The Trick To Keeping Fruit Flies Out Of Your San Antonio Home

There are several flies that can get into your San Antonio home and drive you crazy. Most of them are fairly easy to identify, like the grayish-black house fly or the metallic-colored bottle fly. Fruit flies can be difficult to identify as they are often mistaken for other tiny flies. The most common error is to mistake a fungus gnat for a fruit fly. We hope you don't do this. Fungus gnats and fruit flies are quite a bit different. In most circumstances, fungus gnats are going to have a hard time reproducing in your home. This can make them only a minor irritation. Fruit flies, on the other hand, can fill your home with tiny flies. They do quite well as indoor pests. Today, we're going to talk about how you can tell these two San Antonio flies from each other, and what the trick to keeping fruit flies out of your home is.

Fungus Gnat Or Fruit Fly?

At 1/8 of an inch, it is hard to see the details that make fungus gnats and fruit flies different. But, if you have good eyesight or a magnifying glass, you may notice that fruit flies have red eyes on their tan bodies.

Fungus gnats have black eyes on their black bodies. Here are a couple of ways you can tell these insects apart without getting up close:

• When you approach, fruit flies will take to the air. Fungus gnats are more likely to run across a surface.
• Fungus gnats tend to hang out near plants because they typically breed in soil. Fruit flies hang out near fruit because they breed on fruit and other foods with carbohydrates.

How Fruit Fly Infestations Work

While fruit flies can live outside and enter your San Antonio home from outside, it is more likely that you'll carry them into your home. Fruit fly eggs are small and easy to miss when a fly has laid them on a piece of fruit or a vegetable. Once these eggs get into your home, the temperature of your home can cause the eggs to hatch.

Larvae emerge from eggs and feed on the fruit. It takes more than a week for the larvae to develop into adults. As adults, they take to the air. In this stage, they can begin reproducing in your home in a little over two days. One fly can lay 500 eggs at once, but those eggs need to hatch and larvae need to develop to the adult stage for the process to repeat. While this is certainly fast, it isn't so fast that a swarm will develop because of reproduction. The reason you see one fly, a few flies, and then a swarm in a matter of a few days is because eggs from one batch can hatch at different times.

If you have a swarm, it is likely to be from one infested source. If you find the source, you may be able to prevent more fruit flies from developing into a swarm. Unfortunately, if even one fly is successful, you'll continue to have a swarm.

It is important to know as much as you can about fruit flies because knowledge is power. Let's break down what we've discussed so far and add a few more facts that will help you with fruit fly control.