Proudly displaying a vibrantly colored bowl of fruit only to discover an abundance of fruit flies hovering around your kitchen can be somewhat disheartening and in this instance, fruit fly control will be necessary. These little pests can be controlled in a number of ways, from hiding fruit out of sight to cleaning mops and wiping down surfaces. Despite this, an infestation of flies can be difficult to manage, which is why a lot of homeowners turn to fruit fly control as a way of eradicating these bugs for good. Although fruit flies are not dangerous, their presence can be very annoying and by understanding what entices them to your kitchen, you can keep them at bay even after getting fruit fly control.
Fruit Fly Control – Types of Fruit Flies
A misconception about fruit flies is that there is only one species of this fly however; there is more than 500 species that differ in size. The Latin name for these flies is Family Drosophilidae and generally, they will be sized between one and two millimeters. These slow flying creatures can live for up to 30 days and are recognized by their tan/orange thorax and deep red eyes. Even though fruit flies hover and fly quite calmly, adults will be very strong fliers and it is not unusual for an adult fruit fly to journey as far as seven miles in just 24 hours. The rapid reproduction causes a significant problem for environments that are already plagued with fruit flies.
Common Environments for Fruit Fly Control
Fruit flies are not too fussy on where they feed and breed but there are some environments that appeal to them more than others. If you take a peek inside your indoor compost bins, you may notice a few fruit flies harboring there. Fruit flies enjoy breeding in compost bins and no matter how clean your kitchen is, the larvae can attach itself to fruit that you buy from supermarkets and upon introducing this fruit into your home, the fruit fly infestation begins. Banana skins are known for influencing the reproduction of fruit flies so these should be kept in outdoor bins.
Common Foods for Fruit Fly Control
Because fruit flies have a strong sense of smell, they are easily attracted to sweet foods such as bananas and strawberries. A suitable method to trap fruit flies would be to place a banana inside a bottle, place a cover over the top and make small holes with a toothpick. By doing this, the flies will swarm inside the bottle, but they will be unable to escape. A fruit fly will be drawn towards fermenting fruit, fermenting vegetables, potatoes, onions and any other rotting food; therefore these foods should be kept out of sight.
