Is it a kitchen guest or a kitchen pest? Fruit flies breed quickly, plentifully, and all year round. This results in an unwanted kitchen pest long overstaying their welcome into your home. Easy to spot, these pests are very small and a key identifying factor is their bright red eyes. Aside from being an everyday nuisance, fruit flies have the ability to contaminate food with bacteria and other pathogens.
Identifying Fruit Flies
Fruit flies are often found in the kitchen, but upon closer inspection they can be found in more locations. Naturally, fruit flies are attracted to decaying organic material. This is why they are often found around fruits and vegetables stored outside of the refrigerator and sealed containers. They can also be found in areas of the house where things like garbage cans, recycling bins, dumpsters, and decaying organic material are stored. These areas make for great breeding grounds for the flies to breed. The larvae must be in an area with moist organic material to survive. However, organic matter is a crucial aspect of each stage of life for the fruit fly.
Where Did They Come From?
Where there is ripe, rotten, or decayed produce, there are often fruit flies nearby. These pests can breed and develop in drains, garbage disposals, mop buckets, and trash cans. Aside from fruit and vegetables, they enjoy fermented items such as beer, liquor, and wine. These tiny pests multiple rapidly. Once they begin to reproduce indoors, females can lay up to 500 eggs at once and it only takes about 24 hours for them to hatch. Because of this, fruit flies can be a very hard pest to control.
Controlling Fruit Flies
Various treatments and remedies can help to control the adults. This is important especially in an effort to reduce breeding. There are some treatments that are safe to use at home around children and pets that are DIY. One of those methods is the Apple Cider Vinegar method. This includes using apple cider vinegar (ACV), water, and dish soap to trap and kill adult fruit flies. By mixing a glass of ACV and water together, then gently dropping dish soap into the solution, you create an irresistible yet dangerous solution for the fruit flies. The ACV attracts them, while the dish soap weighs them down and they drown in the solution.
Some people use glue boards and flypaper to trap these pests. However, for the most effective and safe method, it is best to call in the professionals.
Reducing Fruit Flies
While killing the adults is very important and can provide fast relief to an annoying infestation, it is important to cut them off at the source. Professional pest control experts, like DriveBye Exterminators, can help identify where the larvae are and where the fruit flies are coming from. This is important because it can lead to the treatment of the source. Paired with killing the adults, an infestation of fruit flies can be quickly reduced.
By the nature of their rapid life cycle and breeding, fruit fly infestations can easily get out of hand and are hard to manage. Often times, a single treatment isn’t enough for them to be permanently eliminated. However, it is best to start early and be consistent.
At DriveBye Exterminators, we strive to handle pest control in your house in a safe, reliable manner. We help identify problems and provide solutions to keep you, your family, your pets, and your property safe. By using the most eco-friendly and effective methods, DriveBye Exterminators is here to help you. Speak with one of our experts today!
