San Francisco Fruit Fly Tips From the Cleaning Professionals at No More Dirt

Fruit flies are a difficult problem to deal with year-round. They thrive in the warm climate of the San Francisco Bay regions, especially in the East Bay. Sometimes people will try to eradicate these pests with multiple chemical solutions that they don’t know much about, using chemicals that don’t work or various chemical substances that nullify each other when combined.

So, what can you do when it comes to fruit fly control in San Francisco areas? We have some essential tips for preventing fruit flies in Homeowner Associations (HOAs), as well as other facilities, and how to handle tough infestations that require the assistance of a cleaning company.

Signs of a Fruit Fly Problem

Depending on your company, you may find yourself dealing with the fruit flies of San Francisco area on a regular basis. How do you know if you have a fruit fly problem? Well, staying vigilant and aware of the signs of a fruit fly infestation can help you determine if you have a problem.

First, let’s review just what a fruit fly looks like and its lifecycle:

• Basic Facts of the Fruit Fly:

  • Appearance: Fruit flies are smaller than your average fly. They have red eyes and a brown body.
  • Population Size: Their population increases in the summer and early fall. However, when fruit flies are indoors, they can have regular activity year round.
  • Sustenance: Fruit flies eat overripe or rotting fruit and vegetables.
  • Life Cycle: Fruit flies have a four-stage life cycle. They begin as eggs. They then progress to larval and pupal stages as they mature into adults. The different life cycle stages can take a few days — after a week fruit flies reach adulthood. Adult fruit flies live for about a month depending on the resources available.
  • Reproduction: Fruit flies flourish in moist areas with organic material and standing water. While they often go for sugary organic materials, they can also breed in decaying meat, spilled soda and trashcans.

Because fruit flies can thrive throughout the year, they can cause long-term infestations. Signs of a fruit fly invasion include:

• Adult flies and pupae
• Adult flies near kitchen or trash areas
• Adult flies around fresh, ripe or rotten fruit
• Adult flies by liquor bottles

The fast life cycle of fruit flies, from larvae to adults, can make them challenging to get rid of without the assistance of a cleaning company for fruit flies in the San Francisco area. You can, however, take several preventative steps, which may alleviate your problem!

How to Get Rid of Fruit Flies

Once you’ve identified your fruit fly problem, it’s time to find a solution. Some steps you can take to get fruit flies out of your home include:

• Remove breeding grounds. The first crucial step is preventing the opportunity for adult fruit flies to reproduce. Check your produce to start. Look for anything that’s past ripe, has liquid coming out of it or has already been cut open. Put these in a bag and take them outside to throw away — do not put the food in your garbage can or compost bins on your company’s property. Also, check your property for any rotting fruits that could have fallen from fruit-bearing trees or bushes.
• Wash bins. You should wash and dry your organization’s recycling and trash bins. Leftover moisture can sweeten or ferment and become a habitat for fruit flies. Empty cans can become breeding grounds as well. After trash and recycling pickup, start scrubbing the bins to get rid of any remaining residue.
• Clean compost containers. If your company supports composting, then you should clean out your compost bin as well. Some organizations keep theirs indoors and then take the scraps to the compost pile. For now, you should put your compost scraps in the outside pile and skip the bin.
• Check root vegetables. It’s common to store vegetables like potatoes and onions somewhere cool and dark. Fruit flies will find them when that produce starts to rot. Throw out any soft potatoes and onions and wash the area.
• Clean the kitchen. Food deposits can accumulate in unexpected places. Clean under the lip of the kitchen sink, burner drip pans and stovetop or implement a new cleaning policy for kitchen staff. Spilled sugary drinks can leave spots under tables or the refrigerator also, so scrub the floor and think of any other difficult-to-see areas.
• Replace kitchen items. Old, sour sponges and mops can become a hotspot for fruit flies, as well as bacteria. Make sure kitchen staff throws these things away and provide replacements for them. Also, educate staff about placing used dishrags in the laundry.
• Wash dishes. Dirty dishes can have residue that will attract fruit flies. Remind staff to rinse off the dishes and glasses, even before placing them in the dishwasher or if the dishwasher is full. If there are scraps, start taking out the trash multiple times a day.
• Clean drains and plumbing. Fruit flies can live in a buildup of organic matter in your plumbing. Slow-moving drains can have this buildup. To see if you have this problem, you can tape some plastic wrap over the drain. Over the next few days, check to see if there are any fruit flies on the other side.
  You should fix the drainage. You can try pouring hot, boiling water down drains that are giving you problems. The water will help loosen the organic matter. You can also get a brush with firm bristles and scrub the inside of the pipe.
• Secure jar lids. If you offer canned foods like preserves or sauces, make sure the lids are sealed. One askew cap could be feeding the infestation. Regularly check your company’s pantry to make sure everything is sealed tight.

