Fruit flies: why they arrive, and where a treated surface helps

Fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster) are a few millimetres long and drawn to anything fermenting: ripe fruit, spilled juice, beer, the bottom of the bin. A female can lay up to 500 eggs in her short life, and the cycle from egg to adult takes little more than a week. That is why a few flies become a cloud so quickly.

In a home they are a nuisance. In a bar, a restaurant or a shop they are a hygiene problem that customers notice.

Why they are hard to control

• Insecticides act on the adults present on the day, and fruit flies can become less sensitive to them over time.
• Traps catch adults but do nothing about the eggs and larvae in the fruit bowl or the drain.
• Cleaning reduces what attracts them, but in a busy kitchen or bar something is always fermenting somewhere.

So the answer is a combination, in the spirit of integrated pest management: remove the attraction, close the entry points, and make the surfaces around the problem less inviting.

Where Repeltec fits

Where to apply it

• Window sills, window frames and fly screens.
• Door frames, particularly the door to the garden or the yard.
• The cupboard under the sink and the area around the bin.
• In a bar or restaurant: the base and back of the bar, the area around waste and empties, and structural surfaces in fruit storage, away from food and food contact surfaces.

Clean and dry the surfaces first, removing any residue that attracts the flies. Apply a thin, even layer and let it dry completely before food or pets come near it.

The housekeeping that does most of the work

• Keep ripe fruit in the fridge or covered.
• Rinse bottles and cans before they go into the recycling.
• Empty and clean the bin often, and run hot water down the drain.
• Wipe up spills the same day, particularly sugary drinks and beer.