Eradicating the Ignoble Fruit Fly

One of the most annoying pests common in households is the fruit fly. These little gnats can cause serious havoc with both home brewers and bars of all sorts. The most threatening aspect of these creatures is the potential for them to infect brews with harmful bacteria, spoiling a whole keg of beer, or even the beer lines of your kegerator. The best way to keep theses pests at bay is to keep a clean bar or brewing area, but there are a few more tricks that can help to decimate these pests.

The two most effective traps for fruit flies are also the most unsightly. The primary trap is sticky paper. Unfortunately, the more effective this trap is, the more disgusting its appearance. It is wise to use this trap, but in a place where it cannot be seen by the bar patrons - under the bar, between the mini-fridge and the wall of the cabinet, veiled by curtains, etc… An easier trap to hide is the bag o' water. This trap seems to disorient the flies and scatter them from the area. Simply fill a zip lock bag with clear water and hang it above the zone in which the flies may be a problem. By many accounts from food service professionals, this keeps the flies at bay and is far more pleasing to look at than a fly-corpse-ridden glue strip.

It is wise to cover your beer taps when not in use to keep the flies from landing in the spigot and spreading bacteria there, and to be sure to clean your spill tray and bar area after every use. There are a few inventions out there that claim to help the bar keep to get a-hold of the fruit fly dilemma, such as the beer soother, but cleanliness is the best policy to keep your bar or brewing area relatively free from fruit fly infestation.

Keep in mind that a little fruit fly problem can turn into a big fruit fly problem if left unchecked - these flies can lay up to 500 eggs at a time, although they only have a life cycle of a week or so. Make sure to clean up spills right away because the nutrient rich sticky malt syrup left over after beer spill will provide enough food for hundreds of fruit flies.

Another handy fruit fly trap is the old wine bottle trap. Anyone who has poured a glass of wine that has been left uncorked the morning after the party has, in all likelihood, encountered the corpse of a fly. They often get trapped in such places, lured by the sweet smell of wine or beer, but unable to escape due to the funneled exit. Some decoratively labeled wine bottles made from dark glass are probably the least offensive of the fruit fly traps, but not nearly as effective as fly paper.

For the home brewer, the fruit fly can be an especially beleaguering pest. Seemingly despite all possibilities, the flies get into the airlocks of fermenting beverages and threaten the healthy production of the drinks. With the startling tenacity they find the smallest weak link in the defense of the ale and drown themselves in it. The only thing you can really do is maintain fly strips, keep the caps on your airlocks, and clean constantly. If an airlock is contaminated by a fruit fly, it is of the utmost importance to clean and sanitize the airlock at the first opportunity, replacing it with a spare airlock in the mean time. I have had two five gallon batches of beer ruined by these pests, and let me tell you, I remember it well.

One method that can be used to immediately rid an area of fruit flies is the application of smoke to the afflicted area. Cigarette smoke works, but is unseemly in many cases, so incense and especially sage are recommended for this purpose. The sweet smell of incense can add a nice touch to your home bar, in any case.

Now, you are armed with an arsenal of techniques to rid your home of this annoying menace - good luck!