Fruit Fly Prevention Tips

If you’ve succeeded in your San Francisco area fruit fly cleanup project, you’ll want to it to stay that way. Following the above advice can help, such as ensuring kitchens remain clean, but these additional tips can also keep your building free of fruit flies:

• Clean counters. Wipe your countertops down each day to get rid of crumbs or spills. Remember to check hard to see areas, like the corner of the counter behind the coffee maker.
• Wash fruits. Fruit flies can sneak into your business, especially in fruits like bananas and melons.
• Cover fruits. Protect fruit by placing it in a bowl with a glass cake cover so that people can still see what’s available, without leaving the fruit exposed.
• Handle odors. If you smell something unusual in your building, investigate and deal with it as soon as possible. It’s a good chance that what’s making you wrinkle your nose, is also attracting fruit flies. If your company allows pets or pets are your business, you’ll want to ensure staff clean pet bedding and litter boxes often.

Hotels, restaurants, schools and bars are often familiar with some of these techniques. For HOAs, however, fruit flies are becoming more of a problem.

HOA Fruit Fly Problems and How No More Dirt Handles Them

In the San Francisco Bay regions, especially the East Bay, HOAs are now experiencing a fruit fly problem. While your team might focus on keeping the main public areas clean, fruit flies can accumulate anywhere and become an infestation that your team can’t handle alone. That’s where a San Francisco regional cleaning company for fruit flies, like No More Dirt, comes in to help.

So, what areas are prone to fruit flies and how do we remedy them? Find out below:

• Trash chutes. HOA buildings have trash chutes that go to a garbage collection room. The walls are often unfinished and porous. Over time, the walls can accumulate a buildup of debris and moisture, which attracts fruit flies.Our team can offer solutions in these areas which eliminates any residue that’s leftover. This room is out of sight, and sometimes you might not think it’s a problem, but we make sure to keep everything clean so that it’s an inhospitable environment for fruit flies.
• Grout lines. Debris can easily build up in grout lines and baseboard tiles in kitchens and bars and attract fruit flies. In fact, grout lines are a favorite area of fruit flies.Our machine scrubbers, as well as tools and specialized solutions, get to these difficult areas and keep them clean and inhospitable to fruit flies.
• Garbage cans. Larger dumpsters have areas that can accumulate old food, debris and moisture. Getting a refuse removal service is expensive and still requires management of fruit flies, which will otherwise return.
  No More Dirt resolves this problem by setting a regular schedule for cleanings, so you never have to worry about the dumpsters becoming a problem or the price of refuse removal.
• Standing water. Fruit flies love warm and wet places. You might not know about hard to see areas that gather a lot of moisture. Our team of experts will check all corners and other spots that are ideal for fruit fly breeding.We can consult with you about some effective measures you can take to reduce factors that cause food debris and sticky residues. Our experience assisting hotels also gives us a high standard for maintaining critical areas like room service, as well as dish and food prep areas.We can consult with you about some effective measures you can take to reduce factors that cause food debris and sticky residues. Our experience assisting hotels also gives us a high standard for maintaining critical areas like room service, as well as dish and food prep areas.
• Drop tile ceilings. Sometimes, there are sources for fruit fly deposits on ceilings, especially on tile drop ceilings, which can become a problem during inspections.We know how to care for these areas, remove the fruit fly deposits and keep them away.

Removing and then following up with our tips for preventing fruit flies in HOAs, hotels and other businesses not only gives your visitors a comfortable place to relax but also makes your building hospitable to your staff.

Take Control With a San Francisco Cleaning Company for Fruit Flies

At No More Dirt, a commercial cleaning company experienced with fruit flies and — of course — dirt, we dedicate ourselves to providing the best cleaning services for you and your facility. Our janitorial services for San Francisco, the East Bay, North Bay, and Peninsula make sure fruit flies are gone.

And with a 93 percent satisfaction rating from clients and more than 30 years of experience, as well as Diamond Certified rating, you can trust we have the resources to ensure your facility’s fruit fly problem is resolved, whether it’s for your HOA, hotel, school or another facility.

Don’t let common pests like fruit flies get in your way of doing your work. You deserve a clean and insect-free environment. Get a free estimate from our friendly team today!

Contact Us