There are literally trillions of flies in the world and the majority of them are very annoying! In fact, there are 17 million flies for every person on earth and there’s a good reason for this.
Despite being annoying they are essential for keeping the planet clean! They feed on waste products, decomposing bodies and even help with pollination.
But, they also spread a wide variety of diseases. These include typhoid fever, cholera, tuberculosis; in fact, it is estimated that they can carry 65 different diseases!
How They Infect You
A fruit fly will land on something that light have sugar in. It will ‘taste’ the food with its feet and decide if it is edible. If it is the fly will vomit onto the food. The vomit acts like an acid and dissolves the food. The fly has no teeth so has to do this in order to suck the food up.
Living on a liquid diet means that a fly is passing waste almost continuously, hence they are leaving that waste behind every time they land, and this waste carries the diseases.
Time To get Rid Of Your Fruit Flies
Step 1
The first step must be to get rid of the fruit which is starting to rot. It is this scent which attracts the flies.
But remember they are attracted to sugar in general so all sugar products should be kept in sealed containers and in your cupboards.
Step 2
Clean all your work surfaces thoroughly and anywhere they might have been or there may have been sugar. You need to remove their attraction.
Step 3 – Remove Moisture
Fruit flies thrive in moist environments and it encourages your fruit to go bad. Get a dehumidifier and remove the moisture from the air.
You’ll literally dry the flies out!
Step 4 – Electronic Ad
A great method of fly control is the electronic UV traps. The flies are attracted to these devices and die virtually instantly once in contact with them.
This is a great way to start destroying any that have persisted in your home after you’ve cleared up. It should also be an excellent deterrent to future flies; they’ll be attracted to the electronic device instead of your fruit.
This will stop them multiplying.
Be Vigilant
Flies lay their eggs in the smallest of gaps and you will struggle to spot them all. This means you need to maintain your cleanliness routine. In particular, keep your fruit ripe and discard it as soon as it starts to turn, preferably eat it first.
The fly lava might remain hidden until the temperature in your house warms up again so you must maintain each of these steps.
You can also make a variety of traps yourself to help get rid of the fruit flies but you will usually find this is not necessary. Wine or fruit are the best ways to attract flies; simply put some in the bottom of a container and add sticky tape to the inside of the container. Cover the top and poke just a few holes in it. The flies will get in but they won’t be able to get out!
Removing the attraction, cleaning and adding the electronic device should be sufficient, but making your own traps can be fun.
