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The fruit fly is one of the most common breed of flies we encounter most of our lives. Like other flies, they can be annoying but they can also drive our curiosity.
What causes fruit flies? Fruit flies are caused by available food sources such as overripe fruits or rotting fruits. They are also attracted to other things the common flies are attracted to.
Fruit flies definitely live up to their names. They appear when there are fruits that they can feed on.
You will often see fruit flies hanging around trees that bear fruits. Sometimes, when the fruit is overripe, it falls off the tree on its own.
The fruit flies will swarm around the fruit and feast on it.
If the fly is pregnant, they will also lay their eggs so that the larvae that will come from their eggs will also have something to eat once they emerge from the eggs.
As mentioned above, fruit flies are also just like any other fly. They are attracted to the same factors but fruit flies are only called fruit flies because their species are commonly found attracted to fruits.
Different places have different temperatures. There are places with more fruit bearing trees and that is where you will often find fruit flies.
Here are the other things that could cause fruit flies.
What attracts fruit flies
Prevention is always better than cure. If you know what attracts a fruit fly, you can easily avoid them.
Just like other flies, fruit flies are attracted to these factors.
- Garbage Bins
- Flies usually find food inside garbage bins. They consume food such as fermented fruits, spoiled meat, overripe fruits and vegetables. This is why we must keep the garbage lid closed and shut off properly in order to avoid making flies swarm over the bin.
- Feces, Animal Waste
- Flies, almost all kinds of them, consume feces from nearly any kind of animal. This is also the reason why they carry so many bacteria and develop various transmittable diseases.
- Plants
- Certain plants such as mint, sunflowers and daises attract flies for consumption purposes. Flies may also drink from plants and lay their eggs on plants. Sometimes, they just simply land on plants to rest for a while.
- Carcasses
- Consuming carcasses is another way for these flies to fill their stomachs and they also lay their eggs on carcasses so that once the egg hatches, the larvae will have something to feed on the moment they are born.
- Liquid substances
- Spilled soda and juices from fruits can be very inviting for these flies. Not only are they able to hydrate themselves through these consumable liquids, they are also satisfied by the sweet flavor it contains.
- The larvae are usually safe with consumable liquid substances, making it a safe spot for laying fly eggs.
- Unattended food
- It is true that they still come near unattended food but without human intervention, they can feast on the food without worry of getting caught by human traps and other animals too. They are opportunistic and therefore, they will take what they can and lay their eggs without you knowing.
- Warm temperatures
- Like
other animals and insects, flies are also quite weak against the cold.
They thrive better under warm temperatures and thus will seek places
that are warm to keep their bodies functioning under normal
circumstances.
In the winter, they suspend the activities in their bodies in a way that allows them to survive but some of them usually lay their eggs on winter so the larvae can hatch by spring.
- Like
other animals and insects, flies are also quite weak against the cold.
They thrive better under warm temperatures and thus will seek places
that are warm to keep their bodies functioning under normal
circumstances.
- Light sources
- Flies have a natural attraction towards light because of positive phototaxis, the locomotive movement that occurs when a living being moves closer or further away from a light source. This is because most whole organisms benefit from receiving light through photosynthesis. They may lay eggs inside well lit rooms.
- Other flies or insects
- The
presence of your own kind is a good sign to take that you are welcome
at that place. When one fly sees another or even a similar insect, it
will make it seem as if they are safe around that area.
Some will also intentionally seek companionship from other flies in order to breed.
- The
presence of your own kind is a good sign to take that you are welcome
at that place. When one fly sees another or even a similar insect, it
will make it seem as if they are safe around that area.
- Unkempt rooms
- An unkempt room near your yard is more likely to have unattended food, unnoticed carcasses or feces of small animals that could have been lurking around the room unknowingly and can be a safe resting place for the flies including their eggs if they are about to lay their eggs.
By eliminating what attracts a fruit fly, you are preventing fruit flies from coming to your place.
