Fruit Fly Treatments

These flies are not eradicated by pesticides. The only way to rid a building of these nasty little pests is to eliminate their breeding areas. The two primary areas of concern are any build-up of organic material and wet or moist spots.

I know their name is FRUIT FLY, but they will lay their eggs on any organic material. Usually they’re associated with an organic build-up in drains around the P-Trap area, but they will lay eggs on any organic material that is moist or wet. If your mop slings a piece of food under a counter or the sink, etc…you now have a breeding place.

To start the elimination process you must use a cleaner with enzymes or bacterium. These cleaners eat the organic build-up. We recommend a product that you can use in spray bottles for spot treating or in a mop bucket for mopping floors. A chemical that is readily accessible to consider is Spring Green Liquid Enzyme Concentrate. Now, here’s the trick. You must use NEW spray bottles, mop buckets, and mops. The industrial cleaners that you’ve been using leave a residue in the cleaning container or mop that will kill the living organic eaters in the enzyme cleaners. Mixing the “living cleaners” in old containers will make the product totally ineffective.

Let’s now start with the moisture issue. If the sinks drip, FIX THEM. You can’t pour this cleaner down a drain and have it washed away immediately. Large drains (floor drains, garbage disposal drains, etc.) should get 8 oz of fluid at the end of the night. This gives it a chance to work for a few hours until it’s washed down. All household drains (sinks, showers, bath tubs, etc.) should be treated with 4 oz of fluid at night before going to bed. The drains and pipes need to be flushed out in the morning with hot water. This process needs to be repeated for 7 days.

In restaurants there are a lot of floor tiles or splash guard tiles that are cracked or missing. In these facilities, if you scrape a knife into the crack or along the edge of the missing tile, I guarantee that you’ll find moist organic material. This is an ideal place for them to lay their eggs. After mopping, sop up the moisture with a towel and use the spray bottles to spot treat these areas.

Pull out the tray holders and check under all shelving for bits and pieces of food. They get wet from mopping and will attract flies that want to lay eggs. It does no good to fix leaking sinks, spray and clean floors, and then leave moist organic material under something on the floor.