Photo Album: Fruit Flies Infest Restaurant in Neptune, NJ

I was conducting a routine commercial service at one of Cowley commercial accounts, a restaurant in Neptune, New Jersey. As always, in all the jobs that I performed, inspection is one of the most important elements in pest control. As I began inspecting the kitchen, bar, and dining areas I found a massive infestation of fruit flies. Fruit flies are only about 1/8-inch in length including the wings and a key identifying trait of a fruit fly is its bright red eyes.

Immediately Found Fruit Flies

As soon as I began my inspection, I found fruit flies in a bus bucket near the kitchen.

It's the Sweet Moisture that Attracts Them

The wet rags, used for cleaning the bar counter, were saturated with alcohol and residue from fruits, which is what attracted the fruit flies.

Crack In the Floor Filled with Debris

Continuing my inspection I found a crack in the floor that was filled with liquid, discarded food, and fruit flies.

Poor Sanitation will Lead to Fruit Flies

Fruit flies very often just appear out of nowhere. When fruit starts to go bad it begins to ferment and produces alcohol, which attracts fruit flies. The fruit flies will begin to gobble up the fermenting fruit and lay hundreds of eggs, which will hatch into larvae in a few hours.

Clean Out all the Drains

For treatment I treated all the drains in the restaurant with a bio-foam solution that eliminates all the organic build-up, odors, and scum.

Cleaning the Other Areas

Next, I applied residual flybait under the sinks and pipes and then disposed of all the dirty rags. After I finished cleaning, I talked to the manager about implementing a few simple sanitation procedures that'll keep these pests out of his restaurant.