Many of us encounter fruit flies at home whether we live in a house, apartment or a condo. But how do these pesky flies suddenly arrive, and how do we deal with them?
Well, a bit of education goes a long way when it come to fruit flies!
In warmer months, fruit flies can enter through screens and vents – and if you own a home, via the entry door to your garage (where you likely store the garbage can.) But at any time of the year, fruit fly eggs can hitchhike on fruits or vegetables that you bring home from the store – such as a ripened banana or that one bad onion in the sack. Actually, they really love onions that are starting to ferment!
Fruit flies are attracted to non-refrigerated fruits and vegetables when those foods start to ferment. Some foods such as bananas are actually fermenting before you realize it. If you compost your fruits and veggie scraps, that compost container in your kithen is a big magnet for fruit flies!
What many people don’t know is, fruit flies are resilient survivors and they will feed and breed in areas you would not expect, such as inside drains, under appliances and floor mats … even around windows, doors and grout joints. They reproduce quickly, going through a life cycle in as short as two weeks at 70°F, or eight days at 85°F.
A mated female lays her eggs wherever she detects even the slightest odor of fermentation. The tiny cracks of a banana peel are one of her favorite places. She can lay about 500 eggs in her lifetime!
Eliminating fruit flies at home is a matter of removing the source of the problem:
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Don’t store empty food cans or bottles (especially beer bottles) indoors
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Keep your kitchen drain clean and disinfected
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Use a tight-fitting lid on your indoor compost container, empty it daily, then wash it
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Rid your kitchen of food debris in the corners of the floor, around the fridge and stove, etc.
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Check all screens, and gaps in windows and doors (especially from the garage or near an outdoor compost bin), as fruit flies can enter a tiny opening!
If you have a serious fruit fly infestation, professional help is the answer since do-it-yourself methods rarely work (for example, household pesticides are not a solution.) Your Adam’s Pest Management Professional (PMP) is the one to call. Adam’s use proven residual insecticides and / or other treatments in all areas where fruit flies gather and breed.
Visit the fruit flies page on our website for more information!
