{"id":467,"date":"2020-01-03T14:24:43","date_gmt":"2020-01-03T14:24:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pestdefenseguide.com\/?p=467"},"modified":"2023-07-11T14:20:54","modified_gmt":"2023-07-11T14:20:54","slug":"what-attracts-fruit-flies-and-how-to-prevent-them-from-coming-back","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pestdefenseguide.com\/what-attracts-fruit-flies-and-how-to-prevent-them-from-coming-back\/","title":{"rendered":"What attracts fruit flies and how to prevent them from coming back?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What attracts fruit flies and how to prevent them from coming back
\nNearly everyone has a fruit fly story to tell. The little buggers are really hard to get rid of! No one likes fruit flies, especially when they try to fly up your nose or into your eyes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And once you realize they are laying their eggs in your kitchen and that they carry bacteria and harmful microbes, well, that is that. It is time to take action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ridding your space of fruit flies is a two-part job. First, you have to know what attracts them and remove that. Then you have to make your space unfriendly so they will not return. Keep reading to find out how.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Attracts Fruit Flies?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Rotten<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Fruit flies get their insect name, honestly. They are primarily drawn to overripe, fermenting, rotting, and decaying fruit. But fruits are not the only organic matter fruit flies like. They can be drawn to anything moist or damp, molding or decaying. Vegetables, bread, starches, juice, milk, and alcohol can lure them in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sometimes fruit flies will even be attracted to non-food items if water is present. Examples include damp mops, sponges, rags, and even standing water. The key to remember is that fruit flies will be drawn to anything organic that is actively overripe, fermenting, rotting, mildewing, or molding in some way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why Do Fruit Flies Like Ripe and Rotting Foods?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Fruit flies have two main reasons for congregating near ripe and rotting food and other damp or moist organic matter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first reason is that they are hungry. The second reason is that they are about to breed and lay eggs.<\/strong> Their offspring will need protection while they are incubating, and then they will be hungry when they hatch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fruit flies ready to lay eggs will first use their tiny mouthparts to puncture holes in anything fermenting or actively rotting. They eat and then lay their eggs inside the food or organic matter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then when the larvae hatch, they have a ready food source to feed on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You are probably reading this and thinking, “yuck!” But to a fruit fly, it is the perfect system to meet their needs and pass on their genes to the next generation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How Do You Know You Have Fruit Flies?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Fruit flies are not the only flying insects that like ripe or rotting fruits and produce and fermented foods and liquids.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So how do you know that the insects you are trying to get rid of are actually fruit flies?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is a very important question! To make sure you prevent the insects from coming back again, you first need to know what species you are dealing with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here is a common example:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Drain flies, which are small flies that breed in drains where small amounts of rotting organic matter and moisture is present, are quite similar to fruit flies. It is easy to get the two species confused.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the method for getting rid of drain flies is different than what you need to do to get rid of fruit flies. So it is essential to be able to tell the two species apart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A drain fly looks more like a tiny moth, while a fruit fly looks more like a tiny fly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here is another common example:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sometimes you may see tiny black things buzzing around your houseplants. A lot of times, these fungus gnats are mistaken for fruit flies. But fungus gnats, like drain flies, look different when you can see them up close.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A fungus gnat looks more like a very tiny mosquito and it won’t have red eyes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Do Fruit Flies Look Like?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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So let’s discuss what adult fruit flies look like to determine if you have a fruit fly problem. An adult fruit fly is going to be about one-eighth inch long. It will have red eyes. Its body will be tan or brown on the front (nearest the head) and black on the back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Undoubtedly, getting a good up-close look at a tiny buzzing fruit fly can be hard. But if what you are looking at looks a lot like a regular fly, only smaller and with a two-tone body and reddish eyes, it is most likely a fruit fly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once you’ve made an identification, it is time to switch to preventative mode and eliminate your fruit flies!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Gets Rid of Fruit Flies?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Fruit flies can be hard to tolerate, especially once you know they are infesting your produce and other places with their eggs! If you are desperate, its probably a good idea to implement several traps around the house until they are gone. Then you can move on to more permanent measures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We recommend a simple trap like Terro Traps<\/a>:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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