOT TO BE USED WITH ANY OTHER PRODUCTS) down the drain with hot water will help keep it from becoming a breeding ground for fruit flies.  also giving drains a good scrub with a brush to clean out any built up residue that could serve as food source is a good idea.
• Do not leave dishrags in the sink.
• A cup of water with fruit scented dish soap suds will also help control fruit flies.
• Running a fan near garbage cans or fruit that is out can help prevent fruit flies from landing on fruit and or garbage cans.

A little prevention goes a long way!  If you find that you have persistent fruit fly problem there are a number of areas to check.

• Drains.  Check the drains for nof fruit flies and also for build up.
• Garbage cans.  Garbage cans that are not regularly washed can be a major source of fruit fly infestations.
• Under damp mops.  Any time there is moisture and some place that might have a ready food source (like a kitchen, or pantry) it is important to be thorough in checking for all stages of life of fruit flies.
• Under things-- boxes, totes crates...  Anything on the floor should be moved, checked, cleaned or thrown out as needed.
• Be thorough in checking for fruit fly larva because larva become flies and lay eggs.  If you can find and get rid of the larva, your chances of clearing up the infestation improve greatly!

There are things that pest control professionals, like myself, from Peak Pest Management can do to help restaurant, commercial and residential kitchens and pantries control fruit flies.  Often when working along side a pest control professional to clear up a fruit fly problem will make task move along much faster.

For all pest control needs whether, fruit flies, house flies, mice, ants, silverfish or any other common pantry pest (or other household or business pest) please give me a call!

Micah Wood

Peak Pest Management

360-607-1933

503-998-4322 

www.Peak-Pest-Management.com

micah@peak-pest-management.com