Fruit Fly Control: Protect Your Home or Business
Facts About Fruit Flies
- Scientists use fruit flies, or vinegar flies, in medical research to study genetics and heredity.
- Alcohol vapors lure these pests to fermenting fruits and vegetables, where they feed and lay their eggs.
- A fruit fly matures rapidly, completing their entire life cycle in 10 to 15 days.
What Do Fruit Flies Look Like
Fully developed fruit flies are about one-quarter inch in length and range in color from yellow to brown. Most species have distinctive reddish eyes. It’s rare to see larvae since they live inside produce, but they are cream-colored and tapered like a grain of rice.
How Do Fruit Flies Get Inside Buildings?
You might bring fruit flies into your home by unknowingly purchasing vegetables or fruit that already have eggs in them. These tiny insects also come in through screens made with bigger mesh, open doors and windows, or gaps in exteriors. Once inside, they can breed in drain pipes, too.
Fruit flies will move in anywhere that there is an easy food source. Businesses that produce meals, like catering companies, hotels, and nursing facilities, often have to deal with these pests. Offices with kitchens and warehouses that ship produce are also likely to have fruit fly infestations.
Signs of Fruit Fly Infestation
- Garbage – Fruit flies spend much of their time seeking out food. Look for them buzzing around trash cans or compost piles containing peels and scraps.
- Decaying Produce – The wormlike larvae feed on fruits and vegetables. Soft or over-ripe produce can indicate that you have fruit flies.
- Marks – If you have a heavy infestation, you might see black fecal spots on the walls where these insects are present.
- Moisture – This pest prefers damp places like drains in bathrooms. You may also find them in areas where condensation gathers like ice machines, refrigerators, and pipes.
Problems Caused by Fruit Flies
Fruit flies can be a real nuisance in homes and apartments. While they don’t bite or transmit disease, they do multiply fast. The pests seem to take over a kitchen or pantry in just a few days. When breeding, they will contaminate produce with larvae, making food inedible.
Grocery stores, restaurants, and markets are perfect feeding grounds for fruit flies. These places are prone to food spills and constant moisture, which draw this pest. Their presence can cause customers or patients to question safety and hygiene, especially in service and medical industries.
Do Fruit Flies Bite
Fruit flies don’t bite. Can fruit flies bite? Also no! They don’t have the mouth parts necessary for biting.
Prevention Tips
To stop the spread of fruit flies, be sure to wash fruits and vegetables and throw away any rotting produce in an outdoor receptacle. Empty and scrub waste bins frequently, and rinse out recyclables. You should also repair leaky pipes, and clean drains regularly. For help with stubborn infestations, contact the professionals at Western Pest Services.