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How to get rid of fruit flies
If there are fruit flies lurking around your home or your garbage bins, there are plenty of ways that you can use to get rid of them.
The first step to get rid of flies is to keep the area clean. As for fruit flies, they may keep coming back if there are fruit bearing trees that will continuously attract them.
If removing the tree is not an option, you can make use of the following methods to drive them away. Their fast flying speed makes them a hassle to deal with, but these solutions can solve your fly problem.
- Manual Ways to Get Rid of Fruit Flies
- Fly Sprays
- The fly spray repellents can be easily bought from any store so this option is always available for anyone to try.
You can also use the spray on objects like the garbage bin or the wall so the flies would no longer be interested in it. They will start avoiding the areas where you’ve sprayed the fly repellent.
- The fly spray repellents can be easily bought from any store so this option is always available for anyone to try.
- Glue traps
- A glue trap can also be bought from specific stores or you can try to make one by yourself through watching video tutorials online but if you don’t want to, just order it.
This method is easy because you will just lay the trap around the area where the flies are infesting and leave it on.
Eventually, they will land on the trap and become instantly immobilized so when you come back, many of the flies have been eliminated because they can no longer move.
Even if they manage to escape, the sticky substances will probably hinder their ability to fly so you can still catch them.
- A glue trap can also be bought from specific stores or you can try to make one by yourself through watching video tutorials online but if you don’t want to, just order it.
- Electric zappers
- Electric zappers on the other hand may come in several forms. The most common one is the light zapper.
You can install a light bulb that naturally attracts those flies and once they touch the light or get near it, it will zap them with electricity which will get rid of the flies for you.
Flies have a positive phototaxis and that means they are naturally drawn to light because of the benefits that animals get through photosynthesis. Therefore, using a trap related to light can be effective.
Another form of electric zapper is a tennis racket zapper. This is usually used for mosquitoes but it can also work with flies.
Flies are way faster than mosquitoes but if you have one of those rackets and you’re feeling energetic, you can try to catch some of those flies.
- Electric zappers on the other hand may come in several forms. The most common one is the light zapper.
- Fly Sprays
- Natural Ways to Get Rid of Fruit Flies
- Plants
- Flies are actually drawn to certain plants but there are also plants that they avoid. Plants such as Pennyroyal, Basil, Rosemary, Tansy, Bay laurel, Citronella grass and Wormwood release scents that naturally repel flies.
As of today, there is still no clear reason why flies hate those kinds of plants but it might just be about the scent and nothing else complicated.
Venus Flytrap Plants will also keep those flies in check, if you are into raising exotic life. The Venus flytrap owns up to its name and consumes fly for the minerals it can get once the fly decomposes inside the plant’s body.
- Flies are actually drawn to certain plants but there are also plants that they avoid. Plants such as Pennyroyal, Basil, Rosemary, Tansy, Bay laurel, Citronella grass and Wormwood release scents that naturally repel flies.
- Animals
- Flies have predators. If you love raising pets, the wilder or exotic ones such as spiders, frogs, iguanas, chameleons and geckos, you can use that to your advantage.
Take your pet where the flies are and watch them how they catch a fly; it happens within the blink of an eye!
- Flies have predators. If you love raising pets, the wilder or exotic ones such as spiders, frogs, iguanas, chameleons and geckos, you can use that to your advantage.
- Plants
Related Questions
Why do flies keep bothering you?
Flies are always buzzing around us because they are checking if we have food or anything they can consume. They are quite the bold opportunists, which makes them a very annoying pest to deal with.
They use their legs to taste which is why they need to land and inspect with their legs to see if there’s anything they can eat or drink. Flies do not see people as their actual food, but they may see us as a source of food.
Can flies survive without food?
Flies can live without food for about two to three days. Not counting water along with that. They can reach their average life expectancy with water alone. Different breeds of flies have different life expectancy as they also have different environments.
Different temperatures also propose different predators for them.