It's that time of the season when fruit flies are particularly bothersome.
There they are, getting in your face, your morning cereal - your coffee...
Fruit fly infestations are most always an indication that some area needs attention to housekeeping. These flies are in the gnat family. They prefer placing their eggs in fermenting fruits, but any trash that's lain around a few days, and starting to stink suits them just fine for laying eggs, and having babies.
As a pest control technician most of the time when a hospital called me the problem was fruit flies (the second biggest problem was American roaches).
I once got a call from a hospital for fruit flies in an elevator alcove. When I entered that area a cloud of the pests immediately surrounded me, and looking around I saw them all over the walls of the small space.
In the far corner, between the elevator doors (two elevators in the alcove, in two different walls), sat a large trashcan that overflowed with empty soda cans, drink cups, candy and snack wrappers, and a variety of other garbage.
Didn't take much inspection time to figure out that the gnat's egg laying target was that pile of trash.
Fruit flies are fast reproducers, but for a population to grow as large as what I seen that day takes longer than a week. Which means that the latest emptying of that trashcan was some while back.
I sprayed the walls of the alcove to kill the live flies, and sprayed the trashcan, along with the top layer of garbage. Then I turned in a request with maintenance to remove the garbage and clean the area.
A couple days later during another visit to the hospital I stopped by the elevator alcove to check its condition. The trash was gone, and so were the fruit flies.
Every call I received for fruit flies at the hospital was because of some form of trash, or biohazard material, left sitting for an extended period.
Fruit flies quickly get out of control when trash sits for more than a week. After a day or two their eggs start hatching, creating more adults to lay more eggs.
When you notice their numbers increasing, look for the spot where the most of them are. It's very near there that they've found something to lay their eggs in. Clean away whatever the decaying material is, and your fruit fly problem vanishes.
Housekeeping is the number one defense against gnat pests, and every pest control technician relies on the homeowner, tenant, or housekeeping staff to get rid of garbage before it starts rotting.
The most successful pest control process (when you call a pest control company) is Integrated Pest Control. That's a partnership between you and the pest control technician. Lack of attention and action on your part, or the technician's, results in failure.
Visit our site to learn more about insect control and find out more about gnat repellent.
How to Get Rid of Gnats in the House
Gnats are a very tough pest to eliminate when they infest your home. They are difficult to eliminate because they reproduce extremely fast. Generally speaking, this isn't a problem but they are not going away on their own. Learn how to eliminate gnats and get them out of your house.
Gnats are going to feed on fruit, vegetables, and almost every organic material possible. This is also where they are going to breed causing more and more gnat problems. This is more so in the summer months but it can happen anytime that you leave this type of food out.
Put away fresh fruits and vegetables if out on the counter or in pantries when the gnats are around. Make sure they are closed up or even in a sealed container that the gnats can't get into. Whatever method you use to seal up the food will help allot in containing the gnats.
Seal up the garbage can as this is a common feeding and breeding ground. One strategy is to take your organic material like fruit peels and put them into sealed containers that are already being thrown away like oatmeal boxes and coffee tins.
Keep as much food as possible in plastic bags or containers.
Once this is done a trap needs to be made. With gnats you need to use a fruit fly trap.
What works best is a 2 liter soda bottle with some fresh fruit like banana and some juice in the bottom. This will attract the gnats but it's difficult for them to fly back out. Do this everyday for a few days and you will catch plenty of gnats every day lowering the problem more and more.
Another method is to put out some bowls or cups with water and some dish soap. The gnats will drown in these. Each one will catch only a few, but it's a low cost way of taking care of the problem. This sometimes works well with just plain water as well.
In the future, try to avoid having fresh fruit out in the later summer months as this is when a gnat problem can be the worst. Do the preventative steps before the gnat problem occurs to avoid it all for the most part.
Gnats can be a problem in the kitchen especially during the early summer months. Learn how to reduce the problem, prevent it, and catch gnats in a simple trap if it occurs.
