Cowleys resolves fruit fly problem in Spring Lake, NJ

Challenge

A Spring Lake homeowner contacted Cowleys complaining of flies in her kitchen. Upon arrival, she did indeed have a heavy fly infestation, but these were not house flies. She had a fruit fly problem. Tiny fruit flies are common indoor pests associated with fermenting fruits and vegetables. You can find them anywhere, from small kitchen apartments to large grocery stores and restaurants. Adult fruit flies are dull yellow-brown to dark brown, and have distinctive bright red eyes. A fruit fly has a short life, only about 30 days. During that time, a single fly leaves behind about 500 eggs. Fruit flies grow up quickly. Their entire lifecycle from egg to adult is about a week.

Most of the fruit flies were hovering around the kitchen sink. Upon closer inspection, I saw that significant food residue had built up in the sink drain. Fruit flies, which are attracted to spoiled food smells, are more than happy to feed on this organic matter. 

Fruit flies are so-named because we commonly see them with ripening or rotting fruit, especially those high in sugar like bananas. However, fruit flies are attracted to any perishable, decomposing food including fermenting liquids in the bottom of a garbage can, or as with this Spring Lake infestation, food residue in a drain. You’ll find fruit flies breeding anywhere there is a moist film of organic material. So, you’ll find them breeding in drains, garbage disposals, mops and cleaning rags, and even in grease traps. 

Even though we don’t think much about the build-up of food and grease in our drains, this material is just as attractive to flies as food we leave out on the counter. Flies are not fussy eaters. And that’s putting it mildly. Flies are as attracted to decaying food as much as fresh food.  “Organic” means something completely different to flies than it does to people. For these scavenging insects, organic means anything substance that is edible, no matter how rotted or disgusting it is. 

Solution

To control fruit flies and prevent a re-infestation you have to find and eliminate the organic breeding material. If there are adult fruit flies on your premises, you are guaranteed that there are fruit fly larvae developing in some nearby fermenting materials. With this Spring Lake kitchen, the source was built-up food residue in the drains. Complete and thorough sanitation is necessary to eliminate the decaying organic matter where the larvae eat and develop. To break down this organic material, I used Bio-foam, a bioenzymatic cleaner. Also, food starts to smell as bacteria and fungi that are decomposing the food release certain chemicals. This cleaner removes odors that attract flies. 

The homeowner was grateful that her fruit fly infestation was quickly resolved.