Avoid Bugs in the Home

 

Summertime is a popular season for sap beetles and fruit flies to invade our homes.  These nuisance pests are attracted to over-ripe, fermenting or damaged fruits and vegetables left out in the kitchen or other parts of the home. 

Sap beetles and fruit flies are attracted to tomatoes, bananas, onions and other produce as well as non-refrigerated fruits and vegetables.  People picking Kentucky strawberries also may notice sap beetles in the bottom of picking containers when sorting berries.

            The beetles are small brown and black colored with short wings that do not cover the abdomen.

            Fruit flies resemble small flies or gnats.  Adults are about one-eighth inch long and usually have red eyes.  The front part of their bodies is tan, and the rear is black.

The best way to avoid problems with these pests is to eliminate the sources of attraction.  Ripened produce should be eaten, discarded or refrigerated. 

Eliminate breeding sites by cutting out and discarding cracked or damaged parts of fruits and vegetables in case eggs or larvae are in the wounded areas.

Be sure windows and doors have tight-fitting screens to help

keep adult pests from entering your home from outside.

            Fruit flies also will breed in drains, garbage disposals, empty bottles and cans, trash containers, mops, and cleaning rags.  A moist film of fermenting material is all these pests need to develop.

            It is essential to locate and eliminate all sources of attraction and potential breeding areas once your home is infested.  Then use a pyrethrum-based aerosol insecticide to kill any remaining insects.  If you don’t find and eradicate these areas before applying an insecticide, the problem will persist no matter how frequently you apply the treatment to control adults.

 

Lowell Hamilton,
County Extension Agent for Agriculture & Natural Resources