Every year again – the arrival of fruit flies
Every year — you can rely on the arrival of the little tormentors. They are part of the annual cycle like other insects you need to prepare for. The problem is: once they are there, you have little chance of getting rid of the pests quickly. But don’t worry: in this article you will learn how to finally get rid of fruit flies!
What makes the fruit fly so persistent?
While, after successfully driving away or eliminating a housefly, you can be almost certain that you have gotten rid of the annoying insect, you will probably not succeed with the fruit fly.
The difference lies in their mode of reproduction
Even if you find them disgusting, a look at the fruit fly with a magnifying glass or under a microscope is inteRESTing:
The Drosophila, as its Latin name, is a genus of fruit flies with over 3000 species. Drosophila melanogaster is the best-known representative, known as the „black-bellied fruit fly“. Under the microscope you can distinguish not only the brown and yellow colored body and a dark rear end, but also, in proportion to its body size, very large red eyes.
Fruit flies have a lifespan of approximately four weeks houseflies about one to ten weeks.
What essentially distinguishes them is the way they reproduce. While houseflies lay eggs at intervals of 3 to 4 days and these are ready to mate again as offspring after about three days, a female fruit fly already lays roughly 400 eggs one day after hatching. That means a single female can account for 150,000 descendants within four weeks, who in that time are equally industrious in producing offspring.
It is reassuring to know that the fruit flies found in our households, as opposed to those that live in sewage channels, do not transmit disease-causing bacteria.
The Drosophila – a useful, but annoying insect
That the tiny flies are nuisances is undisputed. That they are not pests and are even beneficial could reconcile you with them: since the 20th century they have been subjects of genetic research.
The institutions of the Max-Planck-Institut conduct scientific studies on the Drosophila. They aim to find out with which active substances fruit flies can live longer. That seems less reassuring, but the findings serve research into whether it is possible, under the influence of certain active substances, to delay aging. Yes please, but not that of the fruit flies!
Getting rid of fruit flies but how?
The best method to confront the pests from the outset is to make use of knowledge about their way of life.
Helpful facts
Whether they are known as fruit flies, fermentation flies, cider flies or vinegar flies – they all belong to the family Drosophilidae. Their name refers to the fact that they feel most comfortable and reproduce most successfully where it is moist and sufficiently warm for them.
Fruit flies find the optimal living conditions in our homes at the right time: when, at the end of summer before autumn brings the first cold days, there is dew on the meadows and fields in the morning, the vinegar flies move in.
Good to know – your sense for this timing could spare you a lot of displeasure. What you do not bring into your home stays outside. A fruit fly’s sense of smell is so pronounced that it will follow its nose through open windows and doors and land successfully on the items it prefers: fermented fruit and milk.
Know and influence their living conditions
The little flies owe their alternative names to the fact that they feel most at home near spoiled fruit or fruit juices.
Where fruit and vegetables are stored, decay processes and fermentations naturally occur. These insects feed on those fermenting substances. Therefore it is not surprising that fruit flies enter the house with the purchase of fresh fruit and vegetables. This is hardly avoidable, even if you select your produce with the utmost care and nothing rotten goes into your shopping cart.
You cannot see the tiny eggs already laid on your fruit. Once home, it does not take long for new flies to hatch from them. Not a pleasant thought for anyone who eats fruit and vegetables unwashed. But don’t worry — in that case the small flies and their eggs would even be healthy, as they contain nutrients such as iron, zinc and vitamin B12.
Causes identified – fruit flies kept at bay
Prevent or combat? With a combination of both you will put an end to the pests.
Nip it in the bud — the proverb applies here too
Do you have a sense for the time when swarms of fruit flies are to be expected?
If so, you have the option to prevent fruit flies from entering by keeping windows and doors closed.
If you ventilate at night, the risk is small — fruit flies do not like the cool night-time temperatures. They prefer a mild environment.
If you fear carrying the pests home with your fruit, it helps to rinse the fruit at home and remove any possible egg deposits. Thoroughness is recommended especially at the sensitive spots: the blossom and the stem.
The fruit should not be placed afterwards as an attractive arrangement in a fruit bowl on the table, because it cannot be ruled out that eggs remain on the fruit. A single one would be sufficient to produce generations of the pests. The best approach is to deprive the insects of their preferred temperature by giving the fruit a place in your refrigerator’s vegetable drawer; open must and sparkling wine bottles should be stored in the refrigerator anyway.
Waste containers do not prevent fruit flies from reproducing there if you deposit fermenting material or food scraps in them. Even with the lid closed, the fruit flies find an ideal breeding site. Whole swarms of the insects escape whenever you lift the lid.
It is better to dispose of vegetable and fruit scraps immediately outside in the organic waste bin and make sure the door is closed after you go out.
The sink drain or used knives are not protected from an infestation of fruit flies unless you rinse them immediately after use and dry them.
Processing windfall fruit should ideally be started immediately outside. Another option is to store it briefly until further processing where it is too cold for the fruit flies. If you have a cool, dry cellar, you remove the insects‘ living conditions there.
Cleverness and ingenuity help
Various agents for destroying fruit flies are available commercially. A full range of exterminators with different attractants and also traps with special UV light elements are available. Because they need to be replaced regularly, they are also costly.
Whether carnivorous plants such as sundew, Venus flytraps and butterwort serve successfully for control is worth a try.
Do it yourself — men and women alike
What costs money in commerce you can also build yourself: a fruit fly trap.
In addition to patience, you definitely need a suitable attractant. It must be a liquid that the fruit flies will literally fall for. If you cannot get used to the constant smell of vinegar, diluting it with water or a combination of water, vinegar and fruit juice, or pure sugar water also helps.
Add a few drops of dishwashing liquid to the solution. This prevents the flies from getting purchase on the surface of the liquid and they perish.
The trap itself is quickly constructed. You can use a bowl or fashion a funnel from paper and place it with the small opening down into a jar with the attractant liquid.