Fruit Flies, Don’t Bother Me!

Fruit flies are one of those pesky little pests that show up seemingly out of nowhere. First, you see one. Then, another one, and another one, until you realize that you’ve got a full-blown infestation on your hands. What do you do?

First thing you do is understand the pest that you’re dealing with. It is a fly that only breeds on decaying organic matter. The female’s favorite place to lay her eggs is on fruit. We unknowingly buy the fruit from the store and bring it home and place the fruit in a basket that sits out in the kitchen. A few days go by and next thing you know, you start seeing adult flies hovering around the fruit.

Back in the day, my wife and I were renting a nice apartment in Bloomington, MN. We started to see fruit flies in our kitchen and didn’t think much of it. Within a few days, we were seeing a bunch of fruit flies all over our apartment. We called to have a maintenance man from the building come help us. I thought they would bring a can of spray or something to fix it. Instead, they told us to get rid of all our fruit. We did that, but it didn’t fix it right away. I would say that it took about two weeks before we finally stopped seeing them.

I’ve since learned that if you simply put the fruit in the refrigerator, it will stop fruit flies from developing in first place. It works, even if you forgot and put the fruit on the countertop, as soon as you start seeing them, place the fruit in the fridge and they’ll stop. Another type of fruit to check are potatoes!

Other places to check if you’ve eliminated the fruit as a breeding source are garbage cans, soda cans, and underneath the lip of the rubber gasket in the sink above the garbage disposal. In a bar or restaurant, they will usually show up where the lines go to the beer and pop dispensers. They can also breed in the floor drains if they’re not cleaned regularly. That’s why you may see fruit flies near a bar or meandering in a restaurant.

If you have any questions about pests, or if you ever need a pest professional, contact Scott Dorn at BOGO Pest Control 952-404-BOGO!