Fruit Fly - Maheu&Maheu - Pest management

Fruit Fly Flies

Elimination

Fruit fly control is 90% good housekeeping. Pay special attention to the following items: garbage disposal unit, vegetable peelers, garbage cans, food waste beneath counters, industrial washing machines, floor drains, damp mops and cloths, puddles of stagnant water, holes in the floor, fruits and vegetables entering the establishment, and empty bottles, beer and soft drink cans, etc. Click the link for more detailed recommendations. Maheu&Maheu Flying Insect Killer can be used to eliminate adults and potential subsequent generations.

Actions

Find and eliminate sources (rotting fruit and vegetables, fermented products, etc.)
Use baited traps or a vacuum cleaner to catch flies
Spot spray with pyrethrin-based insecticide in places with a lot of flies

Prevention

Rinse empty bottles and cans before recycling or returning them
Keep an eye on unrefrigerated fruit and vegetables

Description and development

Fruit flies are holometabolous insects (having four very different life stages) in the Drosophilidae family. All members of this family have a similar appearance. The yellowish- brown adults measure 2.5 mm to 5 mm, depending on the species, and the whitish larvae are the same size as the adults. The pupae are brown.

The eggs are deposited one-by-one on the surface of very ripe or spoiled fruits and vegetables or in the bottom of poorly rinsed wine, beer, or soft drink bottles. They generally hatch after 24 hours. The larval and pupal stages last 4 days each and the entire lifecycle (egg to adult) takes 8 to 10 days. Their very rapid development, combined with the fact that each female lays 25 to 35 eggs a day, explains the astronomical populations that can appear if the kitchen is not kept clean. Moreover, the female can lay over 2,300 eggs throughout its lifetime, which lasts from 2 to 3 months.

Habits

Adults are attracted to fruits and vegetables, which serve not only as food but also as preferred egg laying sites. They especially like spoiled produce in the first stages of fermentation.

Tips

If you have light traps for controlling flying insects attracted to fluorescent light, make sure to empty them regularly and change the tubes every year.

If you have fruit fly pheromone traps, make sure they are in good condition and that the bait (liquid bait containing a pheromone called muscalure) has not evaporated.

Kitchen sink drains should be cleaned once a week and regularly disinfected.

Floor drains where food can collect should be brushed and disinfected at least once a week.

Keep floors clean and pay special attention to hard-to-reach areas (under equipment, counters, sinks, etc.).

Regularly clean walls to remove food deposits.

Wet towels and dirty cloths must be able to dry quickly or be stored in a dryer, plastic bag, or airtight container.

Mops and brooms and other cleaning equipment should be hung up (out of contact with the floor) so they can dry out more quickly.

Gaps and cracks should be caulked to prevent them being filled with food waste or stagnant water.

Prevent puddles of stagnant water from accumulating, both indoors and outdoors.

Thoroughly clean the inside and outside of waste containers at least once a week (this also applies to dumpsters.)

Keep your garbage disposal unit, dumpster, and surrounding areas clean.
Windows must be equipped with fine mesh mosquito screening in good condition.

Avoid keeping doors open. If possible, install a second door with mosquito screening to provide ventilation.

Keep the outside of your establishment clean.

Remember that keeping your establishment clean eliminates egg laying sites and food sources that promote fly development. In fact in the case of fruit flies, good housekeeping accounts for more than 90% of their control.

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