Tag Archives: fruit flies

Garden Pests

Spring is an exciting time for everyone, but especially gardeners. The time to begin their yearly botanical endeavors is quickly approaching. However, it is not all smooth sailing no matter how skilled of a gardener one is— there are dangers in the form of garden pests lurking around the corner. Garden pests lay in wait for your new plants to begin growing, which when they’ll come out in full force, hungry from winter dormancy. By diligence and taking preventative action, you can stop these pests from wreaking havoc on your garden.

Aphids

Aphids can come in many colors and species, all of which can cause damage to your plants. These pests use their piercing mouthparts to feed on plant sap and juices. They can be found feeding in groups on new plant growth or the undersides of leaves, which kills them, as well as stems and buds. An aphid infestation can actually be exacerbated by over-fertilization with nitrogen. The plants most affected by aphid damage include geraniums, roses, tomatoes, peppers, lettuce, carrot crowns, kale, and cabbage. You can plant certain herbs that will attract wasps, who prey on aphids, to help control an infestation; however, spraying them off with a garden hose is most effective.

Corn Earworms

Corn earworm is a pest that migrates to Michigan every year carried on weather fronts; it overwinters in the southern United States, where it is also a pest of cotton and soybeans. Aptly named, corn earworms feed on ears of fresh corn. These worms are the biggest threat to sweet corn in Michigan because once they enter the ear, they become impossible to remove.

The worms attack corn silk, which results in moldy and deformed ears. Controlling corn earworms can be a difficult task that requires year-round vigilance.

Colorado Potato Beetles

Potato beetles have a yellow shell with ten narrow black stripes. In the spring, the females lay their eggs on the undersides of leaves.

When the larvae hatch, they feed on plant vegetation for 10-30 days before reaching adulthood. Potato beetles continue to feed on the foliage, which leads to the death of the plant. Use a floating row cover on potato plants to prevent these beetles from reaching the plants. Hand pick adults and larvae from the leaves and drop them into a cup of soapy water.

Cucumber Beetle

Cucumber beetles cause severe damage to crops like cucumbers, watermelons, and cantaloupe. These yellow-green beetles don’t limit the extent of their damage to feeding; they also cause bacterial wilt.

The bacterium that causes bacterial wilt lives in the stomachs of the cucumber beetles— in the spring when they emerge to feed, they spread the bacterium from their mouthparts and through their excrement. Once inside, the bacterium quickly multiplies which produces blockages that cause the leaves to wilt and die. The beetles unwittingly pick up the bacteria from the exterior of the plant and transfer it. There is, unfortunately, nothing that can be done to save a plant infected with wilt. Early preventative measures are essential to halt the spread of bacterial wilt. Cover crops with a row cover and remove as plants flower to help control these beetles.

No gardener wants their hard work to be compromised by garden pests. Knowing what to look for is the first step toward protecting the fruits of your labor!

Fall Fruit Fly Tips

There’s so much to love about the early fall months; fresh apples, donuts and cider, flowers, colorful hikes, camping, and so much more— however, one of the most significant negatives of the first warm fall months is fruit flies. We’ve written about these nuisances before, but the continued warm temperatures in Northern Michigan have seemingly allowed infestations to maintain. And if you’re like us, you love the goodness of having fresh fruit available and that glass of wine to enjoy without the hassle of these aggressive pests, so, we thought we would offer some DIY methods in curbing the seemingly endless issue.

Unfortunately for homeowners, the average natural life span of fruit fly adults (in optimal temperatures) is forty to fifty days. Females have the capability to mate and lay several batches of eggs in that time, which allows the fruit fly population inside of a home to multiply quickly.

Now, many commercial traps can aid in ridding your home of them, and we even offer them to customers. That being said, there are also some natural and effective remedies that you can do by using goodies found in your pantry that’s inexpensive and effective.

Keep in mind, however, that to curb an infestation, it is imperative to start at the source. Ensuring any houseplants you may have are potted in high-quality soil, maintaining clean drains, keeping all areas dry, washing dirty dishes, and keeping trash receptacles tightly closed are all effective methods. If these efforts remain unsuccessful, it may be time to seek out other options.

Below, we’ll share some at-home methods that are proven effective if you’re experiencing a visit with those pesky rascals.

Apple Cider Vinegar

ACV is genuinely a heaven send for attracting fruit flies. They absolutely cannot stay away from it. Mixing the vinegar with a few drops of dish soap is a timeless method in trapping and killing the flies.

Essential Oils & Herbs

Basil, peppermint, and eucalyptus are a few of the herbs that help to deter fruit flies. Placing these in tea bags or muslin sacks and hanging them around the house can help to prevent them.

Lavender, camphor, (be very cautious with this one), peppermint, clove, and lemongrass essential oils deter fruit flies as well. They simply can’t stand the smell. Dab some cotton balls and wipe the oils around the home, especially in the kitchen area, and deter them all while making your home smell naturally amazing. Another method is dipping tea bags into essential oil blends and hanging around the home.

