The cold temperatures are arriving and we are beginning to settle into the coziness and warmth of our homes. Unfortunately, we’re not alone. All sorts of pests that would perish in the harsh temperatures outside are desperate to share some of your shelter and warmth. Fruit flies are among the most irritating ones.
But aren’t fruit flies a spring and summer pest? And why are they in your home during winter? We’re going to explain why you could be creating the perfect conditions for fruit flies without even realizing it. We’ll also tell you how to reduce the number of flies in your home this winter and why expert pest control with Truly Nolen may be required.
Why Are There Fruit Flies in Your Home?
It’s getting pretty cold outside, right? You don’t want to be out there too long without the correct clothing and supplies. Fruit flies don’t want to either.
While it may be cold outside (and about to get colder), it’s probably pretty toasty inside your home. In fact, if you didn’t know what was going on outside, it might even feel like spring or summer indoors. Your heating keeps you comfortable. It does the same for flies too. Fruit flies are inside your home this winter because they can’t survive outdoors in the cold. So long as you’re keeping yourself comfortable and warm, they’ll be benefitting too.
How Can You Remove Them For Good?
So you’re accidentally creating the perfect environment for fruit flies to feed and breed. What’s the solution? Turn off the heating and freeze? Thankfully, it doesn’t have to come down to that. Cold temperatures are never a truly effective way to remove pests from your home.
Fruit flies can get into your home by flying inside. It’s possible, but it’s not particularly common. Instead, you’re likely to have brought them home from the grocery store. Fruit flies will feed on several different items within the grocery store, but they lay their eggs inside fruit.
When possible, try and inspect the fruit you buy before adding it to your cart. Make sure your fruit is fresh and good to eat – fruit flies prefer to lay eggs in fermented and rotten food. You should be able to see signs of fruit fly eggs. After all, an adult fruit fly can lay around 500 eggs in her lifetime. Once that fruit’s inside your home, be very careful with over-ripened and rotting fruit. Fruit flies become adolescents after just a week, so once their eggs begin to hatch you could end up with a big pest problem.
Store other food sources around your home properly and keep your kitchen tidy. Regularly vacuum and wipe-down kitchen surfaces. These flies will feed on anything you leave behind: the cleaner your kitchen is the better. And, if the fruit hasn’t been eaten or refrigerated, then have a closer look at it. If it’s beginning to crack or look off, discard it immediately.
Call Truly Nolen Today
Unfortunately, there’s every chance that you haven’t caught your fruit fly infestation in time. While fermenting fruits are their favourite place to lay eggs, fruit flies will also turn to drains, garbage areas, and empty bottles or cans when they need to. Once they begin laying eggs there, numbers could quickly spiral out of control.
If that happens, get in touch with Truly Nolen as soon as you can. Our technicians will know exactly where to look for flies within your home and know exactly how to handle them. Once we’ve visited, you won’t have to worry about pest control again.