Brasure's Pest Control Blog

They can visit your home during any of the warmer months, but there’s a good chance that you’re experiencing a fruit fly invasion right now, as the summer ends. Fruit flies can be frustrating to eliminate, as their source is often difficult to identify. Your first step should be to ascertain that they are, in fact, fruit flies–because drain flies, phorid flies, and sphaerocerid flies look similar, but may require different treatments. Although not dangerous, these pests are certainly a nuisance.

Assuming that your problem is fruit flies–which are about 1/8 inch long, and have distinctive red compound eyes–here are some tips:

- Do you pick tomatoes and set them on a windowsill to ripen in the sun? If they become too ripe, fruit flies may gather.

- Any kind of overripe fruit or vegetable will draw fruit flies. It is best to store these in a refrigerator.

- Empty soda cans, beer cans, soup cans, etc., may also attract fruit flies. If you must keep these around for recycling or some other purpose, wash them out thoroughly.

- Wash your dishrags. Wring them out after using, and hang them up–don’t leave them in the sink, soaked with water and food particles.

- Fruit fly traps can be bought, or you can make your own, if you’re the DIY type. Though there are many methods, the most popular is to pour a small amount of balsamic vinegar into a small bowl or cup, and then cover it tightly with plastic wrap. Poke small holes in the plastic with a fork or sharp pencil point. The flies will enter the holes, attracted to the vinegar, but will not be able to fly out, unless you have made the holes too large. If it doesn’t work, experiment–everybody seems to have their own recipe for a magic mixture that remedies fruit flies, so ask around!

- Keep in mind that fruit flies can be attracted to vinegar, cooking wine, ketchup–anything that is fermented.

- Fruit flies reproduce by laying eggs on top of fermenting materials, such as rotting fruits and vegetables, garbage, slime in drains, etc. Garbage should be kept in the kitchen no longer than necessary, and drains should be cleaned, to ensure that adult fruit flies, originally attracted by a bowl of fruit, do not reproduce. This is one explanation for why fruit flies seemingly “come out of nowhere”, even when there is no fruit in the vicinity.

Another explanation for fruit flies that seem to abound without fruit, is that they are not fruit flies, but drain flies. Also called moth flies, these are also about 1/8 inch, but do not have the distinctive red eyes of a fruit fly. They can breed in drains, sump pump pits, bathroom showers, and laundry areas. The home remedy of simply pouring bleach down the drain is not a remedy at all–don’t waste your bleach. Instead, use a drain cleaning product, like Invade Bio Drain Gel, DF 5000 Drain Clearner, or another that you might find at your local hardware or lawn & garden store.

Another cousin to the fruit fly, the phorid fly, looks very similar but lacks red eyes. Phorid flies tend to be attracted to decaying organic matter, which is not to say a bowl of overripe fruit, but more likely a garbage disposal or garbage container.

Phorid Fly; similar to fruit flies, but without the signature red eyes.

Sphaerocerid flies are 1/8 inch and black, and are also called “dung flies”. They are attracted to decaying organic matter, overripe fruit, garbage, dumpsters, etc., and sometimes breed in drains, although adults aren’t usually found there. Sphaerocerid flies are also fond of chicken houses–if you’re living in or around Sussex County, you already know that we have these in abundance.

The key to eliminating fruit flies and their relatives is cleanliness, particularly when it comes to drains, where decaying material collects and stays moist, as well as garbage and fruits/vegetables. By removing what they’re attracted to, and then treating their breeding source, you should be “fruit fly free in no time”…now try saying that three times fast! 

This article is brought to you by Brasures Pest Control - Serving Ocean City MD and the coastal Delaware region including Fenwick Island, Bethany Beach and Rehoboth Beach Delaware.