Tiny flying insects appeared in your kitchen overnight? It's most probably fruit flies. To get rid of them, it's important to learn more about them.
Discover how to easily identify fruit flies, how to prevent their proliferation, and how they get in.
Identifying fruit flies
Fruit flies are tiny insects (3 to 4 millimetres in length) that are often found in the kitchen. Also called "vinegar flies", their body is light brown to yellow, and their eyes bright red.
Prevention of fruit fly infestations
- A clean house and kitchen will help prevent the presence of fruit flies. Clean your counters on a regular basis.
- Wash your fruits and vegetables when you come home from the supermarket.
- Discard the fruits and vegetables that are too ripe.
- Put garbage in sealed containers and clean your garbage can when changing bags.
- Keep your compost bin tightly closed and clean it regularly.
- Rince juice, beer and wine bottles.
- Clean your drains regularly.
- The following elements will keep fruit flies at bay with their strong smells: basil, lemongrass and cedar balls.
What are the most common habitats of fruit flies?
The most common habitats of fruit flies are houses, grocery stores, restaurants and all other places where they can find decaying fruits and vegetables. They also love fermented products such as wine, beer, cider and vinegar, as well as mops, water buckets, sewers and garbage cans.
How do they get in?
They are often brought indoors with the fruits and vegetables bought at the supermarket. Once in your home, the temperature changes speed up the hatching process. That process takes seven days, which explains why it takes a while before you notice the presence of fruit flies in your kitchen.
Indoors, fruit flies begin the reproduction process. Females lay up to 500 eggs in a month. The eggs are laid on foods so the larvae can feed after they've hatched.
