How do I get rid of Fruit Flies?
Scientific Name: Drosophila
How to Identify them?
Adult fruit flies measure 1/8 inch long and range in color from dull yellow-brown to dark brown. Some species have distinctive red eyes, and their wings feature two “breaks” along the leading edge nearest the body. The larvae measure 1/10 to 1/5 inch long and are very distinctive, with an extended, stalk-like breathing tube at the rear of their bodies. The pupae are brown, seed-like, and have two horn-like stalks at one end.
Pest Biology
The female fruit fly lays her eggs onto the surface of fermenting fruit or vegetables or in areas rich in moisture and yeast. The eggs hatch within 30 hours. Each female produces up to 500 eggs. The larvae develop in five to six days and crawl to drier areas of the food or other locations to pupate. The life cycle lasts eight to ten days.
What are their Habits?
Fruit flies commonly infest fermenting fruits and vegetables. They thrive in overripe fruits, fermenting liquid in the bottoms of garbage cans, dirty mops, or rotting potatoes and onions in vegetable bins. They also inhabit recycling bins, fruit and salad bars, and other moist environments, which have increased problems with these pests.
How to remove and prevent them?
You can best control fruit flies by identifying and eliminating their breeding sites. The presence of adult flies indicates that larvae are developing nearby in fermenting materials. Thorough sanitation is crucial to eliminating the source of infestation. Insect light traps and baited jar traps with tops that allow fly entry but prevent escape are effective at reducing populations, but they cannot replace proper sanitation. Some species are small enough to pass through typical screens, so smaller mesh may be required. In certain cases, you can use an aerosol to knock down adult flies.
