Follow Up to Fruit Fly / Gnat Issue

Numerous residents reached out to the Board in response to the recent post about the fruit fly/gnat issue in the building. Unfortunately, there is no single apartment tier or floor that has not been affected, and there appear to be no significant patterns among the units reporting the issue.

The Board reached out to our pest control vendor, Owl Pest Prevention, for suggestions. Since the issue is not localized and thus potentially treatable through targeted pest services, Owl Pest offered the following tips and information:

• Fruit flies are a common summertime issue that will eventually resolve itself with Fall weather. Unfortunately, it only takes one unit (or a garbage area) with a fruit fly issue to affect multiple others.
• Fruit flies will go away when the food source is removed. Thus, take care to...
• Dispose of any rotting fruits and vegetables, and to the extent possible, keep all fruits and vegetables inside your refrigerator.
• Empty and clean your trash and recycling bins regularly, and each time you do, spray the insides with Lysol or another disinfectant to kill possible eggs or larvae. 
• Do not compost inside your apartment. 
• Replace old sponges, mops, and dishrags, especially damp ones. Fruit flies need moisture to breed in addition to a food source.
• Take care not to leave dirty dishes in your sink or kitchen. Even the smallest food source can sustain fruit fly reproduction.
• Empty/process your garbage disposal regularly, and ensure food does not sit inside of it.

If all else fails, you can purchase fruit fly traps from Ace Hardware, online, or at some grocery stores. A picture of the fruit fly traps available at Ace Hardware is below. They are very effective for trapping and eliminating existing fruit flies and last about 30 days.