Small flies in commercial accounts

Heather Patterson

Small flies can cause a big annoyance in commercial accounts. For instance, in restaurants, supermarkets and other food facilities, small flies can be one of the more difficult pests to control. Not only do they irritate employees and customers alike, but they also are known to contaminate food. Furthermore, if customers see them as a sign of unsanitary conditions, it can harm a business’ reputation.

Because small flies have a quick development time and are attracted to fermenting foods, decaying produce, and organic build-up in drains, it does not take long for populations to grow rapidly in food service establishments when conditions are right.

When you encounter a cloud of adult small flies lingering around an area, know there is likely an abundance of eggs, larvae and pupae developing somewhere nearby. Eggs are hatching, and larvae are growing in the slime, sludge or “rotten and forgotten” fruit around the kitchen.

In one to two weeks, when flies become adults, there will be more unwanted, gravid, female flies quietly buzzing around the restaurant — each with the potential to lay around 500 eggs in her lifetime. Your keys to small fly success, then, are source reduction and control of the larval stage. Consider using an insect growth regulator (IGR) product to help reach your goal.