Fruit flies can be a major pest for any kitchen. These tiny bugs buzz around food sources as they seek out a place to lay their eggs and feed. Despite their name, fruit flies aren’t just attracted to fruits. They love wine, alcohol, soda, meats, vegetables, mushrooms, sludge in garbage cans, drain ooze and just about any organic matter that’s decaying.
Getting rid of these pests can be a challenge in its own right. You can call an exterminator, make your own fruit fly trap or get the help of TERRO® Fruit Fly Traps. Which fruit fly control solution is best for you? Let’s explore all three of these methods for fighting fruit flies and find which you prefer.
HIRE AN EXTERMINATOR TO FIGHT FRUIT FLIES
Hiring an exterminator is one option for fighting fruit flies, but when hiring an outsider, it removes a lot of your options:
- Price – One report suggests that, nationwide, exterminators charge between $270 and $380 per visit for dealing with flies.
- Getting Inside – Fruit fly problems are almost always inside work, which means you have to take time off work to let your exterminator inside the home, show them where the problem areas are and ultimately complete the treatment.
- Chemicals – When exterminators take aim at a pest, they give it everything they’ve got. That could mean using a lot of chemicals in the places they deem appropriate. When an exterminator is calling the shots, you don’t get to adjust the tactics or investigate the chemicals being used. You have very little say in how the problem is addressed.
- Temporary Solution – A re-infestation of fruit flies can occur whenever you bring produce back into the house. That means that your pricey service call to the local bug professional is nothing more than a temporary fix.
- You Still Have Things to Do – Your fruit fly problem very well can be an issue of sanitation, something exterminators won’t address. Without properly cleaning up all available fruit fly foods, you’ll continue to see more of these bugs. So no matter what you pay the exterminator, he/she can really only do half the job – the application of chemicals. They leave the rest up to you, so why bother when there are far less expensive treatment and control methods?
MAKE A DIY FRUIT FLY TRAP
If you’ve found instructions for making your own do-it-yourself fruit fly trap, then you may think you have the perfect solution for dealing with your fruit fly problems. Think again:
- Ready for Assembly? – No matter what DIY instructions you follow, you’ll have a trap that’s rather odd looking. Some want you to create funnel from rolled up paper that’s taped in place. Others expect you to strap a plastic bag to a jar with rubber bands and then poke it full of holes. And when your bait goes bad, you’ll have to reassemble it again for the next round! What’s more – if you are using a clear container, you’ll see a jar of dead flies, which is not the most attractive solution.
- Are Your Holes Just Right? – While creating your own trap, remember that you need perfectly sized holes to allow fruit flies to enter. Too small and the bugs can’t get inside. Too big and they can easily escape.
- Have You Got the Lure? – Most DIY fruit fly traps ask you to use apple cider vinegar, a dash of dish soap and rotten or partially eaten fruit. Make sure to save that apple core!
- Do You Have More Lure? – Did the DIY instructions mention that you have to constantly replace that rotten fruit with slightly less-rotten fruit?
- What’s the Best Lure? – A DIY fruit fly trap also requires a bit of experimentation. What’s the best fruit to use? How much vinegar? How much dish soap? If it doesn’t work, you’ll be spending even more time assembling another batch.
- What Will You Use That Jar for Next? – For your DIY fruit fly trap, you’ll be using your own container. You probably won’t want to use it for anything else later on, though. After all, who wants to reuse a jar that was previously filled with dead bugs?
- Where Will You Put It? – Your DIY trap is also likely to be fairly large, which means it will be where everyone can see it. The ideal fruit fly trap should be small enough to fit on out-of-the-way counters and window sills, but big enough to hold the right amount of lure to attract these annoying bugs.
INVEST IN TERRO® FRUIT FLY TRAPS
The other resource for households fighting a fruit fly invasion is offered by TERRO®. This attractive, apple shaped Fruit Fly Trap was developed to blend in with your kitchen décor. It lures these insects away from your produce and out of your sink with special liquid – once they go inside to investigate, they can’t get back out and ultimately drown. With the many entry holes into the top of the Trap, many fruit flies can enter at a time and fall into the liquid.
Setting up a TERRO® Fruit Fly Trap is a breeze. Just pour the included clear lure into the trap and set it out for fast results. These portable traps are small and easily fit on a windowsill or a countertop where they remain effective against fruit flies for 45 days. You can easily monitor your lure level with the built-in window in the traps! Within just a few days the fruit flies will begin to enter the trap and start to diminish around the home.
YOUR FRUIT FLY QUESTIONS ANSWERED
TERRO® Fruit Fly Traps work by attracting fruit flies with a lure that draws them into a container where they drown. Traps are most effective when placed near fruit fly breeding sites, such as drains, dishwashers, kitchen counters and bowls of fruit. The trap continues to work for 30 days, after which it can be disposed of in the trash. Read the complete instructions for all the details on how to use these Fruit Fly Traps.
With more than a century in the bug-fighting business, TERRO® is dedicated to solving your fruit fly problems. Check out this informative graphic on identifying and controlling fruit flies.
If you have more questions about the insects invading your home, how to use TERRO® products or if you want to share your own ideas on fighting bugs, we urge you to share them with us in the comments below, on Facebook or when you contact our consumer care team online or by calling (800) 800-1819.
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