What You Can Do To Get Rid Of Vinegar Flies

Thursday, September 29, 2011

For some reason right now, my kitchen is full of vinegar flies. These annoying pests are also sometimes called fruit flies and they tend to gather whenever the bananas in my fruit bowl get a little too ripe. These are not dangerous pests, but they sure can be annoying. You’ll find these pests wherever fruit or vegetables are overly ripe or starting to ferment, and they can be a real nuisance and pretty tough to get rid of!

Vinegar flies are most abundant in the late summer months in Ohio and Michigan when fruit that is growing in your garden or on your property ripens and begins to ferment. These flies are also quite commonly found inside grocery stores, farmer’s markets and canneries. These pests tend to vary in size, from 3-4mm in length and are usually light yellow to dark brown in color. They are sluggish flyers and are pretty easy to destroy by hand, but every time you think you’ve killed the last of them, another one appears out of nowhere. The problem with these pests is that they breed inside drains, under sinks and in other warm and damp areas. They breed quickly too: if they have a food supply, you could have an abundance of these flies in just under 8 days, if the weather is warm enough!

To eliminate vinegar flies, it is necessary to get rid of their breeding grounds and any food sources they may be attracted to. Since these flies are attracted to the light shining on your windows, it’s also a good idea to install fine mesh screens over your windows to minimize entry points for these flies. You’ll want to be sure to install 16 mesh or finer, or these tiny little pests may still find their way through the screen.

Outside of your home or business you can pick up and dispose of any rotting or overly ripe fruits that have fallen on the ground that these bugs may be feeding on and indoors you can keep all fruit and vegetables in the refrigerator. Rinse out cans and bottles when you are done with them before you recycle to make sure you’ve eliminated all the food sources for these flies. Once these insects no longer have a food source, you will find that they cannot survive inside your home.

Sometimes after you’ve tried all these methods to eliminate fruit flies, they still seem to be hanging around. That’s when you should call the professionals at Rose Pest Solutions for some professional pest control assistance! They can help you find where these flies are breeding and then eliminate any other possible food sources these bugs might have found. They have the professional expertise to help you get rid of vinegar flies fast. 

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