Beer & Wine

It’s no wonder why these pests like a good glass now and then. Fruit flies are lushes of a sort and love the smell of red wine, and it will draw them in very rapidly! So, a small glass of leftover wine used to trap them, similar to the apple cider vinegar method, works exceptionally well with attracting, trapping, and killing the fruit flies. Beer is a close second, which is no wonder why you will find hoards of them buzzing around your recycling. The same method words for beer as well, so whichever beverage you have handy should do the trick.

Fruits

Place jam, jellies, or ripened fruit (especially bananas) into a jar covered with plastic wrap to attract the fruit flies.

Incense

Fruit flies hate all smoke but especially smoke from incense—their bodies can’t handle inhaling it. When they inhale, they die fairly quickly, which can help leave you fruit fly-free.

Closing Tips

Keeping fresh fruit refrigerated, reducing any standing water including in vases, as fruit flies are attracted to the sugar water in most flower arrangements, and getting rid of any rotting fruit (the yeast is where they lay their larvae).

If all else fails, there is hope on the horizon as fall progresses. Studies show that at 60°F, the lifespan of fruit flies significantly decreases. When the temperatures fall below 53°F, these flies stop developing entirely. While the first frost may not seem like something to look forward to for many of us, those experiencing a fruit fly infestation can rest assured that these unwanted houseguests will soon be gone— until next year, that is!

Fruit Flies

If you have seen small flies or gnat-like insects in your kitchen, odds are they are most likely fruit flies. Fruit flies are a year-round issue; however, they are especially common during late summer and fall months. This is primarily because they are most attracted to ripe, fermenting (rotting) fruits and vegetables. Fruit flies have oval bodies with six legs. Adults are about 1/8 inch in size and usually have red eyes. The front section of the body is tan, and the rear part is black. They feed on decaying food items, especially fruits and vegetables.

Melons, tomatoes, grapes, squash, and other perishable items from the garden are often the cause of an indoor infestation. Fruit flies thrive on rotting, unrefrigerated produce from the supermarket as well.

Biology

We find fruit flies most commonly in homes, restaurants, grocery stores, and wherever food can rot. Female fruit flies lay their eggs near the surface of rotting foods or on other moist, organic materials. Upon hatching, the small larvae continue to feed near the surface of the rotting item. This surface-feeding characteristic is significant; the affected over-ripe parts of the vegetables and fruits may be cut away without having to discard the entire piece out of fear of containing any developing larvae. Fruit flies reproduce like wildfire, notorious for laying up to 500 eggs at any given time! The entire lifecycle from egg to adult completes within seven days. All that is necessary for development is a moist film of fermenting material.

Behavior

Though fruit flies are especially attracted to ripened fruits and vegetables in the kitchen or pantry, they will also breed in trash cans, drains, garbage disposals, empty bottles and cans, mops, and cleaning rags. Infestations can enter the home via previously rotting or fermenting fruits and vegetables, or empty bottles and cans.

That being said, adults can also fly in from outside through windows and doors with inadequate screens. For those who live or work near orchards, even the cleanest home may still experience a fruit fly issue due to all of the rotting fruit. One of the best and most straightforward solutions is to keep a fan blowing at the most frequently used door. This works toward keeping the flies outside because, due to their tiny stature, they are unable to fly against the force of the wind.

This trick actually works with most fly species because they aren’t strong enough to fly against the blowing air. The primary issue associated with fruit flies is that they are nuisance pests. However, their excrement also has the potential to contaminate food with their bacteria and other disease-producing organisms.

Prevention

The most effective method to avoid a fruit fly infestation is to eliminate sources of attraction. Produce should be eaten, discarded, or refrigerated upon ripening. Cracked, bruised, or otherwise damaged portions of fruits and vegetables should be cut away and dumped– especially if eggs or larvae are present in the affected area. A single rotting potato or onion at the back of a pantry or sticky fruit juice under a refrigerator is breeding ground for thousands of fruit flies. In addition, full and unclean trash or recycling bins are also ideal locations.

People who can fruits and vegetables, or make their own beer, cider, or wine should ensure that the containers are well sealed. Otherwise, fruit flies will lay their eggs under the lid, and the tiny larvae will enter the container upon hatching. Equip windows and doors with tight-fitting (16 mesh) screens to help prevent adult fruit flies from entering from outdoors.

Eradication

Once a structure is infested with fruit flies, all potential breeding areas must be located and eliminated. Unless the breeding sites are removed or cleaned, the problem will continue no matter how often one applies insecticides. Finding the source(s) of attraction and breeding can be very challenging and usually will require much thought and persistence. We often suggest personal eradication attempts right off the bat because a small infestation can be easy to nip in the bud. Potential breeding sites that are not easily accessible to humans (i.e., garbage disposals and drains) can be inspected by taping a clear plastic food storage bag over the opening overnight. If flies are breeding in these areas, the adults will emerge and enter the container.

A better approach, however, is to construct a trap by placing a paper funnel (or roll a sheet of notebook paper) into a jar that contains a few ounces of cider vinegar. Place the jar trap(s) wherever fruit flies are buzzing about. This simple but effective trap will soon catch any remaining adult flies which can then be killed or released outdoors.

If you exhaust your personal attempts and still can’t seem to shake a fruit fly problem, Hogarth’s can inspect your property and assist in eradicating the issue completely.