We’re mostly used to seeing insects swarm outside, completing the natural image we have on the Great Outdoors. However, we can also deal with them infesting our homes, if certain homekeeping criteria aren’t met. Some of the bothersome insects you may see in your home, at one point or another in your life, are fruit flies.
They tend to breed by the hundreds and even thousands, so some panic can ensue around them. Do fruit flies bite people though? What harm can they cause? Let’s go through a brief overview on what these insects are, what they thrive on, if they do bite people or not, and what you can do to reduce them.
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What Are Fruit Flies?
Fruit flies are small flies that will typically reside in the kitchen – this is because they are attracted to fermenting or ripened fruits and vegetables. Late summer or fall are the seasons during which fruit flies infestations are the most common.
Fruit flies have enormous reproductive potential in that they can lay up to 500 eggs at once. The perfect surface they need to lay their eggs on is usually close to these fermenting foods or other organic materials that are moist. In this respect fruits make the ideal surface for fruit flies – hence their already popular name. However you can also find them around mops, empty bottles and cans, cleaning rags and garbage disposals.
It’s enough for one single rotten apple or peach to have been left at the back of a pantry shelf or at the bottom of a fruit basket for it alone to breed thousands of flies. With so many of them around, it’s only natural that you end up asking yourself: ‘Do fruit flies bite? Are they harmful to me?’
Do Fruit Flies Bite Humans?
In short, the answer is no. Even though there is strength in numbers and they seem threatening when they swarm around by the hundreds, they can’t really do anything to bite people. They don’t actually have any biting mouthparts, so there’s really no damage they can induce this way, at least.
They have been known to cause rashes and irritations on the skin and the clearest danger they present is their ability to transfer certain harmful bacteria from one surface to another. Such bacteria include E. Coli, Salmonella and Listeria which fruit flies can easily transfer from contaminated food to non-contaminated one.
They have been known to cause rashes and irritations on the skin and the clearest danger they present is their ability to transfer certain harmful bacteria from one surface to another.
In conclusion, do fruit flies only bite fruit? Yes, their only concern are antioxidant fruits and other similar organic matter. Having said this, it’s good to remember that fruit flies can’t actually harm you directly, but they can be potent disease transmitters, so this is why it’s best to do everything in your power to either prevent their breeding or to reduce their numbers once they appear.
How Can You Reduce Fruit Flies?
Fortunately, there are many ways in which you can help reduce the number of pestering fruit flies in your home. Below you can find a list of products that can help you achieve this:
1. KATCHY Indoor Insect Trap
This is a very stylish fly trap that attracts the insect, letting the fan suck it in, after which the sticky glue board traps it in for good. Simply place it near your flies-ridden fruits or near your garbage disposal, turn off the lights, and let the device do what it knows best. It won’t kill all the flies, but it will reduce their number significantly.
This is a very stylish fly trap that attracts the insect, letting the fan suck it in, after which the sticky glue board traps it in for good.
2. Garsum Sticky Trap
This fly trap is of the more traditional kind with a fun and more modern design. The bright yellow glue will trap plenty of flies and the floral or butterfly design is small enough to fit pot plants. These Garsum Sticky fly traps are long-lasting and have glue on both sides.
This fly trap is of the more traditional kind with a fun and more modern design. The bright yellow glue will trap plenty of flies and the floral or butterfly design is small enough to fit pot plants.
3. BEAPCO 10036 Prefilled Fruit Fly Traps
This Beapco fly trap set has 6 pre-filled traps with each of them lasting up to 30 days. Simply pierce with a pen and leave it out next to the affected areas – the flies will be attracted to the filling inside and immediately get stuck there.
You can get it on Amazon.
4. Fruit Fly Trap
This pack has 20 double-sided yellow sticky sheets that are covered in glue potent enough to attract and retain any pestering fruit fly. The glue is waterproof, sunproof and non-toxic for the home environment, making them pleasant, efficient and easy to use.
5. TERRO T2502 Fruit Fly Trap
In the Terro pack you’ll find two fast-acting traps, each of them with non-staining lure. Additionally, this kind of trap also has an integrated window that allows the easy monitoring of lure levels. Each trap lasts for 45 days, so you’ll get 90 days of fruit-flies protection with this pack.
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Conclusion on “Do Fruit Flies Bite People?”
As you can see, fruit flies are pretty common and they tend to appear whenever fruits are ripened or have started fermenting. They don’t bite, but they do transfer bacteria from contaminated food surfaces to non-contaminated ones.
Thankfully solutions are just as common – there are plenty of products you can get to help fight off the fruit flies infestation. Some of them follow the more traditional approach, while others follow a more modern design that’s meant to accessorize your home.
Regardless of the one you’ll choose, you can have full confidence that they’re all effective and that fruit flies will be a thing of the past, while your kitchen remains clean and sanitized.
Have you had any experience with fruit flies so far? If so, how did you manage to prevent their occurrence or reduce their numbers? Please share in the community below in order for other fruit lovers to also enjoy their nutritious fruits without having to worry too much about fruit flies.