If you’ve ever come across a fruit fly infestation in your Louisville home, then you know just innumerable they can seem. In fact, it may seem like an impossible task to get rid of them all given their large numbers. However, there are effective fruit fly control solutions that you can rely upon to get these unwanted pests out of your home. Furthermore, there are also some preventative measures that you should take to keep fruit flies from coming back.
What Does A Fruit Fly Infestation Look Like?
Fully grown fruit flies are about 1/8th of an inch long. They have bright red eyes, tan heads, and thoraxes with striped-black abdomens. They deposit their eggs on fermenting organic material where larvae will emerge in as few as 30 hours. These larvae will feed for several days and then pupate, meaning the entire lifecycle can sometimes only take eight days. This is one of the reasons why fruit fly infestations grow in number so quickly. One rotting piece of fruit can produce hundreds of flies.
Their vast numbers are one of the main ways to tell them apart from other home-invading flies. While you may spot one or two common house flies around your home, you will almost certainly spot hundreds of fruit flies. Additionally, fruit flies coloring differs from house flies as house flies tend to be dark gray as well as being generally larger than fruit flies.
What Attracts Fruit Flies Into Homes?
You will often find fruit fly infestations in the kitchen as they are attracted to fresh and fermenting fruits and vegetables as well as other rotting organic material. Therefore, if you have a fruit basket with even one rotting apple in it, your home could be at risk to an infestation. In addition to fruit baskets, trash receptacles, floor drains, garbage disposals, and non-skid floor mats are all locations that fruit flies might inhabit.
Are Fruit Flies Dangerous?
Although fruit flies themselves do not pose any real threats to humans, they can spread harmful bacteria and other microorganisms. This is because they are attracted to rotting, decaying, moist matter which often brings them to unsanitary locations where they pick up these harmful parasites. They can then bring these contaminants into our homes and spread them throughout. Some foodborne pathogens that fruit flies might transfer include E. coli, salmonellosis, and listeria. Additionally, eating a piece of fruit infested with the larvae can cause stomach irritation and diarrhea due to intestinal myiasis.
How To Prevent Fruit Fly Infestations?
In order to prevent fruit fly infestations, you should remove any items that might be attracting them into your home. This means:
- Throwing away any rotting fruit or vegetables
- Storing trash in bins with tight-fitting lids
- Taking out the trash regularly
- Keeping the surfaces in your home clean and free of food debris or other organic material
- Using bio enzyme-based cleaning agents to ensure all surfaces are fully clean
- If you find one source of an infestation, for example, a rotting piece of fruit, continue to search as there are often more locations.
What To Do If Fruit Flies Infest Your Home?
Fruit flies can be hard to eliminate on your own. Therefore, if you require assistance in dealing with a fruit fly infestation, the best bet is to contact the pest experts here at Action Pest Control. Our residential pest control plans protect homes from a wide variety of pests including fruit flies. With professional assistance, you can rest assured your home is safe from these disease-spreading flies. Don’t wait; give us a call today at Action Pest Control!