FREE delivery on orders over $42
Yes, bug zappers work well on fruit flies, and it is an effective way of eliminating them.
January 12, 2022
18 min read time
This information is reviewed by an independent pest control expert.
All external links are non-affiliated and for informational purposes only
Like other household pests, Fruit flies can constitute a nuisance within your home. These pests are active year-round.
However, their effect is felt during summer and fall. They are non-harmful insects on their own. Yet, their presence can be a sign of unsanitary household conditions.
This guide aims to discuss the effects of bug zappers on fruit flies and provide deep insights on how these flies can be removed from your home.
Now, let’s dive in!
Table of Contents
To understand how these flies look, you must be acquainted with their body size, their color, among other things.
Typically, Drosophila melanogaster is a species of a small fly. Adults are 3 to 4 mm long. Many of them have red eyes, even though others have dark eyes. With tan thorax, the abdomen is black on top and gray underneath. Most fruit flies can have a brown or tan color.
Fruit flies breed and develop quickly, which explains why they are often found everywhere around your home.
Often, these flies come in via cracks in walls or pre-laid eggs inside of any piece of fruit. Their eggs are very tiny, and these flies lay them inside vegetables or fruits.
Fruit flies are attracted to fermented fruits, moisture, vegetables, and food wastes.
However, debris such as garbage disposals, drains, empty bottles, mops, and cans, cleaning rags also attract them.
Generally, they are drawn to moist environments and food wastes. Since this pest only lands on surfaces, it is unlikely that you can ingest them with your food.
Many theories state that fruit flies live for a day (24hrs). However, in the actual sense, these pests can live for up to 25-30 days as long as the environment is welcoming and there is food.
Drosophila melanogaster, the most common fruit fly, is known for quickly reproducing. Therefore, you’ll most likely find them in any environment with damp/stagnant water and green vegetation.
Like many other fly species, fruit flies often undergo a four-stage life cycle: They begin as eggs. Then, they morph from larval and pupal stages before developing into adults.
The early life stages of these flies can often last for approximately a few days and they can complete their development within a week when the temperature conditions are ideal.
Fruit flies lay their eggs on decaying or fermented plant and cay hatch up to 500 eggs at once.
The best way to know if you have a fruit fly infestation is to watch out for them around your home. If adult flies are present within your property, you will see adult flies flying around inside your kitchen and other areas in your home where there is food.
Adult flies are often seen flying near fermenting vegetables and fruit, as well as trash cans. Watch out for the fruit fly pupa in dry places near the decaying matter, and it resembles cockroach or rodent dropping.
Yes, bug zappers work well on fruit flies.
However, they might not be the most effective way of eliminating them, even though they are relatively easy to use. Much like many insects, these flies are drawn to light.
They complete a circuit whenever they fly into a zapper. This gets them electrocuted. Today, most zappers are designed with baskets for collecting them as dead bugs drop inside these baskets and disposing of them becomes easy.
A report based on studies from the University of Miami shows that bug Zappers work, but they may end up attracting a different insect from the one you wish to eliminate. Several fruit fly predators, parasitoids, aquatic insects, and a wide variety of insects across the taxonomic classes can get trapped inside this device.
Eventually, this results in holes in the food chain, which significantly disrupts various niches in a specific ecosystem. For instance, it has been proven that there are several instances that a bug zapper has attracted and eliminated beetles, which serve as food for songbirds.
This effect reduces the population of songbirds, thereby disrupting the ecosystem.
However, it must be stressed that a bug zapper will effectively eliminate fruit flies and remove them from your home. As dead bugs drop, it becomes easy to dispose of them – making the device easy to use.
Besides this, the devices are environmentally safe. Although it is wise to keep them away from the reach of little children.
Yes, fruit flies are drawn to Ultraviolet light.
However, according to a particular study carried out by researchers at the University of Miami, fruit flies are drawn to different lights throughout the day. Usually, these flies are attracted to green light in the morning and late afternoon. In contrast, they are attracted to red light during midday.
Surprisingly, it was also discovered from this research study that fruit flies are not attracted to blue light, which was once a popular fact about fruit flies. Therefore, it is possible to get rid of these flies within your home by employing bug zappers. However, there is a also higher chance to succeed if you trap flies effectively with fermented fruit, vinegar, or wine trap.
Oftentimes, several bars and restaurants send out complaints as a result of fruit flies activities. Preventing fruit flies can be relatively easy. You can carry out a treatment without the need to resort to a pest controller.
It is possible only to carry out a knockdown treatment that would provide a solution to the immediate problem, besides fruit fly traps.
However, this is not a long-term solution. Even though fruit flies are particularly attracted to Ultraviolet light like other flies, for this reason, electric bug zappers can be effective in terms of dealing with these flies.
While using a fruit fly zapper can produce desirable results, the only long-term solution for these flies is to get rid of the breeding sites through constant cleaning.
Now, how do you prevent fruit flies?
The first step is to identify these nuisance pests. A typical fruit fly has bright red eyes. So when you catch one, look under a magnifying glass to tell.
Removing their breeding grounds includes getting rid of fermenting fruit, wine, or juice. To locate their breeding site, watch out for moisture, decaying or fermenting fruit or debris, and warmth.
Some typical breeding grounds to look for are:
Without the need for fruit fly traps, getting rid of breeding grounds will ensure that fruit flies immediately leave your environment.
Besides locating their common breeding grounds, ensure that you do not leave damp mop heads facing down in a bucket placed in a warm store cupboard.
Ensure that the mops are turned upside down and make sure that enough air is present to dry them properly.
You might be interested in the following article
As mentioned earlier, any fruit left out, which is starting to ferment, can be the breeding site of a fruit fly, and once you have found one, you only need to carry out thorough cleaning. These insects need to breed conditions that include stagnant / still water, warmth, and organic matter.
Once you remove the environment, you will effectively remove the problem.
Even though a bowl of fruit on a counter is not only lovely but also makes it easy to access your favorite fruits, it is best to store fruits in the refrigerator to slow down the ripening process, as well as prevent the attraction of fruit flies.
You should only place uncovered fruit, which will be consumed for a short period, on the counter.
Usually, a fruit fly is drawn to anything that contains sugar, which eventually ferments into alcohol. In this case, overly ripe fruit, wine, beer, among other common items.
Once they find it hard to find their very favorite foods, they will search sticky garbage cans, compost bins, sink drains, and recycling bins. However, once routine housekeeping chores are carried out regularly, you can solve the problem.
A tiny piece of fruit or drops of spilled beer and wine can easily attract these flies. Thorough and regular cleaning of tables, counters, small appliances, and dishes after food preparation or service can prevent any infestation.
An important area to clean well is the garbage disposal, as well as the kitchen sink. Often, bits of food can become trapped in the drains. It is vital to flush out and clean drains and disposals well after each use for food preparation.
If a bin for recyclables is present, ensure that you rinse out cans and bottles before you toss them in the bin. A few drops of wine, beer, or soft drink attract a fruit fly. Adopt this tip even if your container is placed outside.
These flies often sneak into your kitchen when the door is opened. For this reason, ensure that you empty the bins regularly. Besides this, give outdoor and indoor containers regular cleanings to remove all food sources and eliminate fruit flies.
Small flies, including gnats, mosquitoes, and flies, can be frustrating both inside and outside your home. Unfortunately, almost everyone understands this kind of annoyance, which is often associated with shooing these flies away from food, your entertainment areas, or your face.
Even though several ways exist to repel or kill fruit flies, many of those methods usually adopt the use of chemicals, which can be harmful to children and pets within the home.
Moreover, repellents only keep these bugs in check for a given number of hours, after which they keep coming back. Besides fruit fly traps, Thanos® Handheld bug zapper can immediately get rid of small, flying insects by delivering high volts of power.
Many viewers perceive this bug zapper as enjoyable and effective. Unlike some methods that are adopted to get rid of fruit flies, this zapper enables its users to see it working. Its impact is evident, and many reviewers affirmed that they were able to get rid of dozens of flying insects around their homes.
Furthermore, it was gathered that this zapper is best when used to eliminate small insects, including mosquitoes, flies, and gnats. While some homeowners can easily wipe off giant ants (from their environment), others may find it quite challenging.
Yet, several compliments were received about the effectiveness of this device, as well as the fact that it was fun to use.
Fruit flies, much like other insect pests can be frustrating. For this reason, keeping them in check is essential. Using an ultraviolet light and bug zapper has proven to be an effective method of getting rid of these flies.
Besides this, as mentioned earlier, other prevention tips can kill fruit flies naturally or remove them from your environment. A clean environment, free of these insects, promotes good health. The importance of these must not be ignored.
Join over 10,000 happy subscribers and never miss out on future deals
We care about the protection of your data. Read our Privacy Policy.
Get advice from the pest professionals near you.
Chat with people and share your best tips and tricks.
Register as a Thanos ambassador to earn referral